Coastal Living Magazine
10 Oct 2006
Lighthouse Inns
Overnight lodging brings the romance of these coastal sentinels to life.
 (Photo of Heceta Head Lighthouse, Yachats, Oregon from NOAA)
By Jennifer Chappell, Susan Haynes, and Steve Millburg
Coastal Living originally featured some of these lighthouses in March-April 1998 (page 40). A story in our May-June 2000 issue described a family's experiences tending the Rose Island Lighthouse (page 126). Enjoy this compilation of enlightened lodging.
North Head Lighthouse, Ilwaco, WA
Lighthouse keepers once occupied two Victorian-era houses on this cliff overlooking the place where the raging Pacific meets the Columbia River. The houses, each with three bedrooms and fully equipped modern kitchens, are part of Fort Canby State Park. They don't offer much in the way of decor. No matter. With these views, you'll spend your time looking out the windows anyway. Open year-round. Rates start at $229; 800/360-4240 or fortcanby.org.
Heceta Head Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast, Yachats, OR
Keepers Mike and Carol Korgan always insist that visitors take a nighttime trip to the lighthouse to see how the lens works. With flashlights in hand, guests clamber along a narrow trail carved into a cliff. They stand with backs against the tower and look up to see the brilliant beams of the light sweeping across the countryside and the churning Pacific Ocean, 205 feet below. It's an astonishing experience. The inn, converted from the keeper's house, offers a view of the light tower, the landmark Cape Creek Bridge, and the sea. Some visitors find the pounding of the surf so beguiling that they sleep with the windows open. Open year-round. Rates start at $147; 541/547-3696 or hecetalighthouse.com.
NOTE: only the paragraphs regarding Oregon and Washington lighthouses are included in this copy.
SOURCE: http://www.coastalliving.com/coastal/travel/lodginganddining/article/0,14587,480499-1,00.html
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