Cape Blanco: Westernmost Point
Port Orford, Oregon
Cape Blanco is a cold and wind-battered cliff that juts into the Pacific Ocean. We first visited it with our fold-up cardboard companion, the Six-Foot-Tall Hinged Man. He lost one of his hands to a particularly fierce gust, and for the rest of the trip he just wasn't the same.
Washington state's Cape Alava is technically the westernmost point in the Lower 48, but Cape Blanco is not far behind, and it's more convenient to visit. It's also the westernmost point in Oregon. The State Park features the clifftop 1870 lighthouse (open for tours for a small fee), a visitor center, and hiking trails.
Visitors park in a gravel lot, stagger toward structures that might block a fraction of the wind, and then realize that it's too hard or wet to shoot relaxing selfies. The visitor center offers refuge, sells tiny lighthouse replicas, and also sells what we imagine are a considerable number of emergency "I'm freezing!" Cape Blanco sweatshirts.
Cape Blanco does supposedly get a few calm days a month, but we prefer to visit when the wind is really swirling, and watch as tourists are blown perilously near the precipice.