Port Orford Heads State Park

This small park in the southern Oregon coastal town of Port Orford boasts big views and a rich wartime history.

The park preserves the site of the Port Orford Lifeboat Station, constructed in 1934 by the Coast Guard to provide lifesaving service to the southern portion of the Oregon Coast until 1970. Besides the observation tower and boathouse, the compound included an Officer-in-Charge residence and a two-story building housing an office and quarters for the crew. A steep stairway with more than 500 steps connected the Crew Quarters with a boathouse.

Today, the compound is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the Crew Quarters is a museum. Take time to inspect the station’s legendary, unsinkable 36-foot motor lifeboat. Inside the museum, you can see historical artifacts and interpretive accounts of the station’s history that help make the past come alive.

Port Orford Lifeboat Station Museum

The museum, operated by the Cape Blanco Heritage Society, is open for tours May – September 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Wednesday – Monday (closed Tuesday).  Entrance is free (donations gladly accepted). The museum is not ADA accessible.

Hiking Trails

The park’s main trails—the Cove, Tower and Headland trails—begin at the museum. From a viewpoint on the Cove Trail, watch for remnants of the stairway to Nellies Cove. The boathouse, which sheltered two 36-foot motor lifeboats, burned down in the late 1970s. You can still see its pilings and breakwater structures as well as portions of a rail-mounted carriage used to launch the boats into the cove.

Vistas from the Headland Trail extend north toward the Cape Blanco Lighthouse and south to Port Orford and Humbug Mountain. The Tower Trail leads to the historical location of the observation tower, which was removed when the station was decommissioned. During World War II, lookouts worked around the clock watching for enemy aircraft, ships and submarines.