We are now traveling in the Three Capes Loop -
The Three Capes Loop is the Oregon Coast's 38-mile thrilling & scenic driving experience.
It winds along the coast between the towns of Tillamook and Pacific City. You will pass three prominent headlands: Cape Meares, Cape Lookout, and Cape Kiwanda, all volcanic headlands.
For a wonderful introduction to the Oregon Coast, is Cape Meares, just ahead.
Cape Meares - Established in 1938, consists of vertical coastal cliffs, rock outcroppings, and rolling headlands with old growth forest of Sitka spruce and western hemlock.
Roberta, a tourist from Turin, Italy, says that visiting Cape Meares, is like being on the edge of both time and space, because you are on the cliffs, which is like the end of the world, and at the same time you step back, into history, into the beginning of Oregon.
The vertical sea cliffs support nesting seabird populations including tufted puffins, pigeon guillemots, pelagic cormorants, and others. Peregrine falcons nest on the cliffs, and the recently de-listed bald eagle forages on the headland. The flamboyant Tufted Puffins, with their large bright orange beaks and long yellow head tufts, are one of the most recognizable seabirds on the Oregon coast.
Follow along with pictures.
See picture. Cape Meares. Tufted Puffins
The refuge also supports the largest breeding colony of Common Murre south of Alaska, and is the only pupping site on the north Oregon coast for Steller sea lion.
Measuring 10' in length and weighing up to 2,000 pounds, this sea lion is the larger of the two sea lions found on the Oregon coast.
In winter and spring, here is an excellent location for viewing whale migrations.
During the winter months, you can see a different assortment of wildlife from the headland, including migrating gray whales, three species of scoters, Western Grebes, and Common Loons.
Spring time is the best, to view the Peregrine Falcons and nesting Common Murres on the rocks.
A pair of Peregrine Falcon, a species recovered from the brink of extinction, has nested on the refuge since 1987.
A wildlife viewing deck, at Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint offers visitors a glimpse into the eyrie, or nest site, of the falcon pair, from early April through July, providing an unparalleled opportunity to witness the magic of the fastest animal on the planet.
The Lighthouse
Tour the 125 year old lighthouse. The park features tours of an 1890s lighthouse open daily April 1 to the Oct. 31, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The view of the Pacific Ocean from high above is majestic. The parking lot was once the keeper's dwelling and barn.
The path you follow down to the lighthouse is the same path that the keepers once used.
On January 1, 1890, the lighthouse was 1st lit.
The lighthouse consisted of a fire-wick kerosene lamp and an eight-paneled lens that had both red and clear panels, to create a red flash every minute.
Cape Meares' light could be seen for 21 miles.
This lighthouse doesn't offer many stories of peril, like its sister lighthouses on the Oregon coast. Terrible Tilly, near Cannon Beach, for example. Let me know if you want to hear the story of Terrible Tilly, the Tillamook Rock Light house.
The story of Cape Meares, reads much like "Little House on the Prairie." A number of families took care of this lighthouse through its years.
Cape Meares Lighthouse experienced weddings, childbirth, and one death.
A keeper, and new father, by the name of George Hunt, became sick and died from severe pneumonia, on July 10, 1903.
While tending a lighthouse may seem like a fun job, it comes with a price.
Most lighthouses, including Cape Meares, were a good distance and difficult journey from the rest of civilization.
Cape Meares has over 3 miles of hiking trails that winds through old-growth spruce trees (including Big Spruce, Oregon's largest Sitka Spruce, and the uniquely-shaped 'Octopus Tree'.
The Octopus Tree is an ancient Sitka Spruce with many legs.
This tree is a giant, that is 50 feet in circumference, and has six limbs that are twelve feet around, making it look like an octopus. The park service is not sure if this tree grew naturally this way, or as they suspect, was trained into this position by Native Americans. The Octopus Tree may be more than 250 years old. Once featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not, the tree has been described as one of the modern Wonders of the World. One of the many sacred evergreens on the North Coast, the Octopus Tree was specially venerated, probably serving as the gathering site for important Tillamook tribal rites.
Typical of such specially chosen trees, the branches of this spruce were forced downward toward a horizontal position when they were still flexible, finally extending about 16 feet outward. When allowed to resume vertical growth, each branch reached skyward to more than 100 feet, creating the distinctive shape.
Over the years, this curious spruce has also borne the name Monstrosity Tree, and Candelabra Tree. But it is persistently called the Council Tree, a place of reverence where elders once made decisions, and where shamans performed ceremonies.
Today the Octopus Tree is not only a historic site, but also a botanical wonder.
More about the octopus tree.
Three Arch Rocks (see VIDEO); is viewable on the south side of the parking lot. The Three Arch Rocks was declared a National Wildlife Refuge in the early 1900s by President Theodore Roosevelt. It is the home for many types of bird life and an area frequented by sea lions and hang gliders alike. Designated as the first National Wildlife Refuge west of the Mississippi River, and the smallest at 15 acres, Three Arch Rocks Refuge lies ½ mile offshore of Cape Meares, and the community of Oceanside.
