Cape Meares Lighthouse — Attraction in Tillamook

I first visited this lighthouse after the visitor center had closed for the day, but it was still worth visiting. I recently went while it was open and got to take the tour, which was even better.

The lighthouse is less than .25 miles from the parking lot and the path down is paved and wide enough for wheelchairs. It winds around to keep from being too steep. A short walk, but one with gorgeous views of the Pacific Ocean.

The lighthouse is the shortest lighthouse in Oregon. If the visitors center is open, check it out. They have plenty of postcards and other items in the gift shop. There's a video about the lighthouse history that plays in a small room just off the gift shop. And there's a free guided tour that takes you up the narrow, spiral staircase to see the view and the lens. You have to ask about it at the gift shop counter and there may be a bit of a wait, so check in for that before you explore outside.

The tour isn't a particularly long climb (maybe 2 stories) and kids can go with an adult. However it's not wheelchair or walker accessible. Fortunately the rest of the lighthouse and the area around it is accessible and worth visiting.

If you visit, it's worth checking out the Octopus Tree, a short hike from the opposite side of the...

Cape Meares has a great location, though I imagine quite windy at times. The main path to the lighthouse has a slow decline/incline. It is well maintained. Along the left side of the trail you can take the coastline path. The waves begin about 1/2 mile from show, it's impressive. There is a ranger on duty at times who can give great information. I wouldn't say this lighthouse path is friendly to anyone with mobility challenges. There is a restroom, but you do need to trek up a little hill. Cars can drop you off, but there isn't parking. The same hill path will take you to the octopus tree, which is pretty cool. Another well maintained and short path. The drive to the Cape is long and windy through a residential community. There is regular road construction on the last leg of the journey. Sometimes it is closed all together. Almost every time I attempt to visit (over the course of 20 years), the road is impassable due to landslide or collapsed road. After the long drive out there, it is pretty disappointing having...

Cape Meares has the distinction of being the shortest lighthouse on the Oregon Coast at only 38 feet tall. The lighthouse however, stands over 200 feet above the sea. Built in 1890, the cast iron and brick lighthouse helped guide vessels into Tillamook Bay before being decommissioned in 1963. The light’s first order Fresnel lens is unique in that it’s eight sided with ruby red glass bullseyes that increased the brightness to where it could be seen up to 21 miles in clear weather! The lens rotated once every four minutes with a steady white light followed by a red flash every minute. Keepers lived in two houses that sat where the parking area is today. After being abandoned and heavily vandalized, they were torn down in the late 1960s. The square building you see next to the tower used to contain a small beacon on the roof which replaced the old lighthouse in 1963. In 2014, this light was also discontinued and today, there’s no longer a navigational aid on...