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Point Sur Lighthouse and Top-Secret Naval base Historic Park
Introduction:
What? : Large dominate
volcanic bluff with a lighthouse and research center. Near the road you can
find the decommission top-secret Naval base used for submarine defense system
at the cold war.
Where? : located 24
miles south of Monterey.
Due note: Usually both
locations are not open to the public except for guided tours. Additional
information on tours including schedules is available at:
or by calling
831-625-4419.
My thoughts: For most tourist
this is not a must attraction on their highway 1 exploration. I visited only the
Naval base tour (not so much recommended unless you are specifically interested
in this kind of history), maybe some time will go to the lighthouse tours.
The visit:
Point Sur Light station:
The Point Sur Light
station sits 361 feet above the Pacific Ocean on a large volcanic rock which
juts into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Point Sur is the only
complete, turn-of-the century Light station open to the public in California.
First lit on August 1, 1889, the lighthouse has remained in continuous
operation. Lighthouse keepers and their families lived at the site from 1889 to
1974 when the lighthouse was automated.
The Light
station is open to the public only through docent-led tours.
Three-hour
walking tours of the Light station are generally offered on weekends
year-round, and seasonally on Wednesdays.
I did not visit
the lighthouse so I cannot provide additional information.
Point Sur Naval Facility:
Opened in 1958,
the former Point Sur Naval Facility (NAVFAC) was once part of a worldwide
network of defensive listening stations that tracked the movement of Soviet
submarines during the cold war era. The Point Sur NAVFAC is one of only a
handful of remaining Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) facilities and is the
only one on the West Coast open to public interpretation.
Tours of the
former Point Sur NAVFAC are being offered at 10 a.m. each Saturday and
Sunday. NAVFAC tours are about 90
minutes and cost 10$ per adult.
Entrance:
When driving
from the north look for the wood sign with the words "Point Sur Naval
Facility" on the west shoulder 1/4 mile south of the Point Sur Light
station gate.
My view about the base tour:
I must admit
that this visit is not mandatory or highly recommended attraction.
On the other hand,
it was interesting to learn about its activity and about naval base aspects. The
base itself is deserted without any exceptional buildings so nothing much to
see. Interesting to learn about the history but not a lot more than that.
If it was
shorter visit (30 min) I will recommend it more, but this is more like 1.5
hours.
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