Hi guys,

I know a LOT of you have been to the Oregon and Washington lighthouses. I will be making a 10 day trip out there the last two weeks of April and want to see as many lights as I can!! Matt and I went to Seattle for part of our honeymoon in October of 1997, and it's the only time I've been there. I've seen Point Wilson, Mulkiteo, and Admirality Head, but of course, would like to reshoot those as well. My sister and brother in law will be in the Olympia area near Fort Lewis, which is a really good central location. Open to any and all advice, lighthouses or non-lighthouses!

Jen...I would highly recommend taking the car ferry through the San Juan Islands to Friday Harbor. You can drive to Lime Kiln and Cattle Point lighthouses once you get there. I know Tammy Wolfe has lots of information on this area since she has stayed there quite a few times.

I liked taking the car ferry from Friday Harbor over to Victoria, BC. Victoria is a beautiful city to explore. The ferry arrives quite close to the Butchart Gardens. Fisgard lighthouse is easy to get to on the out-skirts of Victoria. We took a seaplane out of Victoria and flew over the orca pods around the San Juan Islands.

From Victoria, you can take the car ferry to Port Angeles, WA and you're very close to Olympic National park.

Jen,
If you have time I would recommend a trip to the New Dungeness Light Station. You can get there either by walking five miles along the beach or take a kayak ride. It is well worth the trip. Once you are there you can pivk up an application for the lighthouse keeper's program. Members can stay for one week and take care of the place and give tours. It's pure heaven. The spit of land is part wildlife preserve and living at the light station is a photographer's dream. You would really enjoy it.
Judy

Lorie, thanks for the heads up on how to access those two lights. I had fun car ferry hopping from Seattle to Keystone, drove up to Port Townsend, hit Point Wilson and Admirality Head, then hopped another ferry to Whitbey Island, hit Mulkiteo, and then came across the big bridge back to the mainland. We took a passenger ferry from Seattle to Victoria and spent an overnight there...such a lovely city! The Empress is amazing.

Judy, I forgot to mention the one clause in this trip - I'm going to be 24 weeks pregnant, so hiking that far is definitely out and I probably won't chance a kayak, either... :p

Does anyone know realistically how much time it would take to drive from Gray's Harbor, Washington, to Cape Blanco, Oregon, and hit all the coastal lights? Could I do it with one overnight and hit interstate north for the return?

Jen

I agree with Judy, we didn't have time to go out to New Dungeness Light Station but I sure wish we had.. We did go to a restaurant North on a road out of Sequim, WA, where we stayed the night, the restaurant was called the 3 Crab Restaurant, I believe.. Their specialty is Dungeness Crab of course and I don't think you can find any better crab to eat than Dungeness!! It was nice sitting there as it got dark eating crab and watching the light flash in the distance..

Also I would highly recommend making the trip out to Cape Flattery, the walk out to the light through the rain forest is like going back in time.. The walk back to your car is a little tougher as it is all up hill.. Yo don't have much choice on where to shoot the light when you get to the end of the trail (it is on an island right off shore) so take your long lens along.. Be sure and stop at the museum on the way in the reservation and pay the fee to be on the reservation and enjoy a very nice museum at the same time...

You will have Mary with you - how used to "speed lighthousing" is she?

Gray's Harbor to Astoria is about 4 hours if you include a stop at North Head where you can also see Cape D.

I did Astoria to Cocquille in a day, then on to Cape Blanco and back to well north of Astoria in two days, both by way of the coast. (Doubled back to get to Umpqua River when it was open and to try to see Tillamook, but it was fogged in both directinos.) Overnighted in Bandon.

If you go by way of interstate on the way back north, you may be able to do all the way from Gray's to Blanco and back in two days, but you will be pushing it a bit I believe.

Darlene or JoAnn might be able to give you a little more insight. Darlene was a great help when I planned my trip a couple years ago.

Ditto on Darlene's help!!!

