Tillamook Rock Lighthouse

The Tillamook Rock Lighthouse is located 1-mile off-shore just north of Oregon’s Cannon Beach.  It was commissioned in 1881 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

This fascinating lighthouse is positioned atop a sheer rock with precipitous cliffs. Even by today’s standards its construction is considered an engineering feat.  Fierce storms lashed the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, earning it the name “Terrible Tilly”.  Lighthouse keepers faced tremendous isolation and dangerous conditions, until the light was finally turned off in 1957 and replaced with a whistle buoy.  The lighthouse is now privately owned as a columbarian (to store ashes).   

Although visitors are unable to tour the lighthouse, the best vantage point is from Ecola State Park at Cannon Beach.    Even at a distance, this lighthouse is certain to captivate your imagination.