Piedras Blancas Light Station, Maritime lighthouse in San Simeon, United States.
Piedras Blancas Light Station is a lighthouse standing about 70 feet (21 m) tall on a rocky coastal point near San Simeon, California. The white tower rises from a flat, wind-swept headland above the Pacific, surrounded by low coastal scrub and a cluster of historic support buildings.
The lighthouse was built in 1875 to protect ships along a stretch of coast where reefs and rocks had caused many wrecks before the station was established. In the late 20th century, the Coast Guard handed the property over to a preservation program, which opened it to public visits.
The name Piedras Blancas means 'white rocks' in Spanish, referring to the pale offshore rocks that sailors used as a natural landmark long before any lighthouse stood here. Guided tours let visitors handle period equipment and see how keepers once managed the light through fog and storm.
Access to the site is only possible through guided tours that must be booked in advance, and the visit involves a short walk across open, exposed ground. The headland is very windy, so layering up with wind-resistant clothing and wearing sturdy shoes makes the walk more comfortable.
The station's original first-order Fresnel lens was not lost to a storm or disaster but was simply removed in 1949 and replaced with a modern light, a routine decision that now seems hard to believe given the lens's rarity. The lens was later found and is now on display at a museum in Cambria, just a short drive away.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