Map of Flattery area

Jen,
Gray's Harbor is a must if you are out in the Pacific NW. The light is wonderful and it still has a clamshell lens in excellent condition. The Westport Maritime Museum is also a must. It houses the first order Fresnel lens from Destruction Island. The museum director, Robert Pitzer, is a really nice guy. We drove into Westport and even though the museum was closed he opened the lens building for us and even took us to the lighthouse. One of the shops in the village also sells Harbour Lights and I found a retired piece there too!

You can then leave and catch the lights Dave mentioned and go on down the Oregon coastline. You definitely need a longgggg lens for Destruction Island and Tillamook!

You'll have a wonderful time. These lights are so different from the tall towers of the outer banks and the lights of the great lakes. Lighthouses are always a photographer's dream regardless of their location.

Judy

On a slightly different tack, if/while you're in Astoria stop by the Columbia Maritime Museum and see the Coloumbia Lightship (not the AB model, but its replacement). They also have the bouy that replaced the ship next to it. As a weather note, the last time I was in OR it would be sunny and 90 in Portland and down the Interstate while over on the coast it barely would get to 60 while foggy or drizzly. The Coast Range does that. Cape Meares is easy access and you can see Tillamook fairly well from Ecola State Park, both from the cliffs and the beach.

DO NOT miss going to the the Tillamook Cheese Factory, EVER. Watch the cheese get made, eat the samples, take some home. Stop in the ice cream shop (all made there), watch the cones be hand made and sample some of the best you'll ever eat.

Hecate Head is uphill but no strain. I figure if an over 50 guy with a Teflon diapgragm says no strain, you should be okay.

I stayed at McCord AFB the last time I was there and some near by lights, all easy access, are Brown's Point and Dofflemire in Tacoma and Olympia. Up the east side of the Oympic Peneinsula are Point No Point and Skunk Bay. The access (limited) to Skunk Bay is very easy to drive by and miss. Further up the bay is Marrowstone in some park who's name I forget. Pt Wilson's in Ft Worden (An Officer and a Gentleman fame) in Port Townsend, easy to get to, and you can see it, Admiralty Head, and Marrowstone, all distantly from the Port Townsend-Whidbey Island ferry. Stop in Port Townsend for lunch.

Pt Robinson's another ferry ride to Vasnon Island in Seattle and a wandering drive to reach but a flat walk after you park. Look for the Dale's dolphins that look like very small orcas. On the south side of Seattle is Alki Point which is usually close this time of the year and otherwise hard to se from the street. West End is in Discovery Park on the north side of downtown Seattle. It's a duplicate of Point No Point but in a great location next to the sewage treatment plant (no odor), with a really nice view of the sound. Stop at the park visitor center to get a parking pass for the light. They're only for people with handicaps or medical conditions, I think you'd qualify, I did.

Mulkiteo's always good. It's easy to get the ferry in the background since it's right at the landing.

While in Seattle, go to the Wooden Boat Museum (free). The Lightship Swiftsure is docked next door with a good view from the Museum.

Paul, was this installed when you went out to Cape Flattery? Looks like I'm game!

Cape Flattery Trail

Yes it was mostly done... but it was longer than 3/4 of a mile.. It seemed like a 1/2 hour going and longer coming back but of course I was stopping along the way to shoot pictures of the flora and fauna which is abundant..

There still are sections where roots and rocks come in to play, plus moisture.. But overall it is an easy trek just uphill all the way back to the parking lot...

The Museum there is excellent and the gift shop has some very unique items made by the tribe members.. a little $$$$ but I found a couple of nice items that I will cherish along with the memories..

I think the trail was essentially done when we were there, Paul. My memories of it were uneven step height and placement in places. Not a real bad walk, but it is one where you need to be paying attention to where you are going to be putting your feet - i.e., spend a lot of time looking down. The view at the end of the trail was worth it, though.

Jen,

Looks like you already have gotten some great advice. (I'll have to make a few notes for our 2006 visit.) I'm surprised that Darlene hasn't responded. I finally got to meet her last summerafter talking about it for a few years.

I haven't seen all of the lighthouses in Washington yet. If you decide to visit the ones in the San Juan Islands, let me know. That's where I spend the majority of my time when I visit.

