The Coolest Lighthouses in the Newport, Oregon Area

When traveling to Oregon, you HAVE to visit Newport, one of the most interesting areas with tons of history. You can visit various tourist attractions, engage in outdoor activities, eat in the best seafood restaurants, many of which are family-friendly and for everyone.

And if you love to visit lighthouses, then you can rejoice! Newport has cool and picturesque lighthouses with histories to interest the entire family. But where are they exactly and how can you visit them?

There are two you need to visit, so check out these coolest lighthouses in Newport to know where to go.

The Yaquina Bay Lighthouse

A huge piece of Oregon history is on a bluff, right at the mouth of Yaquina River. This is the historic Yaquina Bay Lighthouse!

The lighthouse was built in 1871 then decommissioned 3 years later. It became obsolete after the Yaquina Head Lighthouse was created, located up the coast, just a few miles away.

Another fact that makes this lighthouse so interesting is that it is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, structure located in Newport. It’s part of the National Register of Historic Places and the only Oregon lighthouse that has living quarters. Furthermore, it’s the only historic wooden lighthouse in Oregon that still stands.

That said, there have been rumors of it being haunted, though don’t worry! The haunting stories were most likely originated from fiction short stories in the late 1800s.

The lighthouse was officially restored on December 7, 1996, used as a privately maintained aid for navigating. It had its own official relighting ceremony on the same day, taking place with the US Coast Guard.

The light is 161 feet above sea level and would shine steady white lights from night until early morning. There are times that it lights up during dark days, though a photocell controls the light.

Visiting Yaquina Bay Lighthouse

If you plan on going to the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, you’ll be happy to know that it’s open to the public daily! They are closed during the holidays though, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Furthermore, the entrance is free through donation.

You can head to the lighthouse through paved trails, followed by a walkway that leads to the hilltop in the Yaquina Bay State Park. It’s located at the northern end of Yaquina Bay Bridge, making it pretty accessible.

If you aren’t able to access it through the trail, you can go to the large parking lot, which is located behind the lighthouse. The entrance is at the SW Government and 9^th street.

When you go to the lighthouse, you can visit the watch room, climbing two flights of stairs. The only room that is NOT open to the public is the lantern room. You can go to the basement though, which is open to everyone and would feature videos about this beautiful lighthouse.

There is also an interpretive store that sells a lot of educational merchandise about lighthouses, as well as the coastal habitat around the area.

Before or after heading to the lighthouse, you can enjoy the beauty of Yaquina Bay State Park! There are many walking trails in forested lands, beach access, fishermen’s memorials, and even a fantastic overlook with views of Yaquina Bay. It’s something anyone will enjoy, from solo travelers to couples, families and groups of friends.

The Yaquina Head Lighthouse

The next lighthouse you should visit is the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, which replaced the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse in the 1870s. It’s Oregon’s tallest lighthouse at 93 feet, which also has a strong of lighthouses placed strategically along the Pacific coastline.

You can find the lighthouse on the narrow basalt peninsula, spilling to the Pacific Ocean. It’s visible from land from miles and miles into the ocean!

The lighthouse used to be called the Cape Foulweather Light at Yaquina Point, with construction beginning in 1871. It finished and was ready for operations in 1873, replacing the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse.

The Fresnel Lens is the lighthouse’s oldest part, over 150 years old! It was designed and manufactured by Barbier & Fenestra in Paris, France, back in 1868. Pretty far from Newport, right?

The lens was packaged carefully, being shipped from France to Panama, crossing the isthmus, then delivered north to Oregon. The original lens was made in the early 1800s, used in 1823 by a French lighthouse before heading to Oregon. It is a multi-part lens that’s lighter and thinner than the traditional lens, with the ability to be seen from 20 miles out.

When construction began, there wasn’t any real road to the lighthouse yet, so all the materials necessary for building and construction had to be transported to a small cove via steamship.

Workers had to haul those materials up to the headland, with over 370,000 bricks used for the lighthouse construction. The wall of the conical structures was built to have a thickness of 5 feet!

After completion of construction, which was on August 20, 1873, Fayette Crosby, the lighthouse keeper, lit its 4-wich lard-fueled lamp.

Visiting Yaquina Head Lighthouse

The last resident lighthouse keeper left in 1966, after the installation of a computer system to help control the light. The Bureau of Land Management now takes responsibility for the lighthouse, as well as the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area.

There are guides who would lead historical tours daily, and you can go to the area with ease. It’s only a $7 entrance fee (per car). You can also roam around the area, where there are spectacular trails to find various kinds of wildlife (you might also be able to go fishing, too)!

Wrapping It Up

Newport, Oregon is home to two lighthouses that are filled with history and beauty. Whether you’re a lighthouse lover or want to visit all the tourist attractions, head to these two lighthouses. They are a must-add to your vacation, being the coolest lighthouses in Newport.

Hopefully, you learned more about Newport and the lighthouses they are proud to showcase to the public. Don’t wait any longer and make sure your itinerary includes these lighthouses now!