Visiting Pigeon Point Light Station State Park

I wonder if I’ll be able to visit every California state park in my lifetime? Who knows but I’m sure going to give it the old college try! This summer I headed to San Francisco for the weekend and decided to take the long way home by traveling along Highway 1 through San Mateo County. Not only did I have an incredible view but there were several fun stops along the way including Pigeon Point Light Station State Park.

Pigeon Point Lighthouse was built in 1872 and still guides watercraft to this day. Originally lit by an oil lamp it now houses an automated beacon and much of the surrounding buildings contain a museum and hostel.

The area received its name from an 1853 ship wreck involving a cargo vessel known as the Carrier Pigeon. Originating from Boston Harbor after 6 months at sea it ran aground just short of its San Francisco destination. Though most of the cargo was lost luckily there were no human casualties.

On my visit, nearly 200 years later, it was extremely windy with the lighthouse enshrouded in fog while the beach below was bathed in sunlight and I could easily understand how a shipwreck could occur.

I was not able to visit the lighthouse itself but toured the adjacent museum where I learned all about the station’s history from an eager volunteer. Despite the windy weather and rural location, the park was quite busy with several tourists milling around. It makes me so happy to see people learning about California history!

Soon enough it was time to move on happy with the fact that I visited such a unique California landmark.