Washington’s first lighthouse could only be seen by half the ships looking for it, and the park around it just reopened after nearly ten months closed
Washington’s very first lighthouse couldn’t do its whole job. Cape Disappointment Lighthouse switched on October 15, 1856, becoming the first lighthouse ever built in the Pacific Northwest — and it still couldn’t warn ships coming from the north, because the headland itself blocked the beam. The fix took over 40 years and a second tower two miles up the coast.
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A lighthouse four years in the making
Congress set aside $53,000 for the project back in 1852, and construction still dragged on. The first Fresnel lens that arrived was too large for the tower, so builders had to rebuild it before the light could go live.
When it finally switched on, Cape Disappointment held the title of the first lighthouse ever built in the Pacific Northwest. It’s still standing today, right at the mouth of the Columbia River, inside what’s now Cape Disappointment State Park.
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The backup light that stole the spotlight
North Head Lighthouse went up in 1897 and 1898, about two miles north of the original, specifically to cover the blind spot ships from the north kept running into. Its tower stands 65 feet tall on a cliff roughly 130 feet above the ocean, and Cape Disappointment’s strongest lens got moved over to it once construction wrapped.
North Head is arguably the more photogenic of the two now, especially with waves crashing beneath it during a winter storm. My take: if you only have time for one lighthouse, make it this one — the cliffside setting is the better payoff, and its interior is actually open to walk through, seasonally, from May through the end of September.
Why this stretch of coast needed two lighthouses
Cape Disappointment sits right where the Columbia River meets the open Pacific, and that collision creates one of the most dangerous river bars in the world to cross by boat. Sailors have called it the Graveyard of the Pacific since the California Gold Rush, and by one widely cited estimate, more than 2,000 ships have wrecked here since record-keeping began in 1792.
What’s actually open right now
Here’s the timely part: Cape Disappointment State Park spent nine and a half months partly closed for an $8 million construction project that started in September 2025, shutting down Waikiki Beach, the campgrounds, and the North Jetty. The park reopened on July 1, 2026, just ahead of the Fourth of July.
Waikiki Beach, the campgrounds, Beard’s Hollow, the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, and both lighthouse areas are all open again — the only piece still finishing up is the new Welcome Center near the entrance. If you want the full breakdown of everything else the park has to offer, we’ve covered that separately.
You’ll need a Discover Pass to park at either trailhead — $10 for the day or $45 for the year.
Hiking to both lighthouses
The walk out to Cape Disappointment Lighthouse is short and easy: about 1.2 miles round trip with roughly 278 feet of climbing, mostly through wind-bent shore pine. North Head’s trail is even shorter — a flat 0.6-mile out-and-back that most people finish in under 20 minutes.
Trip tips: grab a rental car to get out here, lock in your hotel before the good rooms are gone, or skip both and book a camper van instead.
Rules and fees change — always confirm current requirements before you go.
