Heceta Head Lighthouse   •   Circa: 1894   •  Active

Facts: Tower 56'   •   Focal Plane 205'   •   Visibility: 21 miles   •   Signal: Flash White, 10 Seconds
Latitude: 44 08.3 N   •   Longitude: 124 07.6 W
1st Order Lens English Lens by: Chance Brothers
National Register of Historic Places #78002296  •   Listed November 28, 1978

If you are looking to visit a lighthouse that is located on an isolated promontory, look no farther than Oregon’s most photographed lighthouse. The Heceta Head Lighthouse located 12 miles north of Florence gives you that feeling of isolation and much more.

The 56 foot white tower sits high on a rugged headland overlooking the Pacific with a backdrop of Sitka spruce and shore pines. The headland, named after the Portuguese explorer, Don Bruno de Heceta (ha SEA ta), is a great place to view the lighthouse, as well as sea lions, gray whales, and in the spring and summer, nesting seabirds.

The lighthouse has been guiding ships with Oregon’s most powerful light since 1894. It houses an English made first order Fresnel lens with a rotating beam that can be seen 21 miles out to sea. For many years the lens rotated by a weight being lowered on a cable, similar to a grandfather clock. It was the responsibility of the keepers on the nightly watch to periodically rewind the weight to continue the rotation. Today the lens turns with the aid of a 1.5 horsepower motor.

In 1934, life at the station changed dramatically with the addition of electricity. The task of tending the light was made easier, but it also contributed to the loss of an assistant keeper position.

The biggest change at the station occurred in 1963, when the lighthouse was automated. A resident keeper was no longer required, so Oswald Allik was relieved of his position. Incidentally, he was also the last keeper at Tillamook Rock.

Today, the station is the best preserved lighthouse complex on the Oregon Coast. The majority of the station buildings are intact, which include the Assistant Keepers quarters, two oil houses, and a garage.

Notes:
1994 - During routine maintenance and cleaning of the lens a bullseye and several rings were dislodged and broken, but the bullseye itself was unharmed. Hardin Optical of Bandon, Oregon created the replacement prisms and restored the lens at a cost of $25,000.

Visitor Hours: 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM Daily
Memorial Day through September
Check with the Park for Christmas Events

Heceta Head Lighthouse is operated by:
Oregon State Parks, Florence, Oregon

Heceta Head Bed & Breakfast & Gift Shop
is a private operation licensed through the U.S Forest Service