Point Sur Lightstation--A Mystical Sentinel Located High on a Big Sur Rock

Lighthouses are mystical sentinels, charged with a singular purpose: to guide passing ships through treacherous waters into safe harbors. They stand in solitude, often perched on remote cliffs amid hostile environments. They emanate a haunting splendor and evoke fascination through the many stories told by the men and women who lived the keeper’s life.

The beautiful California coastline is dominated by towering cliffs and rocky shores. Navigating the Pacific Ocean’s treacherous surf along its jagged shoreline was a formidable challenge for mariners. Point Sur Lightstation in Big Sur is one of those mystical sentinels, commissioned to guide the state's merchant traffic safely to their destination.

Point Sur Lightstation is literally located on a solitary 361-foot volcanic rock connected to the Big Sur coast by a short strip of sandy land and rocks. Money was allocated for Point Sur in 1886 to build the light station. Three years later, on August 1, 1889, the light station keys were turned over to the first keeper. He and three assistants staffed the lighthouse and fog signal 24 hours a day.

The four keepers and their families lived an isolated life. The trail to Monterey was long and often treacherous, so trips were rare. The U.S. Lighthouse Service provided a horse and wagon to get mail and supplies from Pfeiffer's Resort. Each family was allotted a garden area for fresh vegetables. Bulk supplies such as coal, firewood, animal feed, and some food came on a lighthouse tender' about every four months. One function of these long, broad ships was to service remote light stations inaccessible by land.

Like most remote lightstations, Point Sur was very self-sufficient. As the years passed, life became increasingly less isolated at Point Sur, specially following the completion of Highway 1 in 1937. Two years later, the U.S. Coast Guard assumed responsibility for all aids-to-navigation. Lighthouse Service employees were absorbed into the new program and allowed to become either members of the U.S. Coast Guard or remain civil service employees.

In the 1960s, the U.S. Coast Guard began automating lightstations in an effort to make more efficient use of their personnel. In 1974, the last keeper left Point Sur. Today a U.S. Coast Guard crew services the lighthouse regularly.

The Point Sur Lightstation originally contained a first-order Fresnel lens. Light from Point Sur's Fresnel lens was visible for 23 nautical miles. The lens was in use until the 1970s when it was replaced by a modern aero beacon mounted on the roof of the fog signal room. The lens remained in the lighthouse tower until 1978, when it was disassembled and transported to the Allen Knight Maritime Museum of Monterey for display. The aero beacon was later moved into the lighthouse tower. The aero beacon was eventually replaced by an LED light presently mounted on the outside rail of the lighthouse and flashes every 15 seconds.

The tour operates on a first-come, first-served basis. Admission is $20 for adults. Visitors enter through a gate on Highway 1, opened by one of the tour guides. The view of the massive, distant rock crowned by the light station is spectacular. After passing through the gate, you drive down a long road flanked by a beach on one side and rocky terrain on the other, arriving at the base of the rock where you park your car. The guide begins the tour here and, following opening remarks, leads the group up the winding road that ascends the rock, stopping at select locations to discuss its construction and share stories of its formidable history.

On the ocean side of the rock, the road splits—one branch leading to the lightstation complex atop the summit, the other crossing a bridge to the lighthouse perched on the edge. The lighthouse was our first stop. As we stood beneath the towering beacon near its entrance, overlooking the ocean crashing far below against rocks teeming with barking seals, the guide described the light keeper’s duties and the operation of the Fresnel lens. We entered and ascended the circular staircase to the lantern room, where we gathered for more historical insight, then stepped onto the lantern deck outside for a sweeping 360-degree view from the top. After descending and exiting, we entered an adjoining building that housed a museum.

We then followed the guide up a long stairway to the summit, where we found a large barn, a building filled with carpenter tools and a blacksmith shop, a water tower, a garden area, and two houses—one for the keeper and his family, and the other, larger house for his three assistants and their families. We toured the keeper’s residence but did not enter the assistants’ quarters. The guide informed us that the assistants’ house was haunted, and that every Halloween it is decorated and opened to the public for a good scare. The lightstation is also one of the best places to view the whale migrations, which include the giant blue whale at 110 feet. After paying the $20 in the gift shop, we descended the long road back to our cars.

The tour’s history is intriguing, and the panoramic views from both the lighthouse and the summit complex are spectacular. The ascent up the 361-foot rock is challenging—best suited for the sure-footed and hearty—but well worth the effort. The guides are personable and informative. The tour lasts three hours and is packed with rich detail. The light station embodies everything one might expect from a California lighthouse. The gray, cement-blocked lighthouse structure exudes a mystical presence, and the surrounding complex carries a haunting allure.

