History/Info:
Cape Blanco is a spur that stretches one and a half miles off the Oregon Coast. At the end of it, Cape Blanco's lighthouse sits majestically on a 200 foot cliff. It is no wonder this lighthouse was among the first built along this coastline. Heavy wind and rain are common to this area, and the rocky terrain below is very sharp and dangerous. There have been a few shipwrecks in years past in the waters below. One such tragedy off these shores was the steamship "South Portland" that claimed the lives of 21 people on a trip to San Francisco in the early 1900s.

This Lighthouse lit its lamp on December 20th, 1870. The first principal keeper was H. B. Burnap. He and two of his assistants were responsible for the lighthouse. As the years drifted by, there were a number of keepers of the Cape Blanco Lighthouse - there were also a number of terrific stories. One such story details a submarine that sat off the coastline and launched a float plane that used the lighthouse as a navigation tool for bombing runs.

Source: Oregon & Washington Coast Guide

Hours:
10:00am - 3:30pm, Thursday through Monday, April - October.

Personal Notes:
Just our luck, we drive all the way to Cape Blanco, see that the parking lot is empty (lucky us!), then see a sign saying that the lighthouse is closed. The "More Photos" slideshow link above shows our photos of the light tour surrounded by scaffolding.

Latitude/Longitude: 42°50'N 124°34'W

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

• From Port Orford drive north on US101 and turn left on Cape Blanco Road (there are signs for the lighthouse).
• Take Cape Blanco Rd. to the end and park in the lot. The lighthouse is probably another 1/2 mile walk from the parking lot.