As ship traffic was increasing near the middle of the 1800’s due to forest harvesting along Oregon’s southern coast one of the more popular places for ships to doc and load was at Coos Bay and it became apparent they needed a lighthouse to mark the entrance of the bay. Because the Cilvel War was being faught at the time, they were trying to keep expenses down to built a tower in 1866; a 25-foot octagonal tower housing a fourth-order Fresnel lens was built. It stood for about 43 years when another lighthouse was constructed in 1908, this second lighthouse was close to twice the height and it was also equipped with a foghorn and siren. The lighthouse you now see at Cape Arago was built farther east, the tower is 44-feet high and it was first lit in 1934, after 32 years of service it was automated in 1966 and was decommissioned 40-years later, in 2006
The Cape Arago Lighthouse is not open to the public and is guarded by an automatic gate controlled by the Coast Guard. You can view the Cape Arago Lighthouse from a viewpoint at a pullout on the road. The signature for the lighthouse is three white flashes every 30 seconds.
Travel Directions: From Highway 101 in Coos Bay take the Newmark Street west. Newmark street will become Cape Arago Highway and will change name a couple more times, just stay on the same road past Sunset Bay State Park, next you will pass by an entrance on the left to a camping area. You are now getting close and there will be a pullout for parking on the right. From here you can walk to a viewpoint where you can see the Cape Arago Lighthouse in the distance. You can also check weather temperatures from the car to see if warmer clothing is needed, the temperature at the viewpoint will be the same as at the car. If you plan to take pictures a high-powered lens is highly recommended.
Check the weather at Cape Arago Lighthouse
Along the southern coast of Oregon sits the Cape Arago Lighthouse in the distance
Cape Arago Lighthouse is not open to the public and can only be viewed at a distance
These next three pictures were taken with a Yashica TL Super 35mm and a 400mm telephoto lens
As you walk from the parking area off to the right is a nice pretty green path through the trees;
this path it will wind through the tree and provide some nice additional views of the lighthouse.
This is one of the views of the lighthouse in the distance peeking through the trees.
This is a blow-up view of the lighthouse through the trees.
