They were once beacons of light for ships in the night — a highway of flashing signals that allowed commerce to flourish along Oregon's rugged coastline in the 19th Century.

Today, the role of lighthouses in Oregon has changed. They've gone from Pacific guideposts to popular tourist attractions bringing thousands to some of the state's most dramatic vistas.

(They do still serve as backup navigational aids, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.)

Even though the role of lighthouse keeper has been obsolete for decades, there remains a lot of interest in walking inside these elegant buildings, climbing their rounded staircases and looking across the sweep of ocean blue while the giant eye of a Fresnel lens spins.

The question is how to make that happen.

Eleven lighthouses are currently standing on the Oregon Coast, but you're only allowed to walk inside of seven, climb to the top of five and walk around the lens room of two.

The experience of visiting Oregon lighthouses is, in other words, a mixed bag.

Here's our guide to visiting all of them, with a special emphasis on how to climb to the top.

Lighthouses you can visit and tour

There are seven Oregon Coast lighthouses you can visit and get a tour of the inside. None of the tours are quite the same. The places you're allowed to climb, the cost of each tour, the hours and whether children can come changes from lighthouse to lighthouse.

Our guide answers most of the big questions, but we've also included phone numbers worth calling in advance of any trip.

This guide goes from north to south.

Cape Meares (38 feet)

Cape Meares is the shortest of the publicly owned lighthouses on the Oregon Coast and offers a stripped back experience with plenty of options for day trip adventures.

The lighthouse is open daily 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. May through September. Hours extend to 6 p.m. on weekends during June, July and August. Admission and tours are free.

The staircase is pretty short, but this is one of the only lighthouses where you can walk around the lens and peer out over the sea, enjoying the same view the keepers did over a century ago.

Other highlights at Cape Meares include beautiful short hikes to places such as the famed Octopus tree, a huge Sikta Spruce that historians say was used by local tribes for ceremonies and was trained into its distinctive octopus shape. The tree is 45 feet wide and 105 feet tall with huge branches jutting out 16 feet sideways from the base then turning to point straight up to the sky.

For more information call Cape Lookout State Park at 503-842-3182.

Yaquina Head (93 feet)

The tallest lighthouse on the Oregon Coast is also the most popular and offers the best overall tours.

Interpretive rangers don't just give you a dry history, they play the role of lighthouse keeper, explaining in first-person how hard was used to power the lens and what became of keepers who didn't keep their rooms tidy. Hint: they were kicked off the rock.

The tours take visitors to the top of the lighthouse where you're allowed to stick your head into the lens room, but you can't walk around the tip-top.

Located just north of Newport, there's a $7 entrance fee to the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area and a $1 fee for the lighthouse tour. Tickets for lighthouse tours are sold at the visitor's center, but during summer, purchasing pre-arrival reservations is strongly recommended. Tickets can be reserved 90 days in advance on Recreation.Gov.

Fans of horror movies should also take note: Yaquina Head stood in for a fictitious lighthouse in the 2002 horror classic "The Ring."

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse (51 feet)

While visiting Newport, visitors can easily check off a second lighthouse visit. The Yaquina Bay Lighthouse sits perched above the entrance to Yaquina Bay, a stone’s throw from the historic bayfront.

It’s fairly short, standing just 51 feet above ground, but self-guided tours are free by donation. You can't get to the lens room at the top but the windows on the second floor are a great place to take a look out over the ocean during a rainy coastal day.

The surrounding park offers picnic tables, benches and shelters making this a great stop during a day trip.

Heceta Head Lighthouse (56 feet)

The Heceta Head Lighthouse might be the most scenic lighthouse on the Oregon Coast — it's among the state's most popular photographic and Instagram locations. The view from a trail directly behind the lighthouse and from a pullout on U.S. Highway 101, offer postcard-worthy views.

A short, scenic and somewhat steep hike is required to reach the lighthouse, where tours are available on a first-come, first-served basis. However, the educational tour with a park ranger only takes visitors into the bottom half of the lighthouse, and no one is allowed to climb up the stairs due to ongoing structural refurbishment. This may change in the future, but there's no timetable for reopening tours to the top at this point, officials said.

The hiking trails around Heceta Head are stunning, and a good option is to connect the hike from the lighthouse to the Hobbit Trail and beach.

Nearby:Follow the ‘Hobbit Trail’ to cliff-walled beach at Washburne State Park

Umpqua River Lighthouse (61 feet)

The first lighthouse ever built in Oregon, lighted in 1857, was at the mouth of the Umpqua River. Sadly, engineers built it a little too close to the water on a foundation of sand and it was destroyed just four years later.

The new lighthouse was built in 1894 much higher up on the landscape and set back from the ocean, making the location different from most lighthouses in its inland surroundings.

The lighthouse, which sits adjacent to Umpqua Lighthouse State Park, has a museum nearby and offers tours for $8 for adults, $4 for children ages 5 to 17. Children under five are free. For more info, call 541-271-1894.

The lighthouse emits distinctive red-and-white automated flashes.

Coquille River Lighthouse (40 feet)

Coquille River Lighthouse, first lighted in 1896 and 40 feet tall, sits just north of Bandon on Oregon's South Coast and makes a good stop as part of a visit to Bullards Beach State Park.

Just like Heceta Head, you're allowed to go inside the lighthouse but not climb up the stairs to the top from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. mid-May to the end of September. A museum and interpretive center is open on site during the same period.

For more information call 541-347-2209.

Cape Blanco Lighthouse (59 feet)

Our personal favorite lighthouse experience is Cape Blanco, guardian of the westernmost point in Oregon.

The main reason is that it has everything you look for in a lighthouse experience.

First, the views are outrageously good. Set atop high grassy cliffs, the 59-foot lighthouse offers panoramic views across Oregon’s rugged southern coast.

Second, and most important for any family trip, children are allowed to climb to Blanco’s top and you even get to climb into the lens room, where you can appreciate the complexity of the glasswork and take in the views of the surrounding bluffs.

The tours are offered daily 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April through October (closed Tuesdays). There's a nice little gift shop where you buy tickets. For more information, call 541-332-6774.

Lighthouses you can view from a distance

Some lighthouses can only be viewed from a distance, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't visit.

Here's a collection of lighthouses you can look at — some up close, some from a distance.

Tillamook Rock Lighthouse (62 feet)

Oregon's most infamous lighthouse is perched on an inhospitable rock a mile off the coast. Known as "Terrible Tilly," it's fun to watch the lighthouse get pummeled by ocean waves and contemplate what life must have been like for the poor lighthouse keepers who lived there.

The best way to see Tillamook Rock lighthouse is by traveling to Ecola State Park and hiking the Tillamook Head Trail on a stunning stretch between Cannon Beach and Seaside.

There’s a big overhead viewpoint, but since the lighthouse sits 1.2 miles offshore, it’s very much worth bringing binoculars.

Cape Arago Lighthouse (44 feet)

This 44-foot-high tower can be enjoyed on one of the coast's most scenic hikes near Sunset Bay State Park and south of Coos Bay.

Follow the Oregon Coast Trail from Sunset Bay up the cliffs and you'll soon see the lighthouse to the south from the trail.

Keep going on a trail past Shore Acres State Park and to Simpson Beach for a 5-mile out-and-back trip.

Privately owned lighthouses

There are two privately owned lighthouses that can be seen in a few places on the south coast. Cleft of the Rock lighthouse is built into a private home; Pelican Bay Lighthouse can be seen from Brookings.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter, photographer and videographer in Oregon for 11 years. To support his work, subscribe to the Statesman Journal.

Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.