Only one of these three West Coast lighthouses will let you climb its tower this winter, and it’s in California

Climbing a lighthouse is the best view on the coast that most people never earn. This winter, though, the West Coast’s lighthouse towers play by very different rules, and only one of three let you go all the way up.

Washington’s tower tours are finished until spring. Oregon’s Heceta Head stays open but keeps its upper levels closed. Here’s what each one actually offers right now, so you don’t drive for hours to a locked door.

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North Head, Washington: shut until May

North Head Lighthouse sits on the wild edge of Cape Disappointment, where the Columbia River meets the Pacific. Its tower tours are volunteer-run and only operate from May 1 through September 30, daily from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

So from October 1 through April 30, the tower is closed to climbers. You can still walk out and admire it from outside, and the storm-battered headland is a great winter stop on its own, but save the climb for next summer.

Heceta Head, Oregon: the walk is the star

Heceta Head sits 206 feet above the Pacific on a headland near Florence, and the tower itself is 56 feet tall. The approach is a half-mile trail that climbs about 150 feet, which is enough to get your legs warm and your camera out.

From November through February, the ground floor is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., weather and staff permitting, with no reservation needed. The upper levels are closed to the public, so this is a look-inside-the-base visit rather than a climb.

Parking runs $10 per vehicle per day, though you can view the lighthouse itself without a permit. My take: Heceta Head is worth it for the trail and the headland view alone, even if the stairs stay off limits.

Point Arena, California: the one you can actually climb

Point Arena is the tallest of the three, a 115-foot tower on the Mendocino Coast with roughly 145 steps up to the lantern room. It’s open to climbers year-round, with the exception of Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

Expect to pay around $5 for site admission and around $5 more for the tower tour. It isn’t wheelchair accessible, and the tour is built for kids who are old enough to handle all those steps.

Winter is also whale season here, and gray whales pass this stretch of coast in the colder months. Climb all those steps on the right day and the horizon might just spout back.

How to string them together

These three are hundreds of miles apart, so treat them as stops on a slow Pacific coast drive rather than a single weekend. Start with the Oregon coast at Heceta Head, then keep rolling south to Mendocino for the climb. If Oregon’s lighthouses have you hooked, our guide to Oregon’s lighthouses and the adventures nearby covers the rest of the coast.

Which would you rather do: climb to the lantern room, or save the stairs for a summer visit? Tell us in the comments.

Trip tips: grab a rental car to get out here, lock in your hotel before the good rooms are gone, or skip both and book a camper van instead.

Rules and fees change, so always confirm current requirements before you go.