Points of interest:

Notable shipwreck - Ventura 1875. Notable wreck - the dirigible U.S.S. Macon crashed and sank.

Admission:

Adults - $20, Ages 6-17 - $10, Ages 5 and under free.

Moonlight Tours - $30

Halloween Tour - October 18 and October 25, 2025 at 5:30pm

Tour Schedule:

Saturday and Sunday - 10am

Wednesday - 1pm

Information:

(831) 625-4419

An Isolated Island Bed And Breakfast with Spectacular Views of the San Francisco Area

A gracious relic of the past, it is an island unto itself. It is unique among its kind. Originally there were six like it, but only three are still standing. At one point in time its future had become uncertain. It survived because it is historically intrinsic and loved by many. Now 133 years old, it is a matchless California destination with a spectacular view. It is the East Brother Light Station.

The East Brother Light Station quite literally sits on top of an island in the strait that separates San Francisco and San Pablo Bays. The light station began operation in 1874. The original lens was illuminated by a wick filled with whale oil. Later the means of illumination was replaced by a fifth-order Fresnel lens, powered by a 500-watt bulb. The San Francisco Bay area is one of the foggiest places on the coast, so the island lighthouse was also outfitted with a foghorn. The keepers lived on the island with their families and cared for its operation until it became automated in 1969.

The light station is of a unique design. The tower is attached to a two-story Victorian style house. There were five other lighthouses built in this design located at various places on the United States coastline, but aside from East Brother only two are still standing. Not far down the coastline from San Francisco near Los Angeles in the San Pedro Bay is one of them, the Point Fermin Lighthouse. The other is on the east coastline in New Jersey called Hereford Light.

The future of the East Brother Light Station became uncertain. A fire incident destroyed the island's wharf and boathouse. After it was automated, the keepers were no longer needed. The Victorian style house sat neglected and void of life. The government wanted to tear it down. Thanks to local residents who saw value in the past and the necessity to preserve its heritage, an outcry arose protesting its demolition. The Victorian house and other buildings were saved, and steps were taken to restore it, not just to its former glory, but into a place where all who want to experience the wonder of a lighthouse with a beautiful vista for a magnificent backdrop can do so.

The East Brother Light Station is now an island bed and breakfast. There are five available rooms. Four of the rooms are in the lighthouse itself and the fifth is in the original Fog Signal Building. The rooms are beautifully appointed, and each has its own stunning view of the Bay Area and surrounding landscape or seascape, whichever you prefer.

Two Sisters Room

Walter's Quarters Room

If you would like the warmth and romantic atmosphere a fireplace provides, the Two sisters Room would be your likely choice, if you seek more privacy, the Walter's Quarters in the Fog Signal Building 100 feet from the lighthouse, closest to the water. The Marin Room and San Francisco Room rate is $525 for Thursday through Sunday. The Two Sisters Room, West Brother Room, and Walter's Quarters Room is $475 for Thursday through Sunday. Room rates apply for one or two persons per room. Rates include parking at the harbor, the boat ride to and from the island, hors-d’oeuvres with complimentary champagne, a tour of the lighthouse

Marin Room

San Francisco Room

West Brother Room

A full breakfast is served in the dining room each morning at 9:00am. One of their house specialties is their own Lighthouse French Toast Soufflé. For overnight guests, dinner is served in the dining room at the same hour giving ample time for guests to visit. Menus and accompanying wines change seasonally, but some of our gourmet, multi-course meal favorites include Citrus Glazed Rock Cornish Game Hen or beef and salmon Wellington in a puff pastry served with a dill hollandaise sauce.

The island is a ten-minute boat ride from the mainland. It is 30 minutes from downtown San Francisco. Once on the island, you will be treated to spectacular views of the San Francisco skyline, Mount Tamalpais, and the Marin coastline. Your senses will be immersed and soothed by the smell of the bay, the sound of the lapping water on the rocky outcrops, and your imagination can take flight or stay put, its all the same either way, nostalgic and reinvigorating.

East Brother has consistently earned five-star ratings from Yelp and TripAdvisor.

