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Perched on a cliff on the central California coast, 50 miles south of San Francisco, the 115-foot Pigeon Point Lighthouse, one of the tallest lighthouses in America, has been guiding mariners since 1872. Its five-wick lard oil lamp, and first-order Fresnel lens, comprised of 1,008 prisms, was first lit at sunset, November 15, 1872. The lens stands 16 feet tall, 6 feet in diameter, and weighs 8,000 pounds. It sits in a lantern room that had been constructed at the Lighthouse Service's general depot in New York before being shipped around the Horn. Although the original Fresnel lens is no longer in use, the lighthouse is still an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation using a 24 inch Aero Beacon.
The coastal areas surrounding Pigeon Point Light Station are rich with life. Marine mammals, such as seals and whales, can be seen regularly from shore as they pass by beyond the surf. The intertidal zone along this part of the coast, particularly in the rocky reefs that flank the light station, contains a diverse and numerous variety of plant and animal life.
From the boardwalk behind the fog signal building, watch for gray whales on their annual migration between January and April. Walk through the tide pool area, 100 yards north of Pigeon Point, or through the amazing 1,000-year-old redwoods nearby. Explore Pescadero Marsh, the feeding and nesting place for more than 150 species of birds, and Año Nuevo State Natural Reserve, the breeding site of northern elephant seals.
Report a compliment or problem regarding park maintenance issues with the Park Observation Program.
Getting There
On California Highway 1, 20 miles south of Half Moon Bay and 27 miles north of Santa Cruz.
On California Highway 1, 20 miles south of Half Moon Bay and 27 miles north of Santa Cruz.
Seasons/Climate/Recommended Clothing
Be prepared for unpredictable weather. Rain may occur between November and March, and even summer brings chilly fog, particularly in the mornings. Stiff northwest winds can develop anytime, so dress in layers.
Be prepared for unpredictable weather. Rain may occur between November and March, and even summer brings chilly fog, particularly in the mornings. Stiff northwest winds can develop anytime, so dress in layers.
Operating Hours & Contact
The day-use area is open from 8am to sunset
The lighthouse is currently closed to the public, but the grounds remain open. In December 2001, a section of the cornice on the exterior of the lighthouse fell off. The lighthouse will remain closed until the structure can be evaluated for safety. The lighthouse may still be viewed from the grounds. For current updates, call the park hotline at 650-879-2120.
Guided half-hour history walks of the lighthouse grounds are available 10am - 4pm Fridays through Sundays, except on rainy days.
Telephone: 650-879-2120
Hostel Hours of Operation:
The new hours of operation at HI-Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel are from 7:30am until 10:30pm everyday. Check-In is from 3:30pm until 10:30pm everyday. Check out is 11am everyday.
The day-use area is open from 8am to sunset
The lighthouse is currently closed to the public, but the grounds remain open. In December 2001, a section of the cornice on the exterior of the lighthouse fell off. The lighthouse will remain closed until the structure can be evaluated for safety. The lighthouse may still be viewed from the grounds. For current updates, call the park hotline at 650-879-2120.
Guided half-hour history walks of the lighthouse grounds are available 10am - 4pm Fridays through Sundays, except on rainy days.
Telephone: 650-879-2120
Hostel Hours of Operation:
The new hours of operation at HI-Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel are from 7:30am until 10:30pm everyday. Check-In is from 3:30pm until 10:30pm everyday. Check out is 11am everyday.
Facilities & Activities
Tours: Half hour guided history walks around the lighthouse grounds are available 10am - 4pm Fridays through Sundays, except on rainy days.
Pigeon point Hostel: Four Light Station buildings, converted to lodging for up to 50 people, are operated by Hostelling International. Each house has two male or female bunkrooms. Separate bunkrooms can be reserved for families or couples. Hostel guests share bathrooms, kitchens and living rooms, and participate in housekeeping activities. To make reservations, call 650-879-0633 from 7:30am to 10am or 5:30pm to 10pm. Information is also available on the hostel's website.
Annual Lighting Celebration: The Fresnel lens is lighted during our annual celebration held on the Saturday closest to November 15. Activities include docent-led tours of the grounds, marine mammal displays, living history demonstrations and educational videos. The celebration concludes with the lighting of the lens from 6pm until 8pm. For more information contact the park Friday to Sunday at 650-726-2120.
Dogs are prohibited at all times.
Smoking is prohibited.
Tours: Half hour guided history walks around the lighthouse grounds are available 10am - 4pm Fridays through Sundays, except on rainy days.
