One of many things I thoroughly enjoy about living in the Puget Sound area are the lighthouses – 19 of them still standing, though not all of them are active.
In continuous operation since it was built in 1879, the Point Wilson Lighthouse has been automated since 1976 and is monitored by a computer located at the Coast Guard Air Station at Port Angeles. It’s a bit battered from sitting on the exposed point, and closed to the public except for scheduled weekend tours in the summer, but still guiding boats safely around the entrance to Admiralty Inlet, which connects the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound.
Because nearly all shipping has to come this way, it’s a great place to watch for ships of all shapes and sizes. I’m obviously partial to sailing vessels. 🙂
When you enter the Fort Warden State Park, you can either park at the visitor center (for free) and walk the half mile or so to the lighthouse or get the day pass and park closer, though there aren’t many spots down by the lighthouse.
Though you can’t drive directly to the lighthouse as it’s gated, you can access a walking path and some lovely sandy beaches. And the path will wind around and through the lighthouse grounds, with the exception of the Chief’s House.
Originally built in 1879, the light tower was situated at the top of the 2-story keeper’s house, but the tower was removed from the house, and a separate 49-foot light tower and fog signal building was built in 1914. This old photo shows the original configuration of the lighthouse. (Image from the Library of Congress).
The original keeper’s quarters (minus the light tower removed in 1914), occupied by Coast Guard personnel until 2000. Built as a duplex since the fog signal and light tower required two keepers, it’s rumored to be haunted, as wives of former keepers claim to have seen a woman in a long white dress wandering around the grounds and house, where she apparently likes to rummage through cabinets and drawers.
Less whimsically, the white streaks are … ahem, deposits … made by the seagulls. Every few years, the structures get washed down, but there are a LOT of seagulls here!
The back (seaward facing side) of the lighthouse. I naturally pressed my camera up against the window.
Leaning out over the huge rocks and concrete barricades protecting the lighthouse, I snapped the ferry that runs between Port Townsend and Clinton on Whidbey Island.
In 1905, over fifteen hundred “tons of stone were placed … around the easterly and northerly sides of the reservation to protect the buildings from the inroads of the sea.” The later additions of rip-rap and a gabion wall to protect the light from constant erosion from wind and water have been a slowly failing effort to save the lighthouse. Storm-whipped tides (particularly in 2005 and 2006) have flooded the main floor of the lighthouse, filling it with sand, seaweed and debris. A study done in 2013 recommends moving the lighthouse and structures to save them, but obtaining funding is always an issue.
In 2019, the Coast Guard leased Point Wilson Lighthouse to the U.S. Lighthouse Society, which already operates the New Dungeness Lighthouse and the Point No Point Lighthouse. You can now rent the restored Chief’s House (built in 1962) for overnight stays. In addition to great views, beaches and amazing sunsets, you’ll get the satisfaction of knowing that money from the rentals goes towards preservation of the Point Wilson Light.
Location:
186 Harbor Defense Way, Port Townsend, WA 98368