Anyway, I'll be looking forward to your photos when you get back. I've been going to the San Juan Islands since 1997. Unfortunately we're going to have to skip our visit in 2005 due to our Alaskan cruise.

Tammy

The view at trail's end was well worth it.. Plus this trip to Cape Flattery meant that Sue and I had finished the four corners!

Cape Flattery Lighthouse - Northwest corner

New Point Loma Lighthouse - Southwest corner

Key West Lighthouse - Southeast corner

West Quoddy Lighthouse - Northeast corner

The four corners of the contiguous United States of America!

Dave H completed the same journey a few days after us as he went to Flattery after the Sacramento Regional and we went there on the way to the Regional...

We Hoosiers don't always take the straightest route to and from somewhere, especially if there's a lighthouse we haven't seen within 500 miles or so that we can swing by and see..

Paul...I like the idea of the four corners. I am half-way there. I have been in Washington and Maine but not far enough in either state.

If you really want to count the most western lighthouse in the US then you need to visit Kilauea Lighthouse in Kauai, Hawaii.

That's why I said contiguous United States of America...

The furthest West contiguous lighthouse is Point Arena (I believe) and the furthest East contiguous lighthouse is West Quoddy... Sue and I have been to both...

BTW I believe Jake and Gloria Toering have also been to the four corner lighthouses!

Paul,

Thanks for pointing out this info again.

I'm going to have to try and get to Cape Flattery when we are in the Seattle area on our way to Korea.

We've got half of the four corners done- Key West and New Point Loma and one of these days we'll get to West Quoddy. We've been to Pt Arena also.(Heck, we've even got Kileua covered also)

Any idea what would constitute the Northern Most and Eastern Most Lighthouses? I'd imagine that West Quoddy would qualify for the Eastern most but what about the Northern most?

Dennis

Dennis...I don't know which one but I would have to say somewhere in Alaska would be the northern most.

Lorie,

I was continuing along the same line that Paul started with- the Contigunous United States- excluding alaska and Hawaii. (I know I confused the issue by mentioning Kileua- which brings up another point. Is Kileua actually the farthest west in the US or is it a Lighthouse in Alaska. Keep in mind the Earth gets narrower the further north you go and the longitude of Alaska is further west in some places than Hawaii. they are in the same time zone in part.)

Dennis

Dennis...last year when I was in Hawaii at the Kilauea lighthouse, the docent said Kauai was the most western point of any of the 50 states. He also said that Kilauea was the first lighthouse seen by ships traveling from the Orient eastbound across the Pacific.

The furthest Northern lighthouse in the contiguous USA will be Point Roberts Lighthouse when they build it but in the meantime Patos Island Light in Washington is the Northern most.. The Southern most is Key West..

I also believe that several of the Alaskan Lighthouses are further West than the Kilauea lighthouse...

Lorie,

The docent is correct about the first Light- if they are traveling to Hawaii or using that route to get somewhere else but if they aren't doing either of those the statement would not be true.

The docent is completely correct about it being the most western Lighthouse in the US. i did some research and found that Cape Hinchinbrook lighthouse is the farthest west in Alaska at 146.6466 Longitude while Kileua is at 159.4049 Longitude.

The farthest west used to be in Alaska, though. It was Scotch Cap which was situated at 163 Longitude.

So the docent is batting a potential 1000, but at least .500. I recall hearing the same thing when we were ther in July 2003.

Dennis

Thanks for the clarification Dennis. That's why I have all you smart guys out there to help me.

Jennifer, I hope you enjoy your trip. As a Northwest lighthouse lover they are all my favorites. I know you will be able to see several in a short amount of time, some are mere minutes apart by road and only a short walking distance in. I hope you have good weather. Our weather has been mild all winter and would have been excellent for your photography.

I flew over a lot of those lighthouses several years back. The west side of the state from Port Angeles and the San Juans from Port Townsend.
Both were very good and you get to see all of them in a shorter amount of time.
Derith