Point Sur Light Station
Point Sur Light Station
4.5
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roy v
Traralgon, Australia5,940 contributions
Jun 2024 • Family
We were recently staying in Pebble Beach visiting family when we went to the PT. SUR STATE HISTORIC PARK.
It is a beautiful area and the highlight of the day was the three hour guided tour of the Pt. SUR Light House.
Parking is available at the base of Pt. SUR, there are only about 40 people allowed into the parking area from the main road then the gate is closed.
We were split up into two groups each with a tour guide and off we went up the hill to the lighthouse, it is a good walk uphill with a few steps so if you have walking problems it would be a challenge. You walk about a mile
During the walk uphill our guide Tom stopped a few times and explained the history and nature of this wonderful area and the history and making of the lighthouse.
You could tell he was a man who enjoyed being a volunteer guide, he really knew his stuff and was very easy to understand, one of the best guides we have ever had anywhere.
Once up the top there is a lot to see , apart from the lighthouse there are the homes that the lighthouse family lived in and other interesting buildings, go and see for yourself.
The day that we did the tour was very rough, one of the worst apparently, lots of fog which made visibility poor , did not see the lighthouse until we were nearly at the top. The wind was bad and it was very cool, so we did not see much of the coastline from up there.
I think that is what made the tour more unique, easy to see the area in great conditions but to experience it under bad weather conditions was special, really gives you a feel what it must have been like at times for the light keeper and his family living on this isolated point many years ago .
Interestingly after we left the area and continued on along the coast the sun was out and it was a glorious warm day.
The point just showed us its own identity.
Loved the tour, highly recommended .
It is a beautiful area and the highlight of the day was the three hour guided tour of the Pt. SUR Light House.
Parking is available at the base of Pt. SUR, there are only about 40 people allowed into the parking area from the main road then the gate is closed.
We were split up into two groups each with a tour guide and off we went up the hill to the lighthouse, it is a good walk uphill with a few steps so if you have walking problems it would be a challenge. You walk about a mile
During the walk uphill our guide Tom stopped a few times and explained the history and nature of this wonderful area and the history and making of the lighthouse.
You could tell he was a man who enjoyed being a volunteer guide, he really knew his stuff and was very easy to understand, one of the best guides we have ever had anywhere.
Once up the top there is a lot to see , apart from the lighthouse there are the homes that the lighthouse family lived in and other interesting buildings, go and see for yourself.
The day that we did the tour was very rough, one of the worst apparently, lots of fog which made visibility poor , did not see the lighthouse until we were nearly at the top. The wind was bad and it was very cool, so we did not see much of the coastline from up there.
I think that is what made the tour more unique, easy to see the area in great conditions but to experience it under bad weather conditions was special, really gives you a feel what it must have been like at times for the light keeper and his family living on this isolated point many years ago .
Interestingly after we left the area and continued on along the coast the sun was out and it was a glorious warm day.
The point just showed us its own identity.
Loved the tour, highly recommended .
Written August 1, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Chris
Fareham, UK14 contributions
Aug 2023 • Couples
This is a must if you're nearby. The guided tour was really interesting and the volunteer docents really know their stuff. It's a steep climb but with plenty of rest stops. Fantastic views from the top with some really interesting period buildings to explore. It's only open for tours on certain days, and you can't reserve. As others have said, you line your cars up by the side of the road and they let people in until they're full, so get there early!
Written January 3, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rbbt23
Burbank5 contributions
Dec 2022
Volunteers are doing an amazing job rehabbing this historic facility. Tour is about 3 hours long, and there is a fairly steep climb from the base of the rock to the lighthouse - along the way you'll stop frequently for interesting historic insights from the docent.
Great history and wonderful views of the ocean and coast.
Great history and wonderful views of the ocean and coast.
Written January 1, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Outspokentraveler
Philadelphia, PA202 contributions
Apr 2018
Point Sur lighthouse has been closed for decades, but unknown to me despite my many visits to Big Sur, the lighthouse was open for occasional visitors.