East Brother Light Station Bed and Breakfast

1900 Stenmark Dr, Richmond, CA

510-233-2385

Soak In The Antiquity And Amenities At This Spectacular San Francisco Island Gem

It was a beguiling and surreal drive along the water after leaving the 5 1/2 mile long Richmond-San Rafael Bridge for Point San Pablo. Between Point Molate and Point Orient, hidden among the areas indigenous eucalyptus trees and beyond a run of secured fencing was a regiment of boarded-up, abandoned residents reminiscent of barracks. Surviving relics of the Winehaven Winery established in 1906, the grape processing facility employed over 400 people in its heyday. It was the largest winery in the United States until the Volstead Act of 1919 ushered in the Prohibition Era and shut it down. In 1941, the 400 acre site was purchased by the Navy and used as a fuel dump until being decommissioned in 1995.

Drawing closer to my planned destination, the singular road separated into two, one leading to a gated area and the other marked by a simple directional sign. The surrounding landscape had the appearance of having been surrendered to the elements. Rusty, forsaken structures and weather-beaten, neglected docks bordered the bay's craggy shoreline, now just a haunt for past shadows. From this vantage point, I could see the island and its famous landmark perched atop it--the reason that brought me to this place on the map.

The upward drive was narrow and winding. The enveloping vegetation consisted of scruffy grasses and low growing bushes with the occasional cluster of windswept trees. Upon reaching a summit, a panoramic view presented me a sneak peak of the mist shrouded bay beyond. The downward drive was more of the same, until a final circular turn brought me to sea level where I slowly pulled up to a set of old railroad tracks. Going somewhere, the rails disappeared into the bushy landscape. In front of me, a frozen-in-time sleepy harbor unfolded across the tranquil shoreline waters of San Pablo Bay. Point San Pablo Harbor is the pick-up point for the ferry to the legendary East Brother Light Station.

The East Brother Light Station quite literally sits on top of an island in the strait that separates San Francisco and San Pablo Bay. A gracious servant of the past, it is unique among its kind in history and design. It was designed in the Stick style architecture by Paul J. Pelz. The Stick style was a late 19th-century American architectural style, transitional between the Carpenter Gothic style of the mid-19th century and the Queen Anne style. The lighthouse plans called for a three-story tower attached to a two-story Victorian dwelling having three rooms per floor.

There were five other lighthouses built in this design, each located at various places on the United States coastline, but aside from East Brother, only two are still standing. Not far down the coast from San Francisco near Los Angeles, in the San Pedro Bay, is one of them, the Point Fermin Lighthouse. The other, called Hereford Light, is on the east coast in New Jersey. As to the other three, Mare Island Light, in Carquinez Strait, California, was demolished in the 1930s, Point Hueneme Light in Santa Barbara Channel, California, was replaced in 1940, and Point Adams Light in Washington State was burned down by the Lighthouse Service in 1912.

At one point in time, East Brother Light Station's future had become as foggy as the strait it protected. It survived because it is historically intrinsic and loved by many. Now 134 years old, it is a matchless California destination with a spectacular view.

The East Brother Light Station began operation in 1873. The original lens was illuminated by a wick filled with whale oil. Four years later, a new fourth-order lens was installed and the illuminant was changed to mineral oil. In 1912, the lens was replaced again along with an incandescent oil-vapor lamp. An underwater cable was laid between the island and San Pablo Point in 1934, providing electricity for the first time. The means of illumination was replaced by a fifth-order Fresnel lens powered by a 500-watt bulb. The San Francisco Bay area is one of the foggiest places on the coast, so the island lighthouse was also outfitted with a fog horn and a fog signal building. Overtime, a water tank, storage shed, and a domed cistern surrounded by a large rain catchment basin were eventually built on the island.

Shortly after the island acquired electricity, a series of unfortunate circumstances befell the island light station. The electric cable was disabled by a ship's anchor in 1939. Until repairs could be made, the light was powered by gasoline generators placed in the signal building and drums of gasoline were stored in the boathouse. In 1940, a fire incident caused by a mishandled kerosene lantern igniting a fifty gallon drum of gasoline and explosively spreading to other drums destroyed the island's wharf and boathouse. It is believed if the wind was blowing from the east that morning, the entire light station would have been vanquished.

The Coast Guard assumed responsibility for the nation's lighthouses, and in the late 1960s, announced plans to automate the station. The government wanted to tear it down and replace it with a light on a tower. Thanks to local residents who perceived value in the past and possessed the desire to preserve its heritage, an outcry arose protesting its demolition. In 1971, the station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The light station was saved, but neither the Coast Guard nor other public agencies had funds for maintaining or restoring the buildings. The Victorian style house sat void of life and the neglect started to take its toll as the wood rotted, the paint peeled, and the iron rusted.

