Cape Disappointment Lighthouse-Ilwaco, WA

After North Head, we made a few more stops...a scenic lookout and bridge over wetlands which were phenomenally beautiful. We spent quite some time at the excellent Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center (we read a great picture book "How We Crossed The West: The Adventures Of Lewis And Clark" by Rosalyn Schanzer and "Streams to the River, River to the Sea" by Scott O'Dell in preparation for the visit to Long Beach, Washington.

Anyways, it was time to make about a mile trek to Cape Disappointment lighthouse. After some elevation gain, we all needed to rest our feet and ate more snacks at the top of the bluff. It is like being at the top of the world or the edge of eternity or something...simply awesome scenery over the mouth of the mighty Columbia and the "Graveyard of the Pacific". We met Coast Guardman Joe who invited us into his watchtower and let Daniel peer through his telescope! John had lots of naval type inquiries and we learned A LOT about the sea from this generous guy.

Wow, we've already done FOUR lighthouses and we've had an absolute ball!

TRAVEL TIP: We made this a weekend getaway but could have spent more time. One of our favorite destinations was Waikiki Beach at Cape Disappointment state park. Tons of driftwood, a fantastic bathroom facility with showers and a sweet little beach with super soft sand and a walk on the jetty is not to be missed!

North Head Lighthouse-Ilwaco, WA

We spent the entire day at Cape Disappointment state park (take your Discover Pass). We took in so much but here I'm going to highlight our trek to North Head lighthouse. We had a nice walk to the North Head lighthouse, the scenery is breathtaking on the coast. Sadly, we weren't able to visit the lantern room because the stairs were in disrepair. Did you know that North Head is the #3 windiest location in the USA?!

After making the loop from parking lot, to nature trail, to lighthouse, to GIFT SHOP and back to car, we had already had a lovely day! Daniel slipped on the gravel and bravely endured some mild first aid, but otherwise the trip to North Head was a total success.

TRAVEL TIP: Cape Disappointment state park is outstanding! We could have spent an entire week there (camping!) with so much to do and good weather. Long Beach, Washington is nearby and has a great website to help you plan your trip, see FunBeach.com.

Admiralty Head Lighthouse-Whidbey Island, WA

Our trip to Whidbey Island was to include Bush Point "Lighthouse" and Admiralty Head lighthouse. We first stopped at Bush Point (see it here) and then we headed north to Fort Casey for Admiralty Head lighthouse. We were not disappointed! Not only is this lighthouse in superb condition, we got to go into the lantern area (free)! Of course, the gift shop drew us in and we came home with a poster of coastal lighthouses for the dining room. I found numbered map pins which will be so fun to document our lighthouse journeys!

We stayed the afternoon at Fort Casey and walked the entire bluff and explored what seemed like ALL of the bunkers. We watched the Port Townsend ferry boat shuttle back and forth across the sound as we hopped on the guns and ladders.  I would have to say the bathroom near the bunkers was really impressive! Brand new and really clean, don't we love that, girls? A gorgeous cool, sunny day. Just perfect for our outing. We ended our day with a walk on the beach at Ebey Landing.

TRAVEL TIP: Fort Casey was an all day adventure along with Ebey Landing. I thought we were only visiting a lighthouse, but it turned out to be much, much more. Plan on it!

Bush Point Lighthouse-Whidbey Island, WA

Now I see why the Bush Point Lighthouse is not on every list of Washington state lighthouses. It is more of a "beacon". Nestled in between residential homes in a charming beach side community, we took photos with the four of us. I told the kids to bring their two favorite stuffed animals to be in individual photos that they can use to make a lighthouse scrapbook of their own. This was a tiny bit anti-climactic after some reading about lighthouse history and promises of Fresnel lenses! Daniel especially was disappointed...we have nicknamed this lighthouse "the lame one".

Just so you know we got as close as we could...private property prohibited closer photos.

After this stop we headed north to Admiralty Head lighthouse which you can read about here.

TRAVEL TIP: There are two routes to Whidbey Island from Seattle.
A) Drive north I-5 to Mt Vernon, west on 20, then south on 20 onto Whidbey (see Deception Pass!)
or
B) Drive north I-5 to Mukilteo and take the ferry across to Whidbey

First Post

ThiWe are trying to We have a goal to visit all the lighthouses in Washington and Oregon. There's no time limit to complete this goal. The only "rule" is that we must get one good photo that includes the four of us and the lighthouse in the same frame. Join me as I journal our trips to the lighthouses of the Pacific Northwest!