What: Yaquina Head Lighthouse
Where: North end of Newport, Oregon.
When: August 2009
Why: Tallest Lighthouse in Oregon. I like lighthouses.
How Much: $7 per car, free for National Parks passholders like us
How Long: 1 hour for lighthouse, more for beaches and visitor center
At 93 feet tall, it's the tallest lighthouse in oregon. We were just exploring this section of the coast, so we stopped for a brief visit. There is a visitor center that we didn't go to. There is a paved, accessible trail to the beach that looked cool, but we didn't go there either. There is another cove/beach that is a short hike down some stairs, and we didn't do that either, but there are supposed to be good tidepools to explore.
We went to the lighthouse. Unfortunately, you have to be 42 inches tall to climb to the top and K was an inch too short. They are very strict about height, so be warned. If you're too short, you get a coloring page and they tell you to bring it back when you're tall enough and your whole family gets a free 3-day pass to the park. Whoop de doo.
There was a long wait, 20 minutes maybe? to climb the stairs. A BLM employee stands there to tell you when you can go up. You climb 3 flights of winding stairs and then you have to wait again at the top for your chance to climb about 7 stairs up to the window so you can see this view:
This is the lens you see. I have no idea why they think it's too dangerous or scary for my 4-year-old who can climb Astoria column and actually stand outside in the wind, or who could go on the Bobsleds roller coaster at Disneyland when she was 2 years old, but cannot climb this dumb lighthouse.Where: North end of Newport, Oregon.
When: August 2009
Why: Tallest Lighthouse in Oregon. I like lighthouses.
How Much: $7 per car, free for National Parks passholders like us
How Long: 1 hour for lighthouse, more for beaches and visitor center
At 93 feet tall, it's the tallest lighthouse in oregon. We were just exploring this section of the coast, so we stopped for a brief visit. There is a visitor center that we didn't go to. There is a paved, accessible trail to the beach that looked cool, but we didn't go there either. There is another cove/beach that is a short hike down some stairs, and we didn't do that either, but there are supposed to be good tidepools to explore.
We went to the lighthouse. Unfortunately, you have to be 42 inches tall to climb to the top and K was an inch too short. They are very strict about height, so be warned. If you're too short, you get a coloring page and they tell you to bring it back when you're tall enough and your whole family gets a free 3-day pass to the park. Whoop de doo.
There was a long wait, 20 minutes maybe? to climb the stairs. A BLM employee stands there to tell you when you can go up. You climb 3 flights of winding stairs and then you have to wait again at the top for your chance to climb about 7 stairs up to the window so you can see this view:
So W waited with K while I took the other kids up, and then he went up while we looked at the ocean. It was very windy, and the tide was coming in, so we couldn't see the harbor seals that were out by these rocks. We could see some birds, though.
Also, they have pins you can get for a small donation. The one at the top says "I survived" climbing the lighthouse. Moms like me who are suckers for this stuff, bring a dollar with you to donate. :)
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