Point Sur Lighthouse
Point Sur
Lighthouse began operating on August 1st 1889, and still
operates today. Tours of the lighthouse and island are available. These
tours, particularly the moonlight tours, give you a feeling of what it
was like to live in one of the remotest places on California’s Central
Coast in 1889, the Point Sur Lighthouse.
 The
Point Sur Lighthouse is located on a rocky outcrop north of San Simeon on the Central Coast. The lighthouse and dwellings can be
seen from Highway One. The completion of Highway One in 1937 brought the
lighthouse closer to civilization; before that, Point Sur Lighthouse was
a very remote place.
The four keepers
at Point Sur Lighthouse lived on the rock and manned the lighthouse and
fog signal 24 hours per day. A horse and wagon was used to get mail and
some supplies from Pfeiffer’s Resort (now known as Pfeiffer Big Sur
State Park). Every four months a ship would anchor south of the
lighthouse, and supplies such as animal feed, coal, and firewood would
be brought onto the rock by boat, cargo net, and a steam-driven engine.
Some food was brought in on these visits, but the families of the Point
Sur Lighthouse needed to be self-sufficient and were provided with an
area for growing their own fresh vegetables.
There have been
many shipwrecks off the coast at Big
Sur, but the Point Sur Lighthouse has played a part in reducing the
number of lives lost at sea along this stretch of Big Sur.
Point Sur Lighthouse is currently being restored, and details of the
tours are shown below. However, you should call ahead or check the Point
Sur Lighthouse web site for the latest information.
Photographs of Point Sur Lighhouse are used with permission from Central
Coast Lighthouse Keepers.
For more information on Central Coast Lighthouse Keepers and Central
Coast Lighthouses, click here.
Where you go Point Sur Lighthouse tours
begin along the west side of Highway One at the farm gate, 1/4 mile north
of the Pt. Sur Naval Facility. This
tour is on a First come, First Served basis and there are no
reservations accepted.
What you do The tour is a three hour
walking tour on paved road, lead by a volunteer. You will walk
approximately a mile on the tour, there is a rise in elevation of 360
feet and there are two stairways on the tour of 40-50 steps each.
When to go Year
Round:
Saturdays: 10AM and 2 PM
Sundays: 10AM
Summer Schedule:
Wednesdays: 10 AM and 2 PM (April through October)
Thursdays: 10 AM (July and August)
Moonlight tours are
scheduled throughout the year on Moonlit nights.
Before you go Check with the
Central Coast Lighthouse Keepers for important information
regarding, clothing, accessibility and other essential information for
the tour of Point Sur Lighthouse.
If you like
Point Sur Lighthouse, you
will love the natural beauty of Big Sur.
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