Pigeon point Hostel: Four Light Station buildings, converted to lodging for up to 50 people, are operated by Hostelling International. Each house has two male or female bunkrooms. Separate bunkrooms can be reserved for families or couples. Hostel guests share bathrooms, kitchens and living rooms, and participate in housekeeping activities. To make reservations, call 650-879-0633 from 7:30am to 10am or 5:30pm to 10pm. Information is also available on the hostel's website.
Annual Lighting Celebration: The Fresnel lens is lighted during our annual celebration held on the Saturday closest to November 15. Activities include docent-led tours of the grounds, marine mammal displays, living history demonstrations and educational videos. The celebration concludes with the lighting of the lens from 6pm until 8pm. For more information contact the park Friday to Sunday at 650-726-2120.
Dogs are prohibited at all times.
Smoking is prohibited.
Natural History
History may be the park’s top billing, but the point’s natural beauty is also a major attraction. Its high perch provides scenic views of harbor and elephant seals and whales. During spring and winter migrations, the whales travel relatively close to the lighthouse grounds, particularly in the shallow waters of the cove south of the point. Standing on the station’s overlook boardwalk, visitors can observe northward-bound California gray whale cows and their new calves taking advantage of the safety of the cove. Farther out the spouts of humpback and blue whales can often be seen.
Some 50 species of migratory and native birds live here, including marbled murrelets, an endangered species that nests in nearby old growth forests and feeds in coastal waters. Tide pools are a short walk north of Pigeon Point. Below the point, frothy waves washing over rock ledges cause sea palms to sway.
History may be the park’s top billing, but the point’s natural beauty is also a major attraction. Its high perch provides scenic views of harbor and elephant seals and whales. During spring and winter migrations, the whales travel relatively close to the lighthouse grounds, particularly in the shallow waters of the cove south of the point. Standing on the station’s overlook boardwalk, visitors can observe northward-bound California gray whale cows and their new calves taking advantage of the safety of the cove. Farther out the spouts of humpback and blue whales can often be seen.
Some 50 species of migratory and native birds live here, including marbled murrelets, an endangered species that nests in nearby old growth forests and feeds in coastal waters. Tide pools are a short walk north of Pigeon Point. Below the point, frothy waves washing over rock ledges cause sea palms to sway.
History
Pigeon Point’s original name, Whale Point, was inspired by the gray whales that migrate past the point. California’s boom from gold rush to statehood brought many ships to these rugged waters. In June 1853 the Boston-based Carrier Pigeon, on her maiden voyage, was torn apart by a fog-blanketed rock off Whale Point. Thereafter, it was called Pigeon Point.
A series of wrecks off the point indicated the need for a lighthouse. On November 15, 1872, the station’s fog signal began sounding a distinctive bellow that guided mariners for more than a century. The lighthouse was outfitted with the most powerful lens of the day - a first-order Fresnel lens. Perched in a glass-enclosed room at the top of the lighthouse, the lens stands 16 feet tall and weighs four tons. Its designer, French physicist Augustin Jean Fresnel, used 1,008 handcrafted, brass-framed prisms to concentrate the source of light, thereby maximizing light efficiency.
The prisms, stacked vertically to form two dozen nine-and-a-half-foot tall panels, were joined together to form a six-foot-diameter circular frame with the light source in the middle. A clockwork mechanism rotated the panels, producing a light flash precisely every ten seconds. The lighthouse’s signature beam continues today, flashing light from a 1,000-watt light bulb every ten seconds. The fog signal was replaced by modern aids to navigation in 1976, although it is sometimes sounded on special occasions.
The lighthouse sits on an eight-foot foundation. Its walls, four and a half feet thick at the base and tapering to two feet at the top, employ structurally connected inner and outer walls that were strong enough to emerge undamaged from the 1906 San Francisco and 1989 Loma Prieta earthquakes.
Pigeon Point’s original name, Whale Point, was inspired by the gray whales that migrate past the point. California’s boom from gold rush to statehood brought many ships to these rugged waters. In June 1853 the Boston-based Carrier Pigeon, on her maiden voyage, was torn apart by a fog-blanketed rock off Whale Point. Thereafter, it was called Pigeon Point.
