Pigeon Point Light Station
210 Pigeon Point Road
Highway 1
Pescadero, CA 94060


Located On California Highway 1
20 miles south of Half Moon Bay
and 27 miles north of Santa Cruz.
Perched on a cliff on the central California coast, the 115-foot Pigeon Point Lighthouse is one of the tallest lighthouses in America.
It has a 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.
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 signature of the lighthouse is a white flash every 10 seconds.

You can see the lighthouse from Highway 1 and is not far to walk to after parking.

Check the weather at Pigeon Point Light Station


Along the banks north of the lighthouse



We are still north of Pigeon Point looking over a field of Ice Plants


Getting closer to the lighthouse and I saw the lighthouse through this space in the trees


This is what the Light Keepers uniform looked like along the turn of the century in the 1900's


My son MAC is standing next to the sign




In this photo of the back side of the lighthouse you can see the automated beacon.


Pigeon Point Lighthouse has a first order Fresnel lens.
The lens stands close to 8 feet tall.





November 15, 1872 the 115 foot lighthouse at Pigeon Point began operation. We came back to Pigeon point Lighthouse and attended th anniversary celebration for the Lighthouse that was held November 15, 2008 to celebrate its 136th birthday.


Watching the sun go down at Pigeon Point Lighthouse.









On Saturday, November 15, 2008 They celebrated Pigeon Points 136th anniversary, so at precisely 18 hundred hours (6:00 P.M.) the automated beacon at Pigeon Point was turned off and they relit the Pigeon Point’s first order Fresnel lens.

This event always attracts a large crowd of photographers.
Below is a group along the bank north of the lighthouse


Here are some other people east of the lighthouse facing the ocean

These pictures only show a fraction of the people in attendance.

The picture below is the light coming from the original Fresnel lens from the 135th anniversary on November 17, 2007. This is a celebration you must see in person. They kept the Fresnel lens light burning until 20 hundred hours (8:00 P.M.) at which time they extinguished the light of the original Fresnel lens and turned the automated beacon back on.




In December 2001, a large section of the lighthouse tower's upper iron belt course broke off. Because the belt course functions like a rubber band, holding the tower together, this represents a major threat to the entire structure.
Because the strength and stability of the lighthouse has been compromised, it is at risk of being greatly damaged or destroyed by a major windstorm or earthquake.

California State Parks Foundation is spearheading a $6 million fund raising campaign, in partnership with State Parks and the San Mateo Coast Natural History Association, to restore the Pigeon Point Light Station and once again open it to the public.
The restoration will go a long way towards forging a bond between lighthouse visitors and a priceless piece of California's history, and it will protect the integrity of one of the State's most architecturally significant structures.



Please join with the California State Parks Foundation in saving the Pigeon Point Lighthouse. Together, we can make a difference in bringing this incomparable jewel back to life.

mail to:
Lighthouse Restoration
California State Parks Foundation
P.O. Box 548
Kentfield, CA 94914

Make checks payable to California State Parks Foundation.