I mean occasional. Open a few days a week, and very limited hours, getting inside the cow fence to the long road and the steep, peculiar rock formation, was truly going back in time. Occasional in also the docent, who drives the long winding dirt road from the base of the rock to highway 1 and the cow gate, stops and slowly counts the cars and people — more than 7-10 and that is that. Luckily, there were only 7 of us; he waved his arms as we drove through the gate and made us follow him to the tiny parking lot with it’s johnny-on-the-spot, looking like last stop for a last stop.
The docent, in his yellow rain slicker and official designation on a string hanging around his neck. He was a bit stern at first, especially about not going near the road’s edge to the sea because of erosion. The other two, clearly less senior docents, made it a slow walk up the long hill, pointing out nearly a dozen different forms of flower or vegetation and why it was unique or special the area.
The 1,000 foot climb was slow.
You have to actually Big Sur to drove towards Carmel, through the grassy flat cow pastures that ended at the sea. Black Angus dotted the landscape of vibrant green. And unlike the pure, overwhelming natural force of Big Sur, the lighthouse rock was a talk, lonely, isolated place…and if haunted, it was so by history; the several small buildings housed exhibits to its history.
The actual lighthouse is down a little on the ocean side. But the story behind the light’s intense lens and its making, psychics and use were worth me going to Wikipedia for:
The Point Sur Lightstation originally contained a first-order (the largest) Fresnel lens. The lens was in use until the 1970s when it was replaced by a modern aero beacon mounted on the roof of the fog signal room. The lens remained in the lighthouse tower until 1978, when it was disassembled and transported to the Allen Knight Maritime Museum of Monterey for display. The aero beacon was later moved into the lighthouse tower.
The Fresnel lens was invented by Augustin Jean Fresnel, a French physicist. Fresnel's invention revolutionized lighthouses world-wide. Within a short time his lenses were accepted as the best available. Many are still in use today.
The first-order lens apparatus that was once a part of Point Sur is 18 feet tall, with the optical portion being almost eight feet tall and over six feet in diameter. The optic alone weighs 4,330 pounds. It consists of 16 panels of prisms, each with a "bullseye" in the center surrounded by concentric rings of prismatic glass. Each ring projects a short distance beyond the previous one. Additional reflecting prisms are located above and below the center. As the cylinder of prisms turns, each panel "collects" and "bends" light into a single focused beam. Light from Point Sur's Fresnel lens was visible for 23 nautical miles.
Thank you, Wikipedia.
The final comment goes to the main house, where the families who lived on the rock spent their daily lives. The entire house was a well-crafted homage to the 1940-1950’s…so many every day collectibles. Every room a still image. Despite the howling winds outside, you expected to turn a corner and bump into the family member running off to the kitchen for dinner.
I mean occasional. Open a few days a week, and very limited hours, getting inside the cow fence to the long road and the steep, peculiar rock formation, was truly going back in time. Occasional in also the docent, who drives the long winding dirt road from the base of the rock to highway 1 and the cow gate, stops and slowly counts the cars and people — more than 7-10 and that is that. Luckily, there were only 7 of us; he waved his arms as we drove through the gate and made us follow him to the tiny parking lot with it’s johnny-on-the-spot, looking like last stop for a last stop.
The docent, in his yellow rain slicker and official designation on a string hanging around his neck. He was a bit stern at first, especially about not going near the road’s edge to the sea because of erosion. The other two, clearly less senior docents, made it a slow walk up the long hill, pointing out nearly a dozen different forms of flower or vegetation and why it was unique or special the area.
The 1,000 foot climb was slow.
You have to actually Big Sur to drove towards Carmel, through the grassy flat cow pastures that ended at the sea. Black Angus dotted the landscape of vibrant green. And unlike the pure, overwhelming natural force of Big Sur, the lighthouse rock was a talk, lonely, isolated place…and if haunted, it was so by history; the several small buildings housed exhibits to its history.