A series of wrecks off the point indicated the need for a lighthouse. On November 15, 1872, the station’s fog signal began sounding a distinctive bellow that guided mariners for more than a century. The lighthouse was outfitted with the most powerful lens of the day - a first-order Fresnel lens. Perched in a glass-enclosed room at the top of the lighthouse, the lens stands 16 feet tall and weighs four tons. Its designer, French physicist Augustin Jean Fresnel, used 1,008 handcrafted, brass-framed prisms to concentrate the source of light, thereby maximizing light efficiency.
The prisms, stacked vertically to form two dozen nine-and-a-half-foot tall panels, were joined together to form a six-foot-diameter circular frame with the light source in the middle. A clockwork mechanism rotated the panels, producing a light flash precisely every ten seconds. The lighthouse’s signature beam continues today, flashing light from a 1,000-watt light bulb every ten seconds. The fog signal was replaced by modern aids to navigation in 1976, although it is sometimes sounded on special occasions.
The lighthouse sits on an eight-foot foundation. Its walls, four and a half feet thick at the base and tapering to two feet at the top, employ structurally connected inner and outer walls that were strong enough to emerge undamaged from the 1906 San Francisco and 1989 Loma Prieta earthquakes.
Accessible Features
Disclaimer
We are working to improve accessibility throughout our parks but we regret that there are currently no (wheelchair) accessible activities at this park. This may be an undeveloped park, or there may be terrain, historic or resource protection issues or other limiting factors. However, there may be some wheelchair accessible features, such as parking areas, restrooms, and routes of travel, that meet some of the current accessibility guidelines. Call the park or email us at access@parks.ca.gov for details.
Disclaimer
We are working to improve accessibility throughout our parks but we regret that there are currently no (wheelchair) accessible activities at this park. This may be an undeveloped park, or there may be terrain, historic or resource protection issues or other limiting factors. However, there may be some wheelchair accessible features, such as parking areas, restrooms, and routes of travel, that meet some of the current accessibility guidelines. Call the park or email us at access@parks.ca.gov for details.
Park News Alert
Announcement: Restoration Work in Progress
California State Parks announces that the annual anniversary lighting special event for Pigeon Point Light Station SHP will not be occurring in 2011; check back for updated information for 2012. This is due to the commencement of the long-anticipated Lighthouse tower restoration project, which will begin with the removal of the first order Fresnel lens in mid- November. Access around the lighthouse may need to be limited beginning November 9, 2011, to prepare the site. The lens will be moved into the Fog Signal Building for display and refurbishment while the tower is being restored. The Fog Signal Building will be closed to public access from November 12 through 23 due to project related work. Our partner, the California State Parks Foundation, is spearheading the effort to raise private funds for the restoration effort.
The park remains open to visitors daily. A dedicated group of volunteer docents is on-site Friday through Monday to host the bookshop, lead tours around the historic grounds, and organize a shore whale watching program each spring. An interpretive center is located in the Fog Signal Building and includes a replica lighthouse showing the interior structure of the lighthouse tower.
Pigeon Point Light Station is located off Highway One near Pescadero, California, approximately fifty miles south of San Francisco. For more information, call the Pigeon Point information line at (650) 879-2120 Friday through Sunday or visit us online.
Educational program support is provided by California State Parks and the San Mateo Coast Natural History Association. To find out more about the restoration efforts and to read updates, visit CSPF's website.
Be the first to add a trip in this destination!Announcement: Restoration Work in Progress
California State Parks announces that the annual anniversary lighting special event for Pigeon Point Light Station SHP will not be occurring in 2011; check back for updated information for 2012. This is due to the commencement of the long-anticipated Lighthouse tower restoration project, which will begin with the removal of the first order Fresnel lens in mid- November. Access around the lighthouse may need to be limited beginning November 9, 2011, to prepare the site. The lens will be moved into the Fog Signal Building for display and refurbishment while the tower is being restored. The Fog Signal Building will be closed to public access from November 12 through 23 due to project related work. Our partner, the California State Parks Foundation, is spearheading the effort to raise private funds for the restoration effort.
The park remains open to visitors daily. A dedicated group of volunteer docents is on-site Friday through Monday to host the bookshop, lead tours around the historic grounds, and organize a shore whale watching program each spring. An interpretive center is located in the Fog Signal Building and includes a replica lighthouse showing the interior structure of the lighthouse tower.
Pigeon Point Light Station is located off Highway One near Pescadero, California, approximately fifty miles south of San Francisco. For more information, call the Pigeon Point information line at (650) 879-2120 Friday through Sunday or visit us online.
Educational program support is provided by California State Parks and the San Mateo Coast Natural History Association. To find out more about the restoration efforts and to read updates, visit CSPF's website.
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