Oregon Lighthouses

After I blogged about Yaquina Head lighthouse yesterday, Jerry and Suzy of Our Life on Wheels asked if we had visited the other Newport lighthouse.  We didn’t visit it this trip, but we saw it in December of last year. 

Newport has two lighthouses, each very different from the other.  The names of the two are similar.  Yaquina Bay Lighthouse is located in town and Yaquina Head Lighthouse is  located about five miles north of Newport. 

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, photographed 12-30-09

It’s still on our to-do list to see the inside of this lighthouse.  I understand that the house is decorated like when the lighthouse keeper and his family lived there.  While it’s interesting to see the actual light, it’s also interesting to find out what their lives were like while tending to the lighthouse.  

Yaquina Head Lighthouse, photographed 7-6-10

 This picture on display inside Yaquina Head Lighthouse shows the layout in 1877 and in 1955.  All the buildings except for the lighthouse and the building attached to it are now gone. 

For lighthouse-lovers, Newport, and indeed, the entire Oregon coast, contains a wealth of lighthouses. Oregon has eleven lighthouses.  Click here to see pictures and a map of them.

Heceta Head Lighthouse, north of Florence, photographed 12-28-09

We visited Heceta Head when we were in Yachats after Christmas last year.  We were fortunate to be there when the lighthouse was open and we got a guided tour of it.  Even though it was winter and cold, we had sunshine that day!

Dave and I like to visit lighthouses.  We have only seen a few of the ones on the Oregon coast, because most of them are located on the southern part of the coast and we live nearer to the northern part of the coast.  There’s always more to see!