I’ve got quite a few posts coming to show you about our visits to a bunch of lighthouses in the Northwest. Some we were able to tour and some we were just able to see from the outside. But they all had different characteristics and were great fun to visit. We are going take you on our tour of all these lighthouses, starting with the North Head Lighthouse in southwest Washington.
The first lighthouse that we were actually able to tour is located in the Cape Disappointment State Park in southwest Washington. This lighthouse was built in 1898 and has been active from that time to the present. It’s 190 feet above sea level and is now maintained by the Washington State Parks with the light maintained by the Coast Guard.
When we visited the North Head Lighthouse, we climbed up inside with a volunteer guide, had a great view of the current lens and enjoyed a spectacular view of the ocean while we listened to the volunteer tell us all about the history of the lighthouse, and other information related to lighthouses in general. And then suddenly he was done, radioed his wife to tell her the group was coming down and sent us on our way. Unfortunately we had not taken the opportunity to snap many pictures, since we were trying to politely listen to his spiel. We protested, and asked for a few minutes to take some pictures before we headed down. Note to everyone–it’s nice to be polite, but take pictures while you can!
The North Head Lighthouse was built because the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, originally built to guide ships as they entered the Columbia River, was found to be inadequate, and captains complained that they were unable to see the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse until they were already into the river. This whole Pacific Coast area became known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific”, and the North Head Lighthouse was added to improve the site lines in this area.
Like most lighthouses, North Head has a distinct signature, both in the beacon and in the coloring of the lighthouse. The North Head Lighthouse has a fixed white signature, while the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse has alternating red and white flashes. These patterns are created by the rotation of the lens and the flashing of the light through magnifiers. The red flash from the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse is caused by red panels in the lens.
The North Head Lighthouse is open for tours from May to September. You can call the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at 360-642–3029 for current hours for the tours. Tours are free for ages 7-17 and $2.50 for ages 18 and up. Unfortunately, children have to be 7 years or older to climb the lighthouse tower.
A few interesting things about the North Head Lighthouse:
- It’s located at one of the windiest places in the United States, with wind velocities that are frequently in excess of 100 miles per hour. In 1921 winds were clocked at 126 miles per hour before the measuring device was blown away.
- In the 1930’s, a wild duck crashed through the glass panes in the lantern room and caused some slight damage to the lens. Since then wire nets were put around the lantern rooms at many of the lighthouses to prevent this from being a problem again.
- Two of the lens that were used at the North Head Lighthouse can be viewed , one at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment State Park and the other at the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, Oregon.
- The lighthouse keeper’s dwellings are available for overnight stays. Rates run from approximately $150 to $300, depending on season and day of the week. Unfortunately, we were not able to do that, but how cool would that be, to stay in one of those houses!
Take a look at some of the pictures of our tour of North Head Lighthouse.
Here’s a great overall view of the light house from the trail back to the parking lot:
Stairs on the way up to the lantern room:
Great view towards the Columbia River:
Me (Scott), up in the lantern room:
The current, electric “lantern”:
It’s a looong way up to the top:
Sue wanted a picture of her by every lighthouse we visited. Here’s the first of many!
That’s it for North Head Lighthouse. You can find great information about the North Head Lighthouse at Washington State Parks or Lighthouse Friends.
Here’s the map of how to get to North Head Lighthouse:
And finally some more pictures that I’ve put on Flickr:
What lighthouses have you visited?