East Brother Light Station, Inc., a non-profit group, was formed in 1979. Through government grants, private donations, and countless hours of volunteer labor steps were taken to restore it, not just to its former glory, but into a cherished landmark where all who want to experience the wonder of a lighthouse with a beautiful vista for a magnificent backdrop could do so.

West Brother Room
$375 (Thur - Sat), $345 Sun

Two Sisters Room
$345 (Thur - Sat), $315 Sun

The East Brother Light Station is now a popular island bed and breakfast. There are five available rooms. Four of the rooms are in the lighthouse itself and the fifth is in the original Fog signal Building. The rooms are beautifully appointed and each has its own stunning view of the Bay area and surrounding landscape or seascape, whichever you prefer. Your stay includes champagne and hors d'oeuvres upon arrival, a multi-course dinner with wine and a full gourmet breakfast the next morning. If you would like the warmth and romantic atmosphere a fireplace provides, the Two Sisters Room would be your likely choice. If you seek more privacy, the Walter's Quarters in the Fog Signal Building 100 feet from the lighthouse is closest to the water.

Marin Room
$425 (Thur - Sat), $395 Sun

San Francisco Room
$425 (Thur - Sat), $395 Sun

Walter's Quarters
$375 (Thur - Sat), $345 Sun

Point San Pablo is 30 minutes from downtown San Francisco and a ten minute boat ride from the serene Point San Pablo Harbor. Once on the island, you will be treated to spectacular views of the San Francisco skyline, Mount Tamalpais, and the Marin coastline. Your senses will be immersed and soothed by the smell of the bay, the sound of the lapping water on the rocky outcrops, and your imagination can take flight or stay put, it’s all the same either way, nostalgic and reinvigorating. Reserve a room and you will discover why San Francisco has been a top rated destination for many years among travelers.

East Brother Light Station's Bed and Breakfast excellent reviews. Reservations 510-233-2385.

California's Pigeon Point And Point Montara Lighthouses--Picturesque Places With Plenty To See And Do

From St. George Reef to Point Loma, California's 840 mile coast has been lighted by 33 lighthouses. I have visited four thus far, all near the multifaceted and diverse city of San Francisco. Often located on perilous points shrouded in fog, the only access to some of these historical wonders was either walking through a dark tunnel cut into a tall cliff, traversing a suspended bridge high above crashing surf or descending steep, narrow stairs hewed out of a jagged rock face. This was true for the lighthouses located at Point Reyes and Point Bonita. For Pigeon Point and Point Montara, it was just a matter of pulling off coastal Highway 1 and walking to the lighthouses.

It was January 28, 1853. The 175-foot clipper ship, with a gilded pigeon as its figurehead, just left the port of Boston. On its maiden voyage, the Carrier Pigeon's crew and cargo were bound for San Francisco. On the morning of June 6th, the vessel was spotted off Santa Cruz. As the day progressed, the ship became shrouded in a thick blanket of fog near the Point of the Whales. The captain, thinking he was a safe distance from land, steered his vessel shoreward, but before land was spotted, it struck rocks and began to sink. After the captain and crew made it safely to shore, efforts to salvage a good portion of its 1,300 tons of cargo was carried out, but the ship valued at $54,000, still stranded on the rocks, was a total loss. Since the time of the wreck, Point of the Whales was renamed Pigeon Point.

Three more ships were lost near Pigeon Point in the 1860's. Now considered the most fatal location on the Pacific coast to navigators, the editor of the San Mateo County Gazette wrote the following in 1868, "It behooves those most interested in maritime affairs on the coast as well as in the East to bring their influence to bear immediately upon the government officials, and never relax their efforts until a light-house is erected at Pigeon Point."

With a 35-foot cliff, Pigeon Point was an ideal spot to build a lighthouse. The fog signal and Victorian fourplex were completed first, and the twelve-inch steam whistle, with four-second blasts separated alternately by seven and forty-five seconds, was fired up for the first time on September 10, 1871. The 115-foot tower with a flash pattern of light every 10 seconds was exhibited for the first time on November 15, 1872.

Today, Pigeon Point Lighthouse is the second tallest on the West Coast and has a first-order Fresnel lens light visible for more than 20 miles. It is closed to the public and currently being renovated. The Coast Guard Family Quarters on sight, built in the 1960's, is used for a hostel.

