Yaquina Head has Oregon’s tallest lighthouse, and right now you can only see the ground floor
Yaquina Head Lighthouse has stood 93 feet over the Oregon Coast since 1873, making it the tallest lighthouse in the state. Right now, the staircase inside is closed for restoration, so tours only reach the ground floor.
That’s not the dealbreaker it sounds like. This stretch of coast just north of Newport was never really about the climb — it’s about everything happening at sea level.
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What’s open right now
The lighthouse itself is still worth the stop. A paved loop path circles the base of the tower and delivers sweeping views of the headland and open ocean, no stairs required.
Inside, the shortened ground-floor tour still covers more than 150 years of maritime history. Tours aren’t guaranteed daily, so check in at the Interpretive Center, which opens at 10 a.m., to see if one’s running.
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The real show is at Cobble Beach
Head down from the lighthouse loop and you land on Cobble Beach, where rounded basalt rocks clatter like applause every time a wave rolls through.
From May through September, Yaquina Head’s colony of common murres — 60,000 to 80,000 birds most seasons — packs the offshore rocks to nest, making it one of the largest seabird colonies on the West Coast.
Time it around low tide and the exposed reef fills in with orange sea stars, purple urchins, and green anemones. The BLM can restrict access to Cobble Beach and the tide pools during nesting season if the birds need the space, so it’s worth checking conditions before you go.
Quarry Cove skips the stairs entirely
A short walk from the lighthouse, Quarry Cove has a paved, wheelchair-accessible path down to its own tide pools and an observation platform. Ask the entrance station or Interpretive Center for a gate opener if you need it.
Want the full rundown on both of Newport’s lighthouses — Yaquina Head and its smaller, wooden cousin at Yaquina Bay? We’ve got a guide for that.
Getting in
A day pass runs $7 per vehicle for three days, or $15 for a 12-month pass to Yaquina Head specifically. Walkers and cyclists get in free, and the site honors America the Beautiful passes too.
Summer hours run 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, with the Interpretive Center open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
Trip tips: grab a rental car to get up the coast, or lock in a hotel in Newport if you want to stick around for sunset over Cobble Beach.
Rules and fees change — always confirm current requirements before you go.
Tower closed or not — is a beach full of 80,000 nesting seabirds worth the drive for you?
