History/Info:
Cape Arago's tower is 44 feet high, and was illuminated in 1934. However, there were two other lighthouses built earlier on Cape Arago. The first tower was lit on November 1, 1866, and was Oregon's second lighthouse in operation. This lighthouse was a 25 foot octagonal tower supported by iron stilts. Then, on July 1, 1909, a second lighthouse was completed and began to operate. This house was 25 feet higher and included a siren fog-signal. Today, only the third lighthouse remains and sadly it is not available to the public.

Source: Oregon & Washington Coast Guide

Personal Notes:
We didn't realize the view we'd get from the state park was so distant. If we did we may not have bothered taking a trip that much off the beaten path (the "beaten path" being US101 in our case). After we viewed the lighthouse we stopped in at a nice little country store right at the bridge that crosses the South Slough. We got to talking with the very pleasant woman behind the counter. She told us that the lighthouse is very rarely open, and when it is it's usually not to the public. She said there's some sort of small bridge that connects the rocks the lighthouse is on to the mainland, and that the bridge is a bit dangerous so the Coast Guard doesn't want anyone out there. Ah well. The people we encountered were very nice and the surrounding area also is very nice. But the view of the lighthouse isn't.

Latitude/Longitude: 43°20'N 124°23'W

Directions: click here for overview map      click here for detail map

• From US101 in Coos Bay take Newmark St. heading west.
• Stay on Newmark St. for 3.7 miles then turn left onto Cape Arago Hwy.
• Take Cape Arago Hwy for about 7.7 miles into Sunset Bay State Park. There's a gravel pullout that'll give you a distant view of the lighthouse (probably about 1 mile away).