This was a nice attraction that we visited recently, while we were visiting the Westport, WA area. There was plenty of street parking when we visited, but unfortunately we visited on a holiday so it was closed. But we were still able to view it upclose from the street. If you visit during their operation hours, visitors can climb Washington's tallest, this 107-ft. lighthouse built in 1898. I highly recommend you parkland follow the trail to the beautiful blk sand beach! The walking paths are clear and paved. read more

Gray's Harbor Lighthouse - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Westport, Washington

You park on the road then follow a short trail up to the lighthouse. When you get there, you're welcomed by friendly staff and heading up to the watch house you will get fun facts of the lighthouse and its operations from a staff member. My son was nervous to go up to the watch tower, l stating he was scared of heights. A staff member came down and helped encourage him to keep going. What a special experience. We also got a brochure with a map of northern and southern lighthouses standing in Washington state and this trip inspired us to go find more! I would absolutely recommend this experience read more

See all

Nice lighthouse down a small trail off the side of the road. We were not allowed to go in. However, you can get up close and personal. read more

Gray's Harbor Lighthouse - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Westport, Washington

See all

We stopped by today (6/29/25) and while I couldn't climb the lighthouse stairs bc of my disabilities, my son did and it was GORGEOUS! Hub and I talked with the light keeper and his dad were so so kind! Thank you! We had a LOVELY time and HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!! read more

See all

I got to walk the grounds....but no entrance. Both at the Maritime museum and the lighthouse run by the same organization. At least this site had folks willing to let you near it who smiled at folks. We counted though and at five dollars a head, they turned away T least $150 while we stood there. In an entire day...that's more than enough to pay an employee and add funds yo upkeep. Rv parked right next to it kind of ruined the pics too. Now mind you we checked the website before driving from Oregon. But it's not updated. Sign said closed til until February... the phone and website indicated they should be open. We won't come back... Long drive for these two sites...for nothing. read more

Gray's Harbor Lighthouse - Can't get a good photo as the volunteers have their RV right next to it.... - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Westport, Washington

See all

Tallest lighthouse in Washington state, nominally available for tours (although it was closed when we came to visit). Situated on a strip of almost-beachside property surrounded by forest, at the end of a short walk from the nearby highway. Definitely a picturesque location, and I can imagine the views from the tower are similarly gorgeous. One of few places worth stopping and adventuring in Westport, besides the marina boardwalk. read more

See all

Came by when it was closed so we missed out on being able to walk inside. Short walk from the street parking available to the lighthouse. Surrounded by woods, and the ocean is a short drive away. read more

Gray's Harbor Lighthouse - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Westport, Washington

This is a very fun activity when you're in Westport. It's like five bucks for a guided tour through the tallest lighthouse in WA (and I think third tallest in the country?), and by the way it is still functional! The docents are really nice and informative. Enjoy it for what it is; a fun little piece of American history with a really cool view from the top, and a nice diversion for a little while. Definitely something you don't see every day and worth the time. In my photo it was Flag Day and the lighthouse was decked with this enormous flag. read more

Gray's Harbor Lighthouse - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Westport, Washington

This historical light house is situated off of the coast, with steps spiraling up to the top, revealing the landscape surrounding the light house. I was fortunate enough to arrive on the 121st birthday, which they celebrated by lighting the lighthouse from dusk to dawn. As this was the weekend before Fourth of July, the workers and volunteers draped Ol' Glory on the lighthouse, which was visible for several miles. I enjoyed my experience climbing up and down the lighthouse. Word of caution: if you are afraid of heights or suffer from vertigo, don't look over the rail as this may cause feelings of discomfort. Admission is $5/person which goes to restoring the lighthouse. Great history lesson by the volunteers that were guiding us on our tour as well! I kept the admission ticket as a nifty souvenir. I would recommend this place for lighthouse enthusiasts and those who want to see a piece of history and discover it's purpose in early seafaring expeditions. read more

See all

Very interesting stop. Short walk down lane to tower. Wasn't crowded on a Friday afternoon. One of those iconic places that you will remember & be able to say "I have been in a light house. Best view & worth the stop. Staff were full of information on local area. very happy there were requiring mask to be worn for our & staff's safety. Being vaccinated is enough to protect everyone, they showed common sense to do the right thing. Take your mask or you will not enjoy this wonderful place read more

Drove for 3 hours to climb the tallest lighthouse in Washington. The website and number to call said it would be open at 11am when we arrived we were told from the people living on the property that it wouldn't be open until 12. Very frustrating that we drove all this way and couldn't go inside read more

Gray's Harbor Lighthouse - Grays lighthouse - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Westport, Washington

For a historical place, this light house is in excellent be shape. The light is, original. Lots of steps to walk up. And it's thought to be haunted! It's in walking distance from the Post office. read more

Icon of the west. Westport was a big fishing town, then it dried up but the lighthouse shown. It's amazing, beautiful staircase and lovely care takers. Recommend a visit! read more

Every time we have come here during their "business hours", they haven't been open. This was the 3rd time. What a waste of time.

