Point Montara Light, Historic lighthouse on Pacific Coast in Montara, California.
Point Montara Light is a cylindrical cast iron tower about 9 metres tall, painted white with weathered, peeling patches, topped by a black watch room with a ring of windows, a black metal gallery railing and a dark sloped roof over the lantern. It stands on the southern approach to San Francisco Bay, roughly 25 miles south of San Francisco.
The steel tower was originally built in Massachusetts in 1881 and served as a beacon at its initial location for many years. It was relocated to Point Montara in 1928, where it has remained anchored to the California coast ever since.
The lighthouse complex operates as a youth hostel today, allowing visitors to stay in spaces that once housed lighthouse keepers and their families. This transformation has turned it into a gathering place where travelers from around the world share the experience of coastal living.
The lighthouse stands about 25 miles south of San Francisco, on the southern approach to the bay. The tower itself is not open to the public; the hostel on the grounds is the way to stay here. The light shows a brief white flash every 5 seconds, visible for 14 nautical miles.
The steel tower is the only lighthouse in California that was transported from the East Coast, originally known as the Mayo Beach Lighthouse. This extraordinary cross-country relocation makes it a rare example among the state's coastal beacons.
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