Nearly 90 vessels had collided into the jagged rocks off Point Montara by the mid-1800s, but two of Point Montara's most notable shipwrecks occurred on November 9, 1868 and October 17, 1872 with the grounding of the Colorado, a large Pacific Mail steamship carrying hundreds of passengers and the U.S. mail, and the British sailing ship, Aculeo, colliding into its hidden rocks after being lost for more than three days in blinding fog. With these two incidents, Congress was forced into action.

Point Montara was originally established in 1875 as a fog signal station, which was updated in 1902 with a new fog signal building. The first light was established in 1900 and consisted of a red lens-lantern hung on a post. A fourth-order Fresnel lens was installed in 1912 on a skeleton tower. The light was electrified in 1919. Finally, in 1928, the current 30-foot cast-iron tower was installed to house the Fresnel lens.



While the two shipwrecks are striking events related to the Point Montara Lighthouse, its claim to fame was uncovered in 2008. It was discovered that the current Point Montara lighthouse had another life. It was built in 1881 and erected on Wellfleet Harbor in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where it stood until the light station was decommissioned in 1922. From Cape Cod, the lighthouse made a 3,000-mile journey to Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco Bay, where it waited in a depot until finally being installed at Point Montara in 1928. It is currently the only known lighthouse to have stood watch on two oceans.

Today, Point Montara Lighthouse is also a hostel. The views of the coastline and ocean are stunning. Ice plants bearing yellow blooms cover the cliffs. An old bridge with a waterfall below it empties onto a beautiful secluded beach.

Not far from Point Montara Lighthouse is the quaint little city of Half Moon Bay. Known as the World Pumpkin Capital, producing 3,000 tons of the orange gourd, every fall people from all over California and places beyond descend on this old city for its Pumpkin Festival. Its Main Street is a pleasant walk featuring old shops and old hotels. Painted on the side of one of its old buildings is a depiction of another famous event that takes place nearby at Pillar Point, the Mavericks Invitational Surf Contest. The world's best surfers come here in the winter to pit their skills against waves that can rise over 50 feet high known as the Mavericks. It is said, when the waves break, the resulting sound is thunderous.

Other points of interest are Half Moon Bay State Beach, Montara Mountain, Pillar Point Harbor, Devil's Slide, and the Ritz-Carlton, the oceanside hotel where American Wedding was filmed. For a complete list, go to Half Moon Bay.

California's Point Bonita And Point Reyes Lighthouses--Both Stir The Imagination And Their Unmatched Scenery Stoke Your Inspiration

The vast Pacific Ocean is Earth's largest body of water. Its unrelenting waves are raw, powerful, and explosive. From north to south, they roll onto the shores of the longest stretch of state coastline in the United States. Framed by sheer cliffs, jagged rocks, and wind swept beaches, the intimidating California coast is both awe-inspiring and often deadly.

On recent visits to the Golden State, I have traveled its winding 656 mile Highway 1 from the Big Sur to Point Reyes hiking trails draped by ice plants to cliff-bound sandy beaches where I scaled water-soaked jagged rocks to engulf myself in the coast's natural mystique and document it with the most descriptive photographs, all the time weary of the possibility of being swept away by the Pacific's illusive sneaker wave. A vantage point that was also perfect for viewing the man-made structures built upon these picturesque sea cliffs for the distinct purpose of warning mariners of the hidden dangers characteristic to the California coast, the State's legendary lighthouses.

From St. George Reef to Point Loma, California's 840 mile coast has been lighted by 33 lighthouses. I have visited four thus far, all near the multifaceted and diverse city of San Francisco. Often located on perilous points shrouded in fog, the only access to some of these historical wonders was either walking through a dark tunnel cut into a tall cliff, traversing a suspended bridge high above crashing surf or descending steep, narrow stairs cemented into a jagged rock face. This was true for the lighthouses located at Point Reyes and Point Bonita. For Pigeon Point and Point Montara, it was just a matter of pulling off Highway 1 and walking to the lighthouses.

Both north of San Francisco Bay, Point Bonita and Point Reyes lighthouses are very similar in both design and placement, but each have features and a history unique to itself. Both lighthouses stir your imagination and their unmatched scenery stoke your inspiration.

The Golden Gate's rebellious currents, dangerous shoals, and persistent clinging fog had impeded the journey of many a vessel. 300 boats ran aground near the Golden Gate during the gold rush years. In the 1850's, mariners cried for a light to mark the entrance to the Golden Gate and the 300-foot Point Bonita was selected for a lighthouse site. A fifty-six-foot, conical brick tower with a second-order Fresnel lens went into operation on May 2, 1855. A one-and-a-half-story brick and stone cottage was built near the tower for the keeper of the light. When the light was cloaked in fog, an eight-foot long cannon was fired as a fog signal. In 1874, the first steam siren was installed.

