Who likes night hiking? It isn’t for everyone. I am “meh” about it. I don’t hate it but I don’t love it. I always worry I am going to trip over a rock or crevice on the trail that I didn’t see in the dark. But, to get a good sunset or sunrise hike, you have to hike in the dark — or, I suppose, camp … but let me get back on topic.
We decided to drive over to Haceta Head Lighthouse in the late afternoon and arrived at the parking lot around 4:30 pm. It was a cloudy day so we weren’t seeking out a fabulous sunset. Our toddler didn’t end up napping until later in the afternoon, so we weren’t able to leave the Airbnb until later in the day than we normally would have preferred for an outing of this nature. (All my fellow parents know that you often times have to change plans or have no plans.)
This would be my third time visiting this lighthouse so I was not phased by it being the end of the day and us hitting darkness on this hike. After all, we were on the Oregon Coast in December. We brought a flashlight and made sure our phones had ample battery life.
The beach was at low tide and even though there was a sheet of grey clouds above, you could see a streak of sunlight fading into the abyss. It felt very calm despite the large waves crashing against the rocks far off. No rain and no crowds. What more could you ask for?
We started our trek up the trail in the daylight — or, what little there was left of that light — and saw just one family and one couple hiking down. The trail is gravel and well maintained. It obviously started getting darker as we headed up and were thankful that the park rangers had set up a string of lights along the trail to help with visibility. We stopped at the Haceta Lighthouse B&B just to look at it from the outside and take pictures and continued on our way. It was nicely decorated with its Christmas lights so that was a treat to look at for our kiddo.
When we arrived at the top where the light house is, we spent equal time observing the crashing waves against the large rocks and watching the light house light circle around the surrounding area. It was cool to see the beam of light go over sections of the nearby trees and then still manage to track the light beam further away across the water scanning across rocks and trees. Apparently this automated beacon can be seen 21 miles from land and is the strongest light on the Oregon Coast.
The last time we were here, it was pouring rain in the middle of the day so it was nice that we had a rain-free visit this time. As we made our way back down on the trail, we turned on the flashlight and our toddler wanted to, of course, be in charge of it. We explained that you need to shine the light on the ground and not point the flashlight in people’s faces or straight up because you need the light to help guide you. She picked up the not-shining-the-light-in-faces bit quickly but kept aiming the flashlight upwards or at trees, which was not helpful since without the light, we could not see the trail at all. I turned on my phone’s light and demonstrated how to properly use a flashlight. She wasn’t into it. I tried.
When we got back to our car, ours was one of two cars left in the lot. Well, there was one man who drove in to let his two dogs run loose for a bit, making it a party of three. He yelled “good evening” to us and we said “hi” back. And, what about that other car? It was parked way in the corner of the lot and someone may have accidentally shined our flashlight at it, which made its occupants angry because they yelled something back to us. My guess is they were up to no good so we quickly got our kiddo and dog in the car and went on our way.
Up and back down on the trail to the lighthouse is just under 1 mile so very doable with a kiddo. I’m sure we’ll be back again next time we visit Florence, Oregon. Until that time, we’ll continue practicing proper flashlight usage and etiquette.
otter travel more 