Sadly didn't go up the Light house because of their own mask mandate rule. My family and I have been vaccinated, just upsetting to hear we still had to wear it. Other then that I guess it looked good from the outside. Hahaha read more

Gray's Harbor Lighthouse - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Westport, Washington

It's a lighthouse...with RV's parked below and no toilets. Like the rest of Westport, it seems abandoned and dilapidated. For $5 you can go up the stairs, but for free you can hover around and listen to the humorless docent repeat the difference between a lighthouse and a navigation buoy several times whilst a silent video montage of photographs plays on a screen behind you. Life here was hard, back in the day. It was hard to get the bricks here, and hard to put the bricks together. Then, the wind and the rain made the bricks crumble. The lighthouse keeper had to keep the lighthouse clean, in case the inspectors came. His eldest daughter married someone. She tended a garden and milked a cow. The cow became ill, and got cow croup. It was hard. The rain fell. A child threw stones in the water. The fog horn wheezed and the cow bellowed back...or tried to...it was ill...with the cow croup. People cried, mostly. Once, there was laughter, but they cried, mostly. The sky was ash gray. They ate mush from lead bowls, and when the mush was gone, they ate lead paint. The light circled round and round. The sky was ashen and gray. They made the boat out of an old oak tree that was gnarled and dead. The oak was all alone. The eldest daughter married someone. The child became ill. It died. The mush was all gone. They fondly recalled when the child threw a stone in the water. Once, the child laughed, but then the cow bit him and he got the fever. it was hard. All was gray. The bricks held strong for a time, before they crumbled. One day, the light went out. The keeper no longer had any teeth. He recalled the light. "The light!" he said. "The light!" He laughed and laughed. No one understood anymore, because he had no teeth. "I want my mush!" he said, and he cried spasmodically. "Here," they said. "Here is thy mush. Eat of it, and know strength." A bannana slug dragged himself to the edge of the lighthouse. A brick feel on him, and he died. No one remembered and there was no funeral. He was dead and it was as though he had not lived. The sky grew ashen. The cow became ill again, but it rallied. Dr. Cornforth gave her three days. The cow lived, but her milk years were done. They placed her on a boat and heard her moo as she was carried into the fog. It was a lonesome moo. No one remembered why. "The light!" said the old keeper. "The light!" But the light was gone. The docent's shaky finger pointed to a dot on the map. It said Navigation Light. "This is not a lighthouse," he said. "It is a navigation light." read more

Gray's Harbor Lighthouse - The banana slug dragged himself here, but the brick crumbled and fell upon him, and he died. No one remembered. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Westport, Washington

I stopped past here on my travels and it's a super cute place to stop. The signs leading up the trail to the lighthouse are informational and the lighthouse itself is really a piece of work. I didn't get to go in as it was closed, but it's only $5 which is a super cheap way to get a little exercise and get a great view. There is also a great viewing bench near the street so you can take in the big picture of the lighthouse. I will go back to go up and get my workout on, plus it's near the beach so that's even better. The lighthouse is right next to the US Coast guard resident homes which has signs posted that it's off limits but it doesn't really seem to be as highly protected (no barbed wire, electric fences, high fences, snarling guard dogs, etc) Really cool piece of architecture. read more

Visiting the lighthouse was a great little aspect of our trip here to Westport. The price is very reasonable ($5 per person). We were greeted by very nice guides who told us about the history of the lighthouse. The steps to the top wasn't too hard or too much. The view from the top was beautiful. Good little spot to check out when visiting Westport. read more

Gray's Harbor Lighthouse - View of lighthouse from street - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Westport, Washington

