Introduction:
What? : A
beautiful tall lighthouse and a nearby coastline park to visit.
Where? : located
on Mendocino County coastline, near the town of Point Arena, 35 miles south of Mendocino.
Google Map Link
Additional Nearby attractions:
- Russian Gulch State Park
- Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens
- Skunk Train roundtrip from Fort Bragg to inland Northspur
- MacKerricher State Park
- Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park.
- Little River State Park
- Van Damme Beach State Park
- Point Arena Lighthouse
When? : It is
recommended to be there towards sunset, the lighthouse will be close to visits
but the ocean sunset and lighthouse view is worth the wait.
Due note: Looks
like that the road parking lot is public land so you can park for the night on
the roadside. At 2020 summer we spend here two nights, just at the lighthouse
parking, many others did the same.
My thoughts: we
really enjoy this place, the magnificent lighthouse view, beach cliff over the
ocean below, grasslands, hidden coves and beaches to explore and few short hike
options. Highly recommended place to visit, even just to see the unique
lighthouse.
The visit:
The visit here
includes the Lighthouse as well as hiking at Point Arena-Stornetta open land
and ragged shoreline.
Interesting
fact: Point Arena-Stornetta is the ONLY land-based part of the California
Coastal National Monument, which is comprised of over 20,000 islands, rocks,
and reefs stretched along the 1,100-mile California coastline.
The Lighthouse:
The Point Arena
Lighthouse iconic landscape figure is the tallest climbable lighthouse on the
Pacific Coast.
The lighthouse
originally built in 1870, destroyed by an earthquake in 1906 and rebuilt again by
1908. The 115-foot structure is the tallest of its kind on the Pacific Coast.
Unfortunately,
whenever we visit here (and spend the night near the gate) the lighthouse was
after visiting hour so we can’t go inside to visit the local history and science
museum.
The lighthouse
located at the end of a lend tip and surrounded by water on three sides.
From the
external parking lot, you can have a short hike 0.3 mile to the east of the
lighthouse complex (right on the complex fence) north to the cliff with a much
closer view on the lighthouse. Another short side trail will take you to Garcia
River ocean outlet.
Point Arena-Stornetta Public
Lands:
The 1,665-acre
Point Arena-Stornetta Unit of the California Coastal National Monument.
To hike here
the best place to park your car is at the small roadside parking lot, about 1
mile before the lighthouse, at the point where the road is leaving the
coastline and getting inland.
The easy hike
at the reserve will take you through flat open landscape, grasslands, to the
ragged rocky beaches, coastal bluffs and sea arches.
Overall, this
is around 2 mile out and back hike with option to go down and explore the
beaches and tide pools, you can extend the hike and continue hiking south.
At the flat
landscape, not far from the cliffs, you
can also see few “sinkholes” that are connected to the ocean below, this rock
formations are the result of constant erosion from the crashing waves below,
creating cavernous holes at their base.
www:
https://www.blm.gov/visit/point-arena-stornetta-unit
Map:
https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/documents/files/media-center-public-room-california-ccnm-point-arena-stornetta-unit.pdf
Pictures:
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