Lighthouses in Washington you can visit, and when they open

You can climb the Grays Harbor Lighthouse in Westport, the North Head Lighthouse at Cape Disappointment State Park and the Admiralty Head Lighthouse on Whidbey Island, and Lime Kiln Point and Point Wilson run tours on set days in season. The catch is the calendar. As of October 2026, North Head is shut from October 1 to April 30, Grays Harbor drops to Saturday and Sunday by appointment in December and January, and the Point Wilson society says its weekend tours are suspended for the winter. The nearest tower to Enumclaw on this list, Mukilteo, is about 60 miles away by road.

The tallest and the oldest, by the claims of the operators below, are not the same building, and only one of them has a staircase for visitors. The Westport South Beach Historical Society says the Grays Harbor Lighthouse, at 107 feet, is "the tallest lighthouse in Washington State," and it lets you climb 135 steps to the lens. A 2022 State Parks blog post calls the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, built in 1856, the oldest in the Pacific Northwest, and lists it as viewable from the exterior only.

Hours below come from the operator's own page, read on October 26, 2026. Volunteers run most of these towers, so hours move; the last section says how to check them. State Parks counted 21 lighthouses in Washington in a 2022 blog post, so this is a selection, not the whole set.

1. Grays Harbor Lighthouse, Westport

Is the Grays Harbor Lighthouse open in winter? Partly. The society that runs it lists Thursday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., in May through October, with tours on the hour in November. December and January are Saturday and Sunday by appointment only, and February through April returns to Thursday to Sunday, 11 to 3. Monday through Wednesday it is closed all year.

Admission is $5 for every climber, free for active and retired Coast Guard with ID, and $4 for active and retired military with ID, according to the society. Climbers must be at least 40 inches tall and 5 years old, and no pets may climb. The address is 1020 W Ocean Ave, Westport. The tower keeps its original 1895 Fresnel lens, built in Paris, a lens that bends a lamp's light into one strong beam.

Here is the local touch. The society's page says that on a clear day "you might even be able to see the top of Mount Rainier to the east." Westport is about 120 miles from Enumclaw by road, and the mountain in question has its own page in the Mount Rainier in winter guide. The same coast trip pairs with the razor clam dig schedule when the state opens digs.

2. North Head Lighthouse, Cape Disappointment State Park

When does North Head Lighthouse close for the winter? On October 1. State Parks lists it open daily, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., May 1 to September 30, and closed October 1 to April 30. Admission is $3 for ages 18 and older and free for ages 7 to 17, and a visitor must be 7 or older to climb. The page adds: "Tours of the lighthouse are volunteer operated. Please call ahead to confirm hours of operation." The number is (360) 642-3029.

State Parks' 2022 blog post says federal and state passes are not accepted for the tour admission, which is a separate charge from parking. Parking in the park needs a Discover Pass, the state's recreation pass, listed at $10 for one day or $45 for a year. Appropriate footwear is required, and State Parks rules out flip flops and shoes without heel straps. When the tower is closed, the park runs a live camera at North Head that you can open from its Cape Disappointment page. The park is about 165 miles from Enumclaw by road.

3. Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, exterior only

Can you go inside the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse? Not by State Parks' account, which lists it as viewable from the exterior. The 53-foot tower went into service in 1856 and was automated in 1962, and the blog suggests looking up at it from Waikiki Beach. It sits in the same park as North Head, so one drive covers both, and this is the one in the photograph at the top of this page.

4. Admiralty Head Lighthouse, Whidbey Island

Which months is the Admiralty Head Lighthouse open? State Parks publishes a table for 2026, noon to 4 p.m. each day listed: October is Saturday and Sunday, November is Friday through Sunday on November 27 to 29 only, and December is Saturday and Sunday. March, April and May use weekends or Friday to Monday patterns, and July and August are daily. The page says the lighthouse is inside Fort Casey Historical State Park near Coupeville.

The page also says: "The tower is limited to five visitors or one family group at a time." It does not list a lighthouse admission price. The park is open 8 a.m. to dusk year round and needs a Discover Pass for parking. By the router's reckoning the trip is about 90 miles from Enumclaw, with the Mukilteo to Clinton ferry on the route, and the table is for 2026 only, so look for the next year's table on the park page. For the rest of the island, see the Deception Pass State Park guide.

5. Lime Kiln Point Lighthouse, San Juan Island

Is Lime Kiln Lighthouse open in winter? The park page gives one hours line and one season line that do not match. It says "The lighthouse is open to the public on Thursday-Sunday from 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM" without naming months, and it says interpreters give lighthouse tours from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Volunteers from the Friends of Lime Kiln Society run the lighthouse. Call the park at (360) 378-2044 before planning around a winter visit.

The park itself is open 8 a.m. to dusk all year and needs a Discover Pass. The lighthouse dates to 1919, State Parks says. San Juan Island is reached by ferry, which this article does not time or price.

6. Point Wilson Lighthouse, Port Townsend

Do the Point Wilson tours run in winter? The society's home page says: "Weekend tours are suspended for the winter." Its closed-for-season page says scheduled tours have ended for the season and will resume on May 1, 2027, on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The society says tours by appointment may be arranged by email, for groups of up to six. Tours are free and donations are welcome, it says, and no reservation is needed.

You reach it through Fort Worden Historical State Park, though State Parks says the point is not on state parks land. State Parks says a Discover Pass is required to park at its parks. By road it is about 110 miles from Enumclaw.

7. Point No Point Lighthouse, Hansville

Point No Point has a published season: the Friends of Point No Point list weekend tours from April through September, so this year's season has ended. Kitsap County's park page calls it the oldest lighthouse on Puget Sound, says the park has reopened after a repair project and lists no tour hours itself. The Friends of Point No Point's own page lists the lighthouse as open Saturday and Sunday, 12 to 4 p.m., April through September, and says a roof replacement is scheduled for mid-October through the end of October 2026, with certain areas immediately around the lighthouse temporarily closed. Volunteers from the Friends of Point No Point give tours, and the county directs general questions to Kitsap County Parks at 360-337-5350. The address is 9009 Point No Point Rd NE. It is about 90 miles from Enumclaw by road.

8. Mukilteo Lighthouse

The Mukilteo Historical Society's hours page lists the lighthouse and gift shop as open Saturdays, Sundays and some holidays from 1 to 4 p.m. through September, and says the grounds are accessible year round. The page names no winter hours and carries a 2017 copyright line, but the society's Visit page says the lighthouse is open Saturdays and Sundays, April through September, so expect it to be closed until April and phone the society at 425-513-9602 before driving. The address is 608 Front Street. At about 60 miles, it is the closest lighthouse on this list.

Before you go

Check three things on the morning of the trip: the operator's page, the weather and the season. Coast and Strait lighthouses sit on exposed points, and the atmospheric river guide covers the wet-weather pattern behind many Washington storms. For the Kitsap and Port Townsend towers, one common route crosses the Tacoma Narrows, a bridge with a history told in the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse piece.

Distances here are approximate, taken from a public routing service on October 26, 2026, and leave out traffic and ferry waits. Whoever runs a tower sets its hours and fees: the Westport South Beach Historical Society for Grays Harbor, Washington State Parks for North Head, Admiralty Head and Lime Kiln, the Point Wilson Lighthouse society and Kitsap County Parks. Prices and hours change from year to year, and the state's Discover Pass page carries its current fees and free days.