You can view the Three Arch Rocks on the south side of the parking lot.
Marker Name on the south side of parking lot: Early Photographers Helped Preserve Islands for Wildlife
Marker Text: Site of a Weekly Slaughter
Every Sunday in the early 1900s, while circling in chartered boats, passengers shot nesting seabirds on Three Arch Rocks. Photographers William Finley and Herman Bohlman observed the grisly scene in 1903. An influential naturalist, Finley helped pass legislation to halt the slaughter. With Finley’s help, President Theodore Roosevelt declared Three Arch Rocks a National Wildlife Refuge in 1907.
Today, Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, a designated National Wilderness area, includes over 1400 rocks, reefs, and islands and two headlands along the Oregon coastline.
An Important Site for Wildlife
Thanks to those early efforts, Three Arch Rocks now supports about two hundred twenty thousand murres, the largest nesting colony south of Alaska. Some 2,000 to 4,000 tufted puffins also nest there, and Steller sea lions use the rocks as a breeding area.
Follow along with pictures.
See pictures, Tuffted Puffins, Cormorants and Murres by William Finley, and Sea lions on three arch rocks.
Wildlife is Easily Disturbed.
Although Finley and Bohlman ultimately helped these seabird colonies, they undoubtedly caused some damage.
Today, the islands are closed to visitors because seabirds are easily frightened. In their alarm, they may knock thousands of eggs and chicks off the cliffs. Seals and sea lions, too, are extremely shy and easily disturbed, expending energy needed to feed and rear pups.
Also here, is Big Spruce, a must see.
Big Spruce became the biggest Sitka Spruce in Oregon in 2007, when the Klootchy Creek Spruce near Seaside, lost its upper half in the notorious December 2007 wind storm.
The Cape Meares spruce is 144 feet tall, 48 feet in circumference, 15.5 feet in diameter and an estimated 800 years old. Find it by parking at the main parking lot. Instead of walking the paved trail down to the lighthouse, head for the north side viewing deck. A trail near the deck heads up into the old-growth forest, an undisturbed section of Oregon coast, populated by Spruce, Hemlock and Red Alder. It's and impressive patch of ancient Temperate Rainforest, with so many ferns, it could be Jurassic Park.
Your guide will show you the way. You pass many an impressive giant, but you'll know Big Spruce when you see it. It's also signed. The short walk is about a quarter mile, and will get you away from engine noise, and elicit a great sense of nurturing solitude.
The lighthouse, Three Arch Rocks, Octopus Tree, and Big Spruce, are all on our list today.
The Three Capes Loop is the Oregon Coast's 38-mile thrilling & scenic driving experience.
It winds along the coast between the towns of Tillamook and Pacific City. You will pass three prominent headlands: Cape Meares, Cape Lookout, and Cape Kiwanda, all volcanic headlands.
For a wonderful introduction to the Oregon Coast, is Cape Meares, just ahead.
Cape Meares - Established in 1938, consists of vertical coastal cliffs, rock outcroppings, and rolling headlands with old growth forest of Sitka spruce and western hemlock.
Roberta, a tourist from Turin, Italy, says that visiting Cape Meares, is like being on the edge of both time and space, because you are on the cliffs, which is like the end of the world, and at the same time you step back, into history, into the beginning of Oregon.
The vertical sea cliffs support nesting seabird populations including tufted puffins, pigeon guillemots, pelagic cormorants, and others. Peregrine falcons nest on the cliffs, and the recently de-listed bald eagle forages on the headland. The flamboyant Tufted Puffins, with their large bright orange beaks and long yellow head tufts, are one of the most recognizable seabirds on the Oregon coast.
Follow along with pictures.
See picture. Cape Meares. Tufted Puffins
The refuge also supports the largest breeding colony of Common Murre south of Alaska, and is the only pupping site on the north Oregon coast for Steller sea lion.
Measuring 10' in length and weighing up to 2,000 pounds, this sea lion is the larger of the two sea lions found on the Oregon coast.
In winter and spring, here is an excellent location for viewing whale migrations.
During the winter months, you can see a different assortment of wildlife from the headland, including migrating gray whales, three species of scoters, Western Grebes, and Common Loons.
Spring time is the best, to view the Peregrine Falcons and nesting Common Murres on the rocks.
A pair of Peregrine Falcon, a species recovered from the brink of extinction, has nested on the refuge since 1987.
A wildlife viewing deck, at Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint offers visitors a glimpse into the eyrie, or nest site, of the falcon pair, from early April through July, providing an unparalleled opportunity to witness the magic of the fastest animal on the planet.
The Lighthouse
Tour the 125 year old lighthouse. The park features tours of an 1890s lighthouse open daily April 1 to the Oct. 31, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The view of the Pacific Ocean from high above is majestic. The parking lot was once the keeper's dwelling and barn.
The path you follow down to the lighthouse is the same path that the keepers once used.
On January 1, 1890, the lighthouse was 1st lit.
The lighthouse consisted of a fire-wick kerosene lamp and an eight-paneled lens that had both red and clear panels, to create a red flash every minute.
