Heceta Head Lighthouse

Heceta Head is a great place for a day at the beach!  Located twelve miles north of Florence (2+ miles north of Southview) on Highway #101, the small, enclosed, wind shielded cove (known simply as Devil’s Elbow, for the rock formation at the north end) is fun for wading, surfing, tide-pooling, and searching for just the right rocks.  Cape Creek flows through the southern portion of this area, and the Cape Creek Bridge takes Highway 101 over it.  But the main attraction to this site is the 1893 Heceta Head Lighthouse and the classic Queen Anne-style lighthouse-tenders house, now privately managed as a bed-and-breakfast under a contract with the Forest Service.  As of this writing, the lighthouse is open for tours (given by local volunteers) every afternoon from March through October.  The lighthouse is accessible only via a trail, most easily via the beach.  But recently that trail was extended to intersect with what’s known as Hobbit Trail near Highway 101 to the north.

The trail from the Devil’s Elbow parking lot to the lighthouse is about ½ mile long, each way, and is considered moderate in difficulty, with a 200 foot elevation gain.

The trailhead from the Hobbit Trail to the lighthouse begins about one mile north of the entrance to Devil’s Elbow.  Park on the east side of Highway #101, cross the highway to the Hobbit Trail (being careful!), but at the immediate junction, head south (left).  The trail runs parallel to the highway for a short distance, then veers away into a draw and starts up the airy forested hillside, first on steps and then on a series of switchbacks.  At about ¾ mile it levels off at a view of the coastline to the north, then drops down into a dark spruce forest, switching back and forth before meeting the southern lighthouse trail just east of the light.

This north trail is three miles long round trip, and its difficulty is considered to be moderate to strenuous, with a 400 foot elevation gain.

These photos were taken with an Olympus C4040Z digital camera from vantage points along both trails.  The hike starts with the thumbnail in the upper left hand corner and continues as you read a book (left to right, line to line).  Enjoy!