VIRTUAL
TOUR OF NEWPORT Yaquina Head Lighthouse |
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On the tip of three-mile-long Yaquina Head, sits the big one, standing at 93 feet tall. This one - Oregon's oldest and tallest - first lit up in 1873, sometime after the name of the headland was finally switched from Cape Foulweather (and the cape ten miles up the road received that name). From Cape Foulweather - or from any Newport beach - it's always an engaging pleasure to sit and watch the light come around with its signature flashes and spaces between the flashes. There are no keeper's quarters for this one. They were built in 1873, but demolished in 1984. There are 114 steps up to the very top, which guides let you briefly peek into. The view from here is astounding as well - even if it's only for a second. Like Heceta Head, there have been tales of hauntings for Yaquina Head's lighthouse. Purportedly, a lighthouse keeper assistant named Higgins died on a fall on the winding, twisting stairway. Thereafter, other lighthouse keepers were afraid to wander up the steps alone, should they encounter the presence of their otherworldly predecessor. In recent years,
the Bureau of Land Management - which oversees the lighthouse -
received a letter from a descendant of Higgins which debunked this
myth. It turns out Higgins moved to Portland and eventually became
a dockworker - never dying in the lighthouse at all. Open daily
for tours from 12 - 4 p.m. in the busy season. Yaquina Head Outstanding
Natural Area is open every |
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