Day Trip: Point Arena Lighthouse

This weekend we explored the Point Arena Lighthouse with our friends Tom and T who were visiting from San Diego. Located about 15 miles north of us, the lighthouse is 115 feet tall and the tallest lighthouse on the west coast of the United States. A spiral staircase with 145 stairs will take you to the top of the tower.

The lighthouse has an interesting history. Since the San Andreas fault bends offshore less than 10 miles from the lighthouse, it has been subject to some shakers through the years. It was damaged in the 1906 San Francisco quake and was rebuilt the following year using a design from a concrete chimney company that specialized in building industrial chimneys.

Spiral staircase in the lighthouse.

Foggy view from the top.

More hazy view from the top of the lighthouse.

The old lightkeeper's quarters is now the museum.

Part of the first order Fresnel lens that used to be the lighthouse.

The lighthouse is actually undergoing restoration, so it's under wraps now.

While it was a fairly foggy day that we were there, it was still worth the trip to the lighthouse.

After the lighthouse we went to the nearby Stornetta Public Lands area. This is a 1,100 acres that have been set in preserve near the lighthouse. It is administered by BLM and includes over two miles of coastline, the estuary of the Garcia River and adjacent beach, and a small island accessible during low tide. We enjoyed some of the cool geologic formations and weathered rock formations.