Cape Meares' light could be seen for 21 miles.
This lighthouse doesn't offer many stories of peril, like its sister lighthouses on the Oregon coast. Terrible Tilly, near Cannon Beach, for example. Let me know if you want to hear the story of Terrible Tilly, the Tillamook Rock Light house.
The story of Cape Meares, reads much like "Little House on the Prairie." A number of families took care of this lighthouse through its years.
Cape Meares Lighthouse experienced weddings, childbirth, and one death.
A keeper, and new father, by the name of George Hunt, became sick and died from severe pneumonia, on July 10, 1903.
While tending a lighthouse may seem like a fun job, it comes with a price.
Most lighthouses, including Cape Meares, were a good distance and difficult journey from the rest of civilization.
Cape Meares has over 3 miles of hiking trails that winds through old-growth spruce trees (including Big Spruce, Oregon's largest Sitka Spruce, and the uniquely-shaped 'Octopus Tree'.
The Octopus Tree is an ancient Sitka Spruce with many legs.
This tree is a giant, that is 50 feet in circumference, and has six limbs that are twelve feet around, making it look like an octopus. The park service is not sure if this tree grew naturally this way, or as they suspect, was trained into this position by Native Americans. The Octopus Tree may be more than 250 years old. Once featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not, the tree has been described as one of the modern Wonders of the World. One of the many sacred evergreens on the North Coast, the Octopus Tree was specially venerated, probably serving as the gathering site for important Tillamook tribal rites.
Typical of such specially chosen trees, the branches of this spruce were forced downward toward a horizontal position when they were still flexible, finally extending about 16 feet outward. When allowed to resume vertical growth, each branch reached skyward to more than 100 feet, creating the distinctive shape.
Over the years, this curious spruce has also borne the name Monstrosity Tree, and Candelabra Tree. But it is persistently called the Council Tree, a place of reverence where elders once made decisions, and where shamans performed ceremonies.
Today the Octopus Tree is not only a historic site, but also a botanical wonder.
More about the octopus tree.
Three Arch Rocks (see VIDEO); is viewable on the south side of the parking lot. The Three Arch Rocks was declared a National Wildlife Refuge in the early 1900s by President Theodore Roosevelt. It is the home for many types of bird life and an area frequented by sea lions and hang gliders alike. Designated as the first National Wildlife Refuge west of the Mississippi River, and the smallest at 15 acres, Three Arch Rocks Refuge lies ½ mile offshore of Cape Meares, and the community of Oceanside.
You can view the Three Arch Rocks on the south side of the parking lot.
Marker Name on the south side of parking lot: Early Photographers Helped Preserve Islands for Wildlife
Marker Text: Site of a Weekly Slaughter
Every Sunday in the early 1900s, while circling in chartered boats, passengers shot nesting seabirds on Three Arch Rocks. Photographers William Finley and Herman Bohlman observed the grisly scene in 1903. An influential naturalist, Finley helped pass legislation to halt the slaughter. With Finley’s help, President Theodore Roosevelt declared Three Arch Rocks a National Wildlife Refuge in 1907.
Today, Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, a designated National Wilderness area, includes over 1400 rocks, reefs, and islands and two headlands along the Oregon coastline.
An Important Site for Wildlife
Thanks to those early efforts, Three Arch Rocks now supports about two hundred twenty thousand murres, the largest nesting colony south of Alaska. Some 2,000 to 4,000 tufted puffins also nest there, and Steller sea lions use the rocks as a breeding area.
Follow along with pictures.
See pictures, Tuffted Puffins, Cormorants and Murres by William Finley, and Sea lions on three arch rocks.
Wildlife is Easily Disturbed.
Although Finley and Bohlman ultimately helped these seabird colonies, they undoubtedly caused some damage.
Today, the islands are closed to visitors because seabirds are easily frightened. In their alarm, they may knock thousands of eggs and chicks off the cliffs. Seals and sea lions, too, are extremely shy and easily disturbed, expending energy needed to feed and rear pups.
Also here, is Big Spruce, a must see.
Big Spruce became the biggest Sitka Spruce in Oregon in 2007, when the Klootchy Creek Spruce near Seaside, lost its upper half in the notorious December 2007 wind storm.
The Cape Meares spruce is 144 feet tall, 48 feet in circumference, 15.5 feet in diameter and an estimated 800 years old. Find it by parking at the main parking lot. Instead of walking the paved trail down to the lighthouse, head for the north side viewing deck. A trail near the deck heads up into the old-growth forest, an undisturbed section of Oregon coast, populated by Spruce, Hemlock and Red Alder. It's and impressive patch of ancient Temperate Rainforest, with so many ferns, it could be Jurassic Park.
Your guide will show you the way. You pass many an impressive giant, but you'll know Big Spruce when you see it. It's also signed. The short walk is about a quarter mile, and will get you away from engine noise, and elicit a great sense of nurturing solitude.
The lighthouse, Three Arch Rocks, Octopus Tree, and Big Spruce, are all on our list today.
