Cape Blanco Lighthouse was first lit on December 20, 1870 — making it Oregon’s oldest continuously operating lighthouse. Dive into the full story: how the Light-House Board authorized its construction in 1867, why bricks were kilned on-site, how Lt. Col. Robert Stockton Williamson engineered the tower, and what life was like on this wind-battered cape in the 19th century.
Cape Blanco sits at the southwestern edge of Oregon, jutting into the Pacific with a quiet authority that makes you stop and think about the people who named it. That name, “Blanco,” has been attached to this headland for over four centuries. The story behind it touches Spanish exploration, the practical habits of early navigators,…
Cape Blanco Lighthouse has earned its place in Oregon history. Perched on a basalt headland 245 feet above the Pacific, it has guided mariners through one of the most treacherous stretches of the West Coast since 1870. If you want to understand the Oregon coast, this lighthouse is a good place to start. Why Cape…
Cape Blanco sits at the far southwestern corner of Oregon, and if you’ve never visited, you’re missing one of the most dramatic coastal headlands in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve driven the Oregon coast from Astoria to Brookings more times than I can count, and Cape Blanco always stops me. It punches out further into the…
Oregon’s oldest standing lighthouse sits on a windswept headland 200 feet above the Pacific, and it still works. That fact alone sets Cape Blanco apart from the many historic lighthouses around the country that exist purely as museum pieces. If you plan to visit in 2026, or you simply want to understand what makes this…
Cape Blanco is Oregon’s most westerly point, a windswept headland where the Pacific crashes against sea stacks and elk graze meadows above dramatic cliffs. The hiking here is raw, beautiful, and surprisingly varied for a park of its size. You get old-growth forest, open coastal prairie, river bottomland, and clifftop views all within a few…
