Hike to New Dungeness lighthouse

The New Dungeness lighthouse occupies a spit of land that juts 5 miles into the Strait of Juan De Fuca from Washington's Olympic Peninsula. For day visitors the only way to reach this scenic spot is to hike the beach there and back. The rest of Dungeness spit is a protected wildlife refuge, so the hike offers views of more than the lighthouse.

Seattlepi.com has a nice account of one groups experience on the hike to the New Dungeness lighthouse.

We climbed the 74-step spiral staircase to the top of the tower, taking them three at a time. It was like climbing inside a moon snail shell. There, another keeper described changes to the spit and lighthouse, such as lowering the tower from 100 feet to 63 feet because of cracks in the tower. The light in the tower originally was powered by lard oil and magnified by a Fresnel lens, but by the mid-'70s the light and fog signals were automated. The light can be seen up to 17 miles out to sea.

The New Dungeness Light Station Association maintains one of the nicest lighthouse website I've come across. I especially enjoyed the slide show produced by Rick Snodgrass and the 360 degree panoramas from the grounds and the tower. The volunteer keeper program is an incredible value. Members of the association can serve at the lighthouse for as little as $240 per week!

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