The Lighthouse Circuit

Access, tours, hours, fees, and closures change often. Always verify with the official source before driving.

Tier 1

Point Pinos Lighthouse

Point Pinos Light Station

Pacific Grove · Monterey County · Central Coast

The longest continuously lit lighthouse on the West Coast, still using its original 1855 third-order Fresnel lens. The Point Pinos team reports that no wreck has occurred because its light went out.

Active aidPublic accesseasy
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Tier 1–3
Editorial browse cues for prominence and context—not circuits, checklists, or achievements.
Active aid
The light currently serves navigation. It does not mean the tower, grounds, or interior are open to visitors.
Public / restricted access
Some approved visitor access versus a legal viewpoint, special arrangement, or no ordinary public entry. Always check the official guidance.
Flagship 12
The curated statewide circuit. It is separate from the editorial tier labels.

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The Listening Coast · Arrival story

1:11

The Same Glass

A one-minute field story for Point Pinos Lighthouse. Listen before the road or when you arrive.

Read transcript

Lighthouse Circuit. The Listening Coast — Point Pinos Lighthouse. The remarkable thing at Point Pinos is not simply that the light is old. It is how much of the original idea still works. Its third-order Fresnel lens traveled around Cape Horn aboard a wooden barque before the Panama Canal existed. That same lens remains active today. What changed was the flame behind it: whale oil gave way to lard oil, then kerosene, pressurized kerosene, incandescent light, halogen, and finally a two-hundred-watt LED installed in 2021. Nearly everything about the energy source evolved. The glass kept doing its job—collecting light, bending it, and sending it toward the dark water. Point Pinos compresses more than a century and a half of technology into one room. When you look at the lens, you are not looking at a replica. You are looking through the same glass generations of mariners trusted.

From the field

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Point Pinos Lighthouse after restoration, with its red lantern dome, photographed from the grounds in April 2026
Photo: © Point Pinos Lighthouse· Used with permission

⚠ Verify before you drive

Hours and special events can change; verify the current schedule with the City of Pacific Grove or Point Pinos Lighthouse before visiting. Chris Patton reconfirmed the stewardship history in August 2026: the City assumed care and public interpretation of the lighthouse from the U.S. Coast Guard on August 23, 2006, while the Coast Guard continued to maintain the active aid.

Keeper-supplied

From the lightkeepers

Shared by Point Pinos Lighthouse · Confirmed Aug 19, 2026

A story worth keeping

The lens that came around Cape Horn

Point Pinos still uses its original third-order Fresnel lens, shipped around Cape Horn aboard a wooden bark (barque) before the Panama Canal existed. Its light source evolved from whale oil to lard oil, kerosene, pressurized kerosene, incandescent, and halogen illumination. Since June 9, 2021, a 200-watt LED has shone through the original lens with a characteristic of three seconds on and one second off. Point Pinos is the longest continuously lit lighthouse on the West Coast: Alcatraz lit first in California, but its original lighthouse and lens are no longer in service. The Point Pinos team reports that no wreck has occurred because its light went out.

Dates and access can change. Confirm with the official lighthouse site before traveling.

Visit essentials

Access

drive-up (city park/museum)

Current hours

Lighthouse museum and grounds: Thursday 1pm–3pm; Friday–Sunday 11am–3pm. Grounds admission is free. Verify the current schedule before visiting.

Tours

Lighthouse museum open during posted public hours; volunteer docents provide interpretation

Reservations

Not required

Fees

$7 adults; $3 children ages 5–17; free for children under 5. Lighthouse grounds are free.

Accessibility

Grounds accessible. Museum in adjacent building. Tower interior access limited.

The light

Year first lit

1855

Current structure built

1855

Tower height

43 ft

Focal plane

89 ft

Optic

Original third-order Fresnel lens (1855), still active; illuminated by a 200-watt LED since June 9, 2021

Light characteristic

Fl W 4s (3 seconds on, 1 second off)

Stewardship & location

Owner

City of Pacific Grove (building and grounds); U.S. Coast Guard (active aid to navigation)

Manager

City of Pacific Grove Recreation Department (oversight); Pacific Grove Heritage Society (restoration and volunteers); U.S. Coast Guard (active light)

Coordinates

36.6338, -121.9330 Map

National Register

Listed

The story

Alcatraz was lit first in California, but its original lighthouse and lens are no longer in service. Point Pinos was first lit February 1, 1855, and its original third-order Fresnel lens remains active. On August 23, 2006, the City of Pacific Grove assumed care and public interpretation of the lighthouse from the U.S. Coast Guard; the Coast Guard continues to maintain the active aid.

The people behind the light

Emily Fish’s keeper logs offer a way into the lives behind this light. Explore her place in a wider story of keepers, families and coastal work.

Meet the people →

The visit

The grounds and lighthouse museum share the same posted public hours. Grounds admission is free, and visitors come for wildlife watching, views, and picnics; museum admission includes volunteer docent interpretation. The active Coast Guard light still shines through the original third-order Fresnel lens.

Make a day of it

Base yourself in

Pacific Grove or Monterey

Food / coffee

Pacific Grove Main Street restaurants, Monterey Fisherman's Wharf

Stay nearby

Asilomar Conference Grounds (Pacific Grove), Monterey hotels, Pacific Grove B&Bs

Nearby lighthouses

Historical view of the Point Sur Light Station lantern room, showing a former aerobeacon and an earlier gallery condition

Point Sur Light Station

★ Flagship 12

Big Sur, Central Coast

Tier 1Active aidPublic accessmoderate⚠ Verify

The most complete surviving light station complex in California. The 3-hour guided tour is among the most immersive lighthouse experiences on the West Coast. The volcanic rock setting is visually extraordinary.

Pigeon Point Lighthouse, a 115-foot white tower south of Pescadero

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

★ Flagship 12

Pescadero, Bay Area / Peninsula

Tier 1Light status unconfirmedPublic accesseasy⚠ Verify

A lens with a life on two coasts, the daily labor of its keepers, and a tower being restored for another generation. The museum brings those stories within reach while the tower remains closed.

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Sources

Image rights: April 2026 photograph supplied directly by its photographer with permission to use; public credit requested as © Point Pinos Lighthouse.

Research confidence: high · Last verified 2026-08-23