Cape Meares, first charted in 1788 by Captain John Meares, proved an ideal lighthouse location. Constructed below the fog line, it ensured visibility in critical conditions. The lighthouse, though the shortest on the Oregon coast, began operation on January 1, 1890. It boasted a powerful first-order Fresnel lens, one of the most powerful and largest of its time. This kerosene-powered lens produced distinctive red-and-white flashes visible up to 21 miles away. In 1963, the original light was replaced by an automated beacon, marking the end of an era. [Oregon State Parks]

In an impressive patch of ancient Temperate Rainforest on the Cape Meares headland stands Oregon’s largest spruce. In 2008 it measured 144 feet tall with a broken top and over 48 feet in circumference.

The broken top is not surprising, as the tree has undoubtedly experienced hundreds of storms with wind gusts over 100 mph in its lifetime. In a forest like this the trees shelter each other from the wind, and any that grow significantly taller than their neighbors are at great risk of broken tops.

Learn at lot more about this tree here.

From the parking area follow the trail southwest (0.1 miles).

The Octopus Tree (follow a short hiking trail east of the lighthouse) is a massive Sitka spruce located a few hundred feet from Cape Meares Lighthouse. The tree is shaped like an inverted octopus with branches growing like giant tentacles from its 50-foot base. The tree has no central trunk. Instead, six candelabra limbs extend horizontally from the base as much as 16 feet before turning upward. The Octopus tree is believed to be two hundred to three hundred years old dating back to when the Indians lived in the area.

In fact, one theory says that the Octopus Tree was shaped like an octopus by the Indians to hold canoes with corpses in a practice known as “tree burial.” Another theory is that the shape comes from the ravages of the wind.

Bayocean is the town that fell into the sea. It was planned in 1906 as a resort community on Tillamook Spit, a sandy strip of land on the ocean side of Tillamook Bay. Its post office was established in 1909, and by 1914 the resort town had a population of over 2,000 people.

Bayocean’s named derived from views of Tillamook Bay and the ocean on either side. From the outset it was intended as the “Atlantic City of the West.” The town had a dance hall, hotel with an orchestra, 1,000-seat movie theater, shooting range, bowling alley, tennis courts, a rail system, and four miles of paved streets. Bayocean’s crown jewel was a heated natatorium with wave generators and a bandstand for live music while guests swam.

Most residents and tourists arrived via T. B. Potter’s steamship, the S.S. Bayocean. She was the largest yacht on the coast, and took three days to make the trip from Portland. The final leg of the journey entered the unprotected mouth of Tillamook Bay and proved a rough and often frightening experience.

As you ride, Tillamook Bay is on your right. The bay is bordered by Garibaldi to the north, Tillamook to the south, and Bayocean Peninsula to the west.

This area was originally home to the Tillamook (or Killamook) people, who spoke a Salish language. From 1824 to 1829, the tribe faced deadly smallpox epidemics. This new disease, introduced by European contact, devastated the population as they lacked immunity. The arrival of Oregon Trail settlers in 1841 led to conflicts over land and resources, further reducing their numbers. By 1849, the Tillamook population had dwindled to an estimated 200 people.

Bayocean’s residents asked the Army Corps of Engineers for a protective jetty to reduce the waves at the mouth of Tillamook Bay to make the boat transit to Bayocean less frightful. The Army studied the location and suggested that two jetties be built, one on each side of the bay’s mouth, at an estimated cost of $2.2 million. The Army Corps would secure funding for half the cost, but the other half was required to come from local residents. With the multimillion-dollar price considered unaffordable, Bayocean’s residents only built a single jetty (the south one) for a little over $800,000.

The single jetty worked for a time, and made for a much smoother journey into the bay. An issue arose when the one-sided change to the coastline began a process of erosion that ate away Bayocean’s beaches. They narrowed for a time, before the sea completely overtook them. It was the beginning of the end.

In 1928 a road finally was opened between the mainland and Bayocean Peninsula. But disintegration of the resort developments had already begun, with winter storms pounding against the peninsula’s seaward side.

1939 – First breach on Bayocean Peninsula.
1942 – Erosion continued. Second breach.
1952 – Grand blow-out breach, mile-wide gap.

The connecting dike we see today, pictured, was built in 1956.