The Grays Harbor Lighthouse (aka the Westport Lighthouse) is a fascinating site. Some of its details are listed below, but I highly recommend it for anyone visiting the coast. The Westport-South Beach historical society is in charge of it, and they give tours throughout the week. 360-268-0078 is the number to call to make sure it will be open when you get there (or to plan your trip around it). It's only a few dollars donation to enter and climb to the top, and well worth it. Small children are not allowed (I think under 8), for safety reasons, but even if you have to tag team it, its a great site to see. Standing 107 feet tall, it is the tallest lighthouse in Washington, and the third tallest on the West Coast. The base of the lighthouse rests on a 12-foot-thick foundation of sandstone. The lighthouse walls, which are four feet thick at the base, are made of brick with a coating of cement on the exterior. 135 metal stairs bolted to the wall lead to the lantern room. Originally windows lit the interior of the tower, but to cut down on maintenance they were cemented over when electricity was added to the station. In 1898, the lighthouse stood just 400 feet from high tide. Massive amounts of accretion, due in large part to the jetty system at the entrance to Garys Harbor, have since built up, and the lighthouse currently stands approximately 3000 feet from high tide. read more

Make sure to call ahead to confirm hours. We toured the lighthouse in 2007 and at that time they were only open Friday-Sunday until 1pm. The lighthouse tour is worth the price of admission. Next time we go we are going to purchase the membership which includes admission to the Maritime Museum in the Marina district of Westport. Due to the fact that you have to climb a tight, spiral staircase to the top of the lighthouse as part of the tour they don't allow small children or people in flip flops on the tour. But if you are able to go on the tour I highly recommend it especially if it's a clear day because it's worth it for the view alone and couple that with the information from the tour guide it's now priceless. The four of us that took the tour spent almost 15 minutes up at the top with our guide giving us information about the lighthouse, the beach and grounds surrounding the lighthouse. If you are an active duty, retired or military reservist you can apparently camp on the grounds surrounding the lighthouse. Contact MWR for more information. There are about 6 sites on the grounds but no hook ups for trailers/RV's. read more

For the tallest lighthouse in Washington state, this is rather unimpressive. It's smaller than I expected coming from the East Coast and the lighthouse is very far from the coast. I'm unsure if it was moved. When I went, I noticed that the lighthouse is only open on Friday-Sunday so I wasn't able to go inside, where I hear it is beautiful. read more

This is the tallest lighthouse in the state of Washington and for a small entrance fee you may climb all 135 stairs to the top of the tower. The fee covers the climb but questions are answered without charge. Guides/docents are generous in answering questions and sharing the history of both the buildings remaining on site as well as those which were important in the passed but are no longer standing. read more

This amazing piece of working history was well worth the $5 admission. The volunteers were superb in their knowledge of the lighthouse and its important role in both the past, present and future. The lens itself was stunning to see up close - truly a priceless piece of art. read more

Today it cost $5 per person to go up the still working lighthouse. An interesting bit for me, though the mechanism for the light has changed. The original crystal lens is huge and an amazing work of art on top of a white tower. The tour guide was full of info, but did talk a lot. He did know more about the area and the background of the area and the lighthouse, both past and present than I expected though. They do restoration as they get funding, while still maintaining the old building. Note: the lighthouse is not on the water as would normally be expected, but their is a reason why. It is tall enough to see over the surrounding trees. read more

Nice lighthouse. Kinda weird that it's not on the actual beach, but I guess since it's the tallest lighthouse in WA it doesn't need to be. Unfortunately we weren't able to go up the lighthouse since we got there after they closed up, but still pretty cool to see from the outside. read more

Amazingly beautiful lighthouse. I love history, especially lighthouses. It's interesting how far back the light is from the shore because of the tides and shifting sands and how much land has actually been added since the lighthouse was built over 100 yrs ago. Climb to the top is pretty cool, remember though that they don't allow small children or the wrong shoes for safety reasons. It's a historical building so you have to remember it wasn't built for little ones but as an aid to navigation. :) Just all around cool and the $5 you pay to get in helps fund the upkeep of the lighthouse and grounds. The people there are super friendly and helpful and yes, they are volunteers and don't get paid for this but do it out of the love of the lighthouse! Just awesome! Go check out some local history in your state! read more

We didn't climb the lighthouse, but we did get a chance to go inside the base and look around. The man working there was incredibly nice and friendly. He knew so much about the history and seemed so passionate about it. He took our photo and chatted with us for several minutes. Such a nice experience! read more

Fascinating site! The ground is well maintained, and the docents are helpful and informative. I didn't go up the observation deck as I didn't feel like climbing at that time so I can't say anything about the views. read more