Point Reyes Lighthouse
27000 Sir Francis Drake Blvd
Inverness, CA
A lighthouse bolted to a cliff at the end of the continent, down more than 300 steps, in one of the foggiest and windiest places in North America.
The Point Reyes Lighthouse was built in 1870 on one of the deadliest headlands on the Pacific coast, a point where fog can blanket the sea for days and even weeks, hiding the rocks from passing ships. Rather than perch the light high on the cliff top where fog would swallow it, the engineers set it low, part way down the sheer face, so its beam could shine beneath the fog.
That decision means the only way to reach it is down more than three hundred steps clinging to the cliff, and back up again. Generations of keepers made that climb daily in some of the fiercest weather in North America, tending the light and the deep, moaning fog signal. It is one of the most atmospheric lighthouses anywhere.
What Guests Love
- The dramatic descent of more than 300 steps down the cliff to the light itself
- Standing on the most exposed point of the coast, with the surf booming far below
- Gray whales passing close offshore in winter, watched from the headland
- The historic first-order Fresnel lens, a jewel of glass prisms, still in the tower
Worth Knowing
- The lighthouse closes in high wind, which is common here, so check before making the long drive
- It is a steep climb down and back up the equivalent of a 30-story building; take your time
- During winter whale season a shuttle may be required for the last stretch of road
- Dress for cold, wind, and fog even on a sunny day inland; the point makes its own harsh weather
Details
Inverness, CA
Learn about Point Reyes Lighthouse
Why the light was needed
The waters off Point Reyes are notorious. The headland thrusts far out into the shipping lanes for San Francisco, and it is wrapped in dense fog through much of the year, one of the foggiest stretches of the entire West Coast. Before the light, ship after ship wrecked on the rocks in the murk.
When the lighthouse was finally built in 1870, after long delays and the difficulty of the terrain, it carried a first-order Fresnel lens, the largest and most powerful class, a beehive of hand-ground glass prisms that focused a small flame into a beam visible far out to sea. That original lens still sits in the tower today.
A keeper's hard post
Life at the light was brutal. The wind here regularly howls at gale force, and keepers wrote of being unable to stand upright, of the fog signal running for weeks without pause, and of the isolation at the edge of the continent. The relentless weather wore men down, and Point Reyes was considered one of the worst postings in the service.
The keepers hauled fuel and supplies down and up those hundreds of steps, wound the clockwork that turned the lens, and kept the fog signal sounding its warning into the gray. The light was automated and the keepers finally withdrawn in 1975, and the Coast Guard turned the historic station over to the National Park Service, which preserves it today.
Whales, seabirds, and the headland
Because it reaches so far out to sea, the point is one of the best whale-watching spots on the coast. Each winter, gray whales pass close by on their migration south to Mexico and again heading north in spring, their spouts visible from the overlook above the light. Seabirds by the thousands nest on the offshore rocks.
The exposed headland is treeless and windswept, carpeted in low coastal scrub and, in spring, wildflowers that hug the ground against the gale. Common murres, cormorants, and gulls wheel over the water, and the same fog that made the light necessary drifts in and out, sometimes revealing the whole sweep of coast, sometimes closing the world down to a few gray feet.
Visiting the light and the seasons
Reaching the lighthouse means driving out to the end of the peninsula and then walking a long, exposed path to the top of the stairs, and only then descending the more than three hundred steps to the light itself. The stairway and the light close whenever the wind blows too hard, which is often, so it is always worth checking conditions before the long trip out.
Winter is the marquee season, when gray whales pass close offshore and the elephant seals gather nearby, though it is also the wettest and windiest time. Spring brings wildflowers to the headland and thinning fog. Summer is famously the foggiest season at the point, while fall can bring the clearest, calmest days of the year. Whenever you come, dress for cold and wind, and give yourself time for the climb back up.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Point Reyes
Point Reyes National Seashore
All around
The wild peninsula the lighthouse sits on, with tule elk, elephant seals, empty beaches, and the San Andreas Fault.
Chimney Rock and the Elephant Seal Overlook
About 3 miles
A nearby headland with a winter elephant seal colony, spring wildflowers, and more whale watching.
Cypress Tree Tunnel
About 5 miles
A striking avenue of tall Monterey cypress arching over the road to a historic maritime radio station.