Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Cape Meares has it all. It has big views looking up and down the Oregon coast, two particularly big and interesting trees, and one little lighthouse perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean.

There are other parks with lighthouses, and others with great views, but the unique collection of attractions at Cape Meares – coupled with the intrinsic beauty of the place – makes it a true gem among state parks in Oregon.



Travelers have taken notice. More than 750,000 people visited Cape Meares in 2017, according to the most recent data provided by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. That’s about 130,000 more than visited in 2016, and more than double the visitation from 2013, when only about 350,000 people stopped by.

While there’s been a general uptick in visitation to the Oregon coast, the five-year increase at Cape Meares is the fifth largest of all coastal state park sites during that time span.

When I stopped by recently on a rainy weekday afternoon in January, however, the park was practically deserted, giving me free rein to explore the park on my own. What I found was a place that inspired both awe and curiosity – a coastal cliffside perch like no other.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

CAPE MEARES LIGHTHOUSE

Cape Meares is perhaps best known for its lighthouse, a 38-foot beacon built in 1887 that has the honor of being the shortest lighthouse on the Oregon coast. A loop path leads to a viewpoint at the lighthouse, which is open to the public for tours between May and September. Inside, you can get a glimpse at the historic Fresnel lens, which in 2010 was severely damaged by vandals, requiring extensive repairs.



Lighthouse tours are held daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., starting in early May and running through the end of September.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

OCTOPUS TREE

With no central trunk and several thick limbs that stick straight up into the air, the so-called “Octopus Tree” at Cape Meares is a natural wonder. The old Sitka spruce is about 105 feet tall and more than 46 feet in circumference, with each limb between three and five feet thick. It’s estimated to be between 250 and 300 years old, though nobody seems to know how or why the tree grew up that way.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

VIEWPOINTS

Cape Meares has viewpoints for days. At the Octopus Tree, there’s an excellent view looking south to Short Beach and Three Arch Rocks. The loop path to the lighthouse offers a similar look south on one side, and a look north into the snaking cliffs that make up the cape. At the lighthouse itself is an incredible view looking out into the ocean – a great place to be when gray whales migrate past in winter and spring.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

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Terry Richard/The Oregonian

BIG SPRUCE

Not content to have just one impressive tree, Cape Meares is also home to the biggest spruce tree in Oregon, a 144-foot giant that took top honors in 2007 when the Klootchy Creek Spruce in Seaside was damaged in a wind storm. You can find the tree about .2 miles from the trailhead at the park entrance.

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Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian

CAPE MEARES BEACH

From the trailhead near the park entrance, you can hike .8 miles to the beach on the north side of Cape Meares, a long, sandy shoreline that stretches out onto Bayocean Spit. The beach is popular among horseback riders and, during low tide, clam diggers. Don’t forget to stop by the big spruce tree as you hike down.

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Courtesy of Oregon State Parks

WHALE WATCHING

Cape Meares is one among many good whale watching spots on the Oregon coast. Stop by during the winter gray whale migration at the end of December, or the spring migration at the end of March, when state park volunteers will be on hand to help you spot the pods of spouting whales.

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--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB



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