The actual lighthouse is down a little on the ocean side. But the story behind the light’s intense lens and its making, psychics and use were worth me going to Wikipedia for:
The Point Sur Lightstation originally contained a first-order (the largest) Fresnel lens. The lens was in use until the 1970s when it was replaced by a modern aero beacon mounted on the roof of the fog signal room. The lens remained in the lighthouse tower until 1978, when it was disassembled and transported to the Allen Knight Maritime Museum of Monterey for display. The aero beacon was later moved into the lighthouse tower.
The Fresnel lens was invented by Augustin Jean Fresnel, a French physicist. Fresnel's invention revolutionized lighthouses world-wide. Within a short time his lenses were accepted as the best available. Many are still in use today.
The first-order lens apparatus that was once a part of Point Sur is 18 feet tall, with the optical portion being almost eight feet tall and over six feet in diameter. The optic alone weighs 4,330 pounds. It consists of 16 panels of prisms, each with a "bullseye" in the center surrounded by concentric rings of prismatic glass. Each ring projects a short distance beyond the previous one. Additional reflecting prisms are located above and below the center. As the cylinder of prisms turns, each panel "collects" and "bends" light into a single focused beam. Light from Point Sur's Fresnel lens was visible for 23 nautical miles.
Thank you, Wikipedia.
The final comment goes to the main house, where the families who lived on the rock spent their daily lives. The entire house was a well-crafted homage to the 1940-1950’s…so many every day collectibles. Every room a still image. Despite the howling winds outside, you expected to turn a corner and bump into the family member running off to the kitchen for dinner.
Written December 10, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sharon W
11 contributions
Jan 2020
Be very cautious and do not leave any valuables in car as this area is targeted by criminals and thieves who smash car window and grab everything in cars. Apparently happens several times a day as it did to us. We had rented an SUV and that makes it very easy to smash the back window and grab everything inside. If renting a vehicle I will always rent a vehicle with a trunk from now on.
Written January 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dr.Rick
Fresno, CA31 contributions
Sep 2018
Growing up on the Monterey Peninsula, I had driven down the coast hundreds of time, always seeing the lighthouse and wondering what it was like. Many years passed before finally getting a tour. A great experience. The history portrayed within and the views from without made for a great completed bucket list wish.
Written August 6, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Food & Fun!
Marina, CA23 contributions
Oct 2018 • Solo
Our guide swore it was haunted and it was hard not to believe when my visit was on a very foggy October day. From start to finish the tour is intriguing and the scenery is breathtaking. Once at the top you truly feel you are isolated and it's hard to imagine that people once lived there but as it happens one of the gentlemen in our tour group disclosed that he had lived there as a young boy while his father was the lightkeeper! This lighthouse tour is truly a must but I'm not sure I would take young children as the cliff ledges are real and the wind is fierce.
Written March 26, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Daft Life of Adulting
San Jose, CA321 contributions
Sep 2018 • Friends
Each day there is tours, cars line up on the side of the road. First come, first served. You drive through pasture land and park at the base of a steep hill. Through a 2 hour tour, you ascend the hill with some of the most passionate docents I have ever encountered. They talk about the site of the USS Mason, an air ship that crashed just off the coast, then to the light house. Restorations are lovingly done. From the lighthouse, it is up more to the houses that served this remote community of about 10. The one house is thought to be haunted and has been on ghost shows on TV. There are special nights that they offer paranormal tours. The other house as been restored to a specific time. The place is complete with cereal boxes on the shelves, underwear laid out on the beds, etc. It is a creepy and interesting place. Then to the visitors center. The fee is small. You ascend from the hill at the end of the tour.
Written November 15, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SteelCity13
Austin, TX905 contributions
Apr 2021
Pretty to look at from afar. Wish they had more tours. Would have loved to see it up close. Great old lighthouse.
Written May 1, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mini
Fremont, CA212,259 contributions
May 2020
On our drive to Big Sur, we enjoyed seeing the Point Sur Lighthouse. It is located 361 feet above the surf on volcanic soil. It was first lit on August 1, 1889.
Written May 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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