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Quick Guide to Visiting the Point Pinos Lighthouse
-> For hours, wedding reservations, etc. see the:
City of Pacific Grove (left side of page)
NOTE: No drones, no pets, no riding bikes (walk bikes to bike rack, 4 max). Have fun!
The longest continuously lit lighthouse on the West Coast, still using its original third-order Fresnel lens that was
shipped around Cape Horn aboard a wooden bark (barque) before the Panama Canal existed (opened 1914).
Its light source evolved from using whale oil to lard oil, then 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.
Alcatraz was the first lit lighthouse in California, but was off for over a year.
Point Pinos is still using the original lens in the original building.
The Point Pinos team reports that no wreck has ever occurred at Point Pinos because its light was out.
Inside the Point Pinos Lighthouse
Navigation
Before GPS (which can fail), navigation was by line of site, compass, sextant and good maps. Could you find your way?
As told by Keeper Emily Fish. could you be a keeper? And keep the light lit (at night)?
Kitchen 1920s
Coal stove, ice box (as in block of ice), lots of substitutes for what we use now (like lard in fruit cake), home garden. Could you make a meal?
Parlor 1890s
Lives of the early keepers. Piano, model ship building, painting, needle work, reading, stereopticon, simple B&W camera. Could you survive without electricity, cell phones, internet? (or toilet paper?)
Coast Guard and WWII
The enemy is upon us and potentially among us. Could you spot and stop them? With simple 1940 tech, dogs, artillery, hand made models to help identify planes?
Watch Room
Keepers spent a lot of time in this room, watching the ships come and go. Could you spot a ship in trouble?
Keeper Bedroom
Could you pack your entire personal life into a small bedroom, with desk, dresser, minimal personal clothing and belongings?
Up to see the light!
Same lens since 1855, but now with a 200 watt LED. Irreplaceable. And we still clean it by hand.
Make a Day of it:
The United States Coast Guard is responsible for the light and Fresnel lens in the lantern room and is part of the Department of Homeland Security
The City of Pacific Grove and volunteers maintain the museum below the light and grounds.
The Heritage Society of Pacific Grove owns this website
and is responsible for it's contents.
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