Port Orford
Beach Town · Port Orford, Oregon
The westernmost incorporated city in the contiguous United States, and the oldest townsite on the Oregon coast, founded in 1851 after a landing party was besieged for two weeks on the sea stack now called Battle Rock. It has no protected harbour, so its fishing fleet is lifted in and out of the water by crane and stored on the dock - a working arrangement that almost nowhere else on this coast uses, and the most interesting thing to watch in the town.
14th Street, Port Orford, Oregon, 97465, United States
The town, Battle Rock and the dock are open at all hours and are free. ⚠ THE CRANE THAT LIFTS THE FISHING FLEET IN AND OUT OPERATES ON WORKING DAYS AND ACCORDING TO SEA CONDITIONS, NOT TO A PUBLISHED TIMETABLE - if watching it is the reason you came, allow more than one visit or ask at the dock. Port Orford Heads State Park is open daily, dawn to dusk, and is free; the old lifeboat station building keeps limited seasonal hours. Shops and restaurants in the town are few and keep short hours, shorter still in winter.