Port Orford Heads State Park
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Port Orford Heads State Park is a coastal
state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
in northwest Curry County,
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, United States, in the city of Port Orford. Established in 1976, it is administered by the
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), officially known (in state law) as the State Parks and Recreation Department, is the government agency of the U.S. state of Oregon which operates its system of state parks. In addition, it has pro ...
.


Location

Located on a bluff above the city, the park has three main walking trails: the Cove, Tower and Headland trails. From each of these vantage points (at the right time of year) one can see
commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must oft ...
boats,
orca The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white ...
s,
gray whale The gray whale (''Eschrichtius robustus''), also known as the grey whale,Britannica Micro.: v. IV, p. 693. gray back whale, Pacific gray whale, Korean gray whale, or California gray whale, is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and bre ...
s,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
and Steller's sea lions, and various
seabirds Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same envi ...
. The Headland Trail offers an unrestricted view of Cape Blanco to the north and is a popular whale watching spot during the fall. The park is open for day use only.


History

From 1934 to 1970, one of the earliest
US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...
lifeboat stations on the
Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Colum ...
operated at what later became the park.


Lifeboat Station Museum

The Port Orford Lifeboat Station is a museum and interpretive center that was opened in 2000 by the Point Orford Heritage Society. Built in 1934, the building is on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
(as the Port Orford Coast Guard Station) and was used by the U.S. Coast Guard until 1970. The museum includes the station's refurbished, unsinkable motor life boat, and information about the
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
ese bombing of the south Oregon coast during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.


See also

* List of Oregon State Parks


References


External links

* * {{authority control State parks of Oregon Oregon Coast Parks in Curry County, Oregon Headlands of Oregon United States Coast Guard stations 1976 establishments in Oregon Landforms of Curry County, Oregon Port Orford, Oregon