North Head Lighthouse at Cape Disappointment Washington

North Head lighthouse is located at the North section of Cape Disappointment State Park in Washington. The most-frequently photographed lighthouse in Cape Disappointment is North Head, with precarious position on a steep bluff above the crashing waves. The short trail to the lighthouse provides a nice, wheelchair-accessible outing, and adding the 0.3-mile-long Bell's Overlook trail nearby rounds out the experience nicely.

The hike is about 3/4 of a mile round trip and is very family friendly and also wheelchair accessible. In order to do this hike and make it wheelchair accessible you will need to take the left paved path and not the right. The right path has some stairs making it a little harder to navigate. To find the left path leave the parking area and head north. When you see the building shown below you will have a choice of the two paths. These are the lighthouse keepers' quarters.

The three former lighthouses keepers' quarters are for rent, and each with 3 bedrooms upstairs (two with queens and one with 2 twins). Bathroom in each house is off the kitchen. The houses can accommodate a maximum of six people. If you are interested in renting one of these, you can check out this website: Cape Disappointment | Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission

There is also a little general store here along with a chicken coop that is no longer in operation.

The pictures shown here are from taking the right path and I did the loop and came back down the other path. If you have a family either path is fine but if you have a wheelchair, take the same path round trip.

The hike is pretty easy, and the elevation gain is only 25 feet.

North Head is one of the windiest places in the United States, with wind velocities in excess of 100 mph being frequently measured. The U.S. Weather Bureau built a station on North Head between the lighthouse and keeper’s dwellings in 1902. On January 29, 1921, winds were clocked at 126 mph before the measuring instrument blew away. Fearing for their safety, the weather observers sought refuge in the keeper’s dwellings as they were more sturdily built. The weather station closed in 1955, and the buildings were later demolished.

The views of the Pacific Ocean are spectacular.

After Cape Disappointment Lighthouse was established in 1856 to mark the entrance to the Columbia River, mariners approaching the river from the north complained they could not see the light until they had nearly reached the river. Their cry for an additional lighthouse was supported by the many shipwrecks that occurred along the Long Beach Peninsula, just north of the cape. This is why the North Head Lighthouse was built and why there are also two Lighthouses so close to each other.

Hiking on the right path from the lighthouse keeper's homes is a gravel path and if you take the left path the hike is paved thus making it wheelchair accessible.

Explore the park! The other trails add up to 12 miles of trails in all! For other options, consider the North Head Trail (which departs from the same parking area and descends to the beach below) the Coastal Forest Loop or the Discovery Trail.

Explore around the lighthouse grounds and when you head back to the parking area, look to your left for the Bell's Overlook Trail. This is a nice little detour and if you have the time definitely hike this small trail.

North Head is the most intact light station in the Pacific Northwest. All of its original buildings remaining standing, including the tower, two oil houses, two residences, a barn, chicken coop, and garages.