Icon on the Sound, West Point Lighthouse

The West Point Light has guided mariners in and out of Seattle since 1881. This small but stately beacon sits on a low sandy point at the northern entrance of Elliott Bay, overlooking the busiest vessel traffic in Washington…

Beacon Background:
Patos Island Lighthouse

Patos Island Lighthouse, 1915. Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast…

Bewitching Beacons of the Northwest Coast

Why do so many lighthouses inspire ghost stories? Often when I mention a beacon – particularly a coastal one – someone informs me that it’s haunted. “There’s a good ghost story at that lighthouse” offered a friend and…

Grays Harbor Lighthouse:
The Tallest of them All

Grays Harbor Lighthouse, 1959. Photo courtesy…

Beacon Background:
Sentinels of San Juan Island

San Juan Island offers two distinctive beacons in two unique settings. Both reflect the ongoing story of mariners in the Salish Sea. When you are cruising in the area this summer, they are worth checking out by water and by…

Beacon Background: Point Wilson Lighthouse

The Point Wilson Lighthouse in 1960. Photo courtesy…