The Umpqua River Lighthouse is a very attractive and entertaining tourist spot located in Winchester Bay, OR. It is famous for the lighthouse that was completed in the year 1864, located at the mouth of Umpqua River and is an entrance to Winchester Bay. The lighthouse stands 61 foot tall located on a hill 165 feet above sea level. The whole area comprises the lighthouse, the Douglas county museum and the museum’s gift store.

You can have a tour of the Lighthouse and museum with or without a guide for $8 and is open 7 days a week Sun-Sat 9 PM to 7 PM. The facility has excellent tour guides that are thoroughly knowledgeable about the history of the lighthouse and the museum. So, if you would want to really get to know the area then getting yourself a tour guide is highly recommended. The lighthouse has a fascinating history and the climb up to the tower has quite a lot of steps but the climb is worth it if you can do it. The main attraction of the tower is the two-ton First Order Fresnel lens that was constructed from 616 glass prisms specially handcrafted in France.

Going into the museum, if you are interested in learning about the history of Douglas county then a visit to the museum would be totally worth it for you. There is a membership option for you for the museum which starts at $50 for a single person and $75 for a family membership. The museum has a large collection of photos and documents that will help you learn about the stories of the Umpqua river valley. It has the best historical artifacts collection in the whole state with over 8,640 items that illustrates the history of the Umpqua valley area. The photographs collection of the museum is the second largest in the state of Oregon that dates back to the mid 19th century and has an astounding number of more than 24,000 photographs. Overall the museum has all the information there is to know about the history of Douglas county.

The Gift shop is located at the lower levels of the light house. The gift shop is not like any other normal gift shop as it only deals with authentic stuff you could find in a historical museum. The books available in the museum are the real deal as they are real authentic books unlike those rip off books you can find. The gift shop has a good collection of books, merchandise, art work, toys and collectables that are related to the history of the lighthouse and the Oregon Coast.

If you are planning a visit to Seadrift Motel then the Umpqua River Lighthouse and Museum should be definitely in your list.