Port Orford Heads State Park

In addition to Battle Rock [1], another shoreline scene worth taking in, featuring a striking panorama from north to south, is located up West Ninth Street at what the locals call the Heads, or Port Orford Heads State Park. If you go down the cement trail to the tip of the blustery headland, you look south to the mouth of Port Orford [2]’s harbor.

To the north, many small rocks fill the water, along with boats trolling for salmon or checking crab pots. On clear days visibility extends from Cape Blanco [3] to Humbug Mountain [4].

Also located here is the historic Port Orford Lifeboat Station (541/332-0521, 10 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Thurs.–Mon. Apr.–Oct., free), built by the Coast Guard in 1934 to provide rescue service to the southern Oregon coast [5]. After it was decommissioned in 1970, the officers quarters, the pleasingly proportioned crew barracks, and other outbuildings were converted to a museum depicting the work of the station.

A trail leads down to Nellie’s Cove, site of the former boathouse and launch ramp.