An entry level onto U.S. Freeway 101 within the coronary heart of Oregon’s Central Coast, the neighborhood of Reedsport has nearly all the pieces you’d need for a day journey on the coast. We’ve visited Reedsport twice this yr, filling our lengthy weekends in quaint eating places alongside the Umpqua River and discovering a family-friendly discovery heart and a stunning roadside cease with an interpretive viewing space for the native elk inhabitants.
Whale Watching Platform
Visiting the Umpqua Lighthouse and Museum
Each occasions we’ve made tenting reservations at Umpqua Lighthouse State Park, as soon as in a heated cabin and as soon as in our new (to us) camper trailer. Because the identify implies the important thing attraction at Umpqua Lighthouse State Park is the Umpqua River Lighthouse, a 65-foot lighthouse constructed in 1890 that now operates with a 616 prism Fresnel lens casting it’s white and ruby pink signature sample 21 nautical miles out to sea.
Umpqua Lighthouse on a Cloudy Day
A wonderful vantage level for seasonal whale watching, the lighthouse and museum are constructed on the bluffs over wanting the Oregon dunes, a well-liked vacation spot for ATV adventuring (you’ll want to carry your binoculars). In case you go, you’ll want to buy tickets for a lighthouse tour contained in the reward store.
Umpqua Lighthouse Museum, Cafe, and Present Store
Umpqua Lighthouse Tour
Led by museum docents, lighthouse excursions are provided year-round between the hours of 9am and 6pm. You’ll be taught in regards to the development of the lighthouse (and the unique lighthouse that collapsed when the Umpqua River skilled a flood of damaging magnitude in 1857), how the unique keepers labored and lived, and the way the sunshine was transformed from oil to electrical energy right now.
Touring the Umpqua Lighthouse
The 2-story museum, housed within the authentic U.S. Coast Guard station, you may discover lots of of paperwork, pictures, and artifacts that current the evolution of the nautical lifesaving practices all through Oregon’s historical past. The second ground displays are replicas of how enlisted members and officers lived and labored within the facility.
Displays within the Umpqua Lighthouse Museum
One of many highlights of tenting at Umpqua Lighthouse State Park is strolling as much as the overlook at night time. Fairly actually a crown projecting beacons of sunshine into the darkness, this picture doesn’t do the expertise justice.
Umpqua Lighthouse After Darkish
Whereas we camped on the close by state park campground, you’ll discover a handful of close by tenting and lodging choices. Within the morning, you’ll want to head to the Sugar Shack Bakery for decent espresso and a few of the most scrumptious pastries I’ve had on my many adventures throughout the nation. For a close-by journey, go for a hike on the the Oregon Dunes Nationwide Recreation Space.
Sugar Shack Bakery
Ebook Your Keep
Pleased Trails!
