Cape Disappointment: A Hike to a Lighthouse Leads to an Abandoned Battery
I stayed overnight near Cape Disappointment and in the morning decided to hike the bluff to the eponymous Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. Starting at Waikiki Beach, I climbed to the top, where the still-active lighthouse serves as a monitoring outpost for barge traffic in and out of the tricky channel of the Columbia River. On the way up I passed a small cove, bright with emerald colored mosses and blue-green waters, and on the way back I took a slightly different route and found myself at a decommissioned battery that first served to protect shipping rights to the Columbia River in the 19th century and then monitored the shoreline against a possible threat from Japan during World War II.
Waikiki Beach, Cape Disappointment State Park, WA
Cove seen from headland above, Cape Disappointment State Park, WA
Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, Cape Disappointment State Park, WA
Battery Harvey Allen at Fort Canby, Cape Disappointment State Park, WA
Gun Emplacement 1 at Fort Canby, Cape Disappointment State Park, WA
Shell room at Fort Canby, Cape Disappointment State Park, WA
Before leaving the park I visited North Head Lighthouse as well as a few of the other beaches on the peninsula.
North Head Lighthouse, Cape Disappointment State Park, WA
View of North Jetty, Cape Disappointment State Park, WA
Those are some big shells!