Oregon Coast’s Heceta Head Lighthouse

I don’t know about you guys, but I personally think it would be so awesome to spend the night in a lighthouse.  If I were to actually lose my cheapskate ways long enough to pay for that dream, I would stay in Heceta Head Lighthouse near Florence, OR.

I had the pleasure of visiting this Lighthouse in 2015.  We kind of made a mad dash to it after spending a long day exploring the Coast. We were staying in Yachats, and after a late dinner we decided that the only acceptable place to watch the sunset was at this particular Lighthouse, which was 20 minutes away.

The problem we faced is that when my sister and I travel together, we have to stop and say hello to every pretty flower and tree along the way to our destination…and sunset was less than an hour away!

We managed to not stop quite as many times as we might’ve liked, and we were rewarded with a pretty-near-empty Lighthouse – and the perfect sunset!

Directions: This Lighthouse lies pretty close to the middle between Yachats and Florence.  It’s roughly 12 miles north of Florence and 14 miles south of Yachats. Lying directly on HWY-101, you really can’t miss it.  The turn-off is well marked, and if you are coming from Florence you may actually see the Lighthouse before you see the turn-off.

Fees/Permits: $5 parking for day use

Distance: 0.5 miles from parking lot to Lighthouse (and it’s steep!)

So you can probably tell from the pictures that sunset was fast approaching!! We quickly got onto the Heceta Head trail and started to climb as fast as our little legs would allow!

Once you hit the Light Keeper’s House, you know you are getting close! Both the Lighthouse and the Light Keeper’s house were finished in 1893 – 1894. The actual Lighthouse is perched on a hill top about 205ft above the ocean! It’s still a working Lighthouse, and its light can be seen 21 miles out in the ocean, making it the brightest Lighthouse on the coast of Oregon! Check out this link if you want to read more about the history and what events the Lighthouse offers!

There are picnic tables by the parking lot, and the Heceta Head trail is part of a 7-mile trail network, so the area offers a lot of hiking.  Also, the Sea Lion Cave is literally across the cove from here! You could easily make a day of it in this little area if you aren’t a Johnny-come-lately like myself!

The really awesome part about being a Johnny-come-lately is that we literally only saw 2 other people while we were here – something that didn’t happen often on this trip!

Shortly after passing the Light Keeper’s House, we reached the Lighthouse.

We had a tiny bit of time left before the sun dipped below the horizon, so we followed the trail up the hill behind the Lighthouse to get a different view!

This truly is an awesome place to watch the sunset – I can’t recommend it enough!

I still can’t believe we made it in time…it was kind of a miracle.

The Light Keeper’s House is a Bed and Breakfast where you could stay if you wanted – and supposedly is haunted! I think it would be a beautiful place to stay, but I have to admit, it’d be a whole lot cooler if you could actually sleep in the Lighthouse 🙁 Maybe one day!

Long story short, when you make your trip to Oregon, you have to include Heceta Head Lighthouse!! You will regret it if you don’t!

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Until next time!