Locating the lighthouse on top of the 300-foot Point Bonita proved to be a mistake. California fog is characteristically high, leaving lower areas clear. A site on the tip of Point Bonita 180-feet lower was selected for the new lighthouse. To reach the site, tunneling through a rock-cliff was required. The 118-foot hand-hewed tunnel and trail proved to be challenging due to the unstable rock. A new 3-room brick structure was built to support the upper half of the original lighthouse that was moved to the new site in 1877, including the Fresnel lens. The new lighthouse went into operation on February 1, 1877.

In time, part of the trail eroded and collapsed into the surf 124-feet below. A wooden causeway was built. Later, it was replaced by a suspension bridge, which appropriately mirrored the style of the Golden Gate Bridge. Again, in 2010, the lighthouse was closed to the public due to the rusting and unsafe condition of the bridge. It too was replaced and the lighthouse reopened in 2011.

Point Bonita is part of the Marin Headlands. From the parking area, it is a 0.5 mile walk on a trail with a stirring coastal view surrounded by grey rock cliffs. It is open for tours Saturday to Monday from 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm.

Looking down from the top of Lookout Point northward, the panoramic view on a fog-free day is breathtaking. Stretching for 11 miles are the brown sands and green-capped cliffs of South Beach and North Beach. Looking seaward, the vast ocean waters are a soulful deep blue and its waves thunderous.

The Point Reyes Headlands jut 10 miles out to sea making it a threat to each ship entering or leaving San Francisco Bay. Before the construction of the Point Reyes Lighthouse in 1870, over three-quarters of a million dollars in ships and cargoes were lost on the rocks. To date, the Point has taken more than fifty ships and the lives of numerous sailors and passengers. Rising 600-feet above the tumultuous surf of the Pacific Ocean, Point Reyes' jagged cliffs were the ideal location for a lighthouse, despite being the second foggiest place on the North American continent. Like Point Bonita, due to the characteristically high fog, an area 300-feet below the top of the cliff was blasted with dynamite to clear a level spot for its construction.

The lens and mechanism for the lighthouse were constructed in France in 1867. The clockwork mechanism, glass prisms and housing for the lighthouse were shipped on a steamer around Cape Horn of South America to San Francisco. The parts from France and the parts for the cast iron tower were transferred to a second ship, which then sailed to a landing on Drakes Bay. The parts were loaded onto ox-drawn carts and hauled three miles over the headlands to near the 600-foot high tip of Point Reyes where they were lowered to the leveled area. It took six months for the lighthouse and fog signal building to be completed. The Point Reyes Light first shone on December 1, 1870.

On April 18, 1906 the famous earthquake of San Francisco occurred, during which the Point Reyes Peninsula and the lighthouse moved 18 feet in less than one minute to the north. The lighthouse did not suffer any significant damage and was off-line only thirteen minutes. A testimony to the dedication and commitment of its hearty lighthouse keepers.

Point Reyes is the windiest place on the Pacific Coast. The highest wind speed recorded at Point Reyes was 133 mph, and 60 mph winds are common. At the end of each shift, the keeper trudged back up the long wooden staircase 300-feet to the keeper's quarters. Sometimes the winds were so strong that he had to crawl on his hands and knees to keep from being knocked down. The hard work, wind, fog, and isolation at Point Reyes made this an undesirable post. The lighthouse keeper at Point Reyes once wrote: "Better to dwell in the midst of alarms than reign in this horrible place."

 

The lighthouse was retired from service in 1975. It is now owned by the National Park Service and part of the Point Reyes National Seashore. It is open to the public on Friday through Monday. Tuesday to Thursday it can only be viewed from an observation deck. To reach the lighthouse, you will need to drive to the lighthouse parking lot, walk a scenic short 0.4 mile trail to the Visitor Center and then descend 308 stairs--map of Point Reyes National Seashore.

Visiting and photographing lighthouses has been a passion of mine. They conjure up a now extinct era when man dared to peer into the unknown with the hope of making peace with the natural order of the sea equipped with nothing more than his wits and raw fortitude. Sometimes he succeeded and sometimes he did not. The lighthouse remains a symbol of that era. Visiting the lighthouses close to San Francisco was fascinating and enriching. I will follow up this article with the lighthouses at Pigeon Point and Point Montara.