Pay a visit to the legendary Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park

It doesn’t get any more dramatic than the Mendocino coast and the stunning beauty of its natural setting with foggy summers, native grasses and plants that have adapted to ocean winds with refreshing salt spray. Add the legendary 1909 rehabilitated Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park and shipwreck saga, that of the Gold Rush-era Frolic, all set upon 297 acres of trails and wildlife just 4 miles north of Mendocino and you have day of discovery.

Hiking and history abound here where the light station, restored lightkeeper homes, a small Marine Science Exhibit with a 240-gallon saltwater aquarium, blacksmith and carpentry shop as well as a lovely gift shop welcome around 40,000 visitors annually.

The light station, or light house, was managed by the U.S. Lighthouse Service after construction was completed in 1909. It’s set upon a spectacular headland that is managed today by the Point Cabrillo Lightkeepers Association, and sits along the Pacific Ocean within the historical range of the northern Pomo people who summered here where the resources such as salt, sea lions, seals and kelp are plentiful. Pomo people today access these ancestral lands in order to keep their culture, language and traditions alive.

As you arrive at the park there is a good-sized parking lot with a half-mile walk to the light station and buildings, as well as accessible parking available close to the station and visitor center. Here you will learn the fascinating history of the clipper brig named Frolic, that was laden with Chinese ware bound for San Francisco in 1850 when it smacked into a reef in the rocky shores north of Point Cabrillo. By the 1850s when lumber from nearby forests was harvested for railroad ties and settlers began utilizing lands for grazing their stock, shipping was common and the need for a lighthouse was evident.

This is where the head lightkeeper and the first assistant at the newly constructed light station lived and worked, taking care of the most advanced technology of 1909: The third-order Fresnel lens, with its 90 glass prism sections, one of only 12 in the U.S., and built in Great Britain by Chance Brothers who shipped the fragile cargo around Cape Horn. The lens was proudly lit on June 10, 1909 by the first head lightkeeper Wilhelm Baumgartner. The original wind-up clockwork mechanics and oil lamp were swapped out for electric motors and lamps in 1934-35. In 1972 an automated beacon was installed, but by 1999 the U.S. Coast Guard and volunteers renovated the original Fresnel lens, reactivating it with a 1,000-watt lamp that operates 24/7 as a Federal Aid to Navigation where it is visible 14 miles at sea during dark, clear skies.

Jen Lewis, the fundraising and outreach manager for Point Cabrillo Lightkeepers Association said that the historic light station takes up about 30 acres and includes all of the buildings aforementioned and that, “the only building missing is the barn that once stood on the property, but burned down in a 1980s fire.”

As the only full-time employee at the nonprofit Lewis wears a lot of hats. She manages the volunteers, plans events, schedules tours, handles the social media marketing, and does the buying for the gift shop. She’s also been a volunteer there since 2016.

Some upcoming events include the opportunity to climb to the top of the lighthouse, next to the historic Fresnel lens. For a list of 2026 Lens Tours see the schedule at https://pointcabrillo.org/

Alex Weseloh, supervising state park peace officer for the Sonoma-Mendocino Coast District supervises 22 units, from parks to beaches to natural reserves where he focuses on public safety by checking ocean conditions, checking that the public is recreating safely and providing law enforcement services when needed. Weseloh is glad the parks are partners with Point Cabrillo Lightkeepers Association.

“The association provides the public with fantastic interpretation of the history of the lighthouse and the area,” he said. “One of the main draws to Point Cabrillo is the history and the fact that it is a working light house. People really enjoy learning about the history of Mendocino County and how it connects with areas across California”.

Both Weseloh and Lewis concur that there is an abundance of wildlife to be seen around Point Cabrillo with around 50 species of birds.

“I have had the pleasure of seeing seals, whales, deer, turkey vultures, kites, seagulls, and the occasional red-tailed hawk at Point Cabrillo Lighthouse and there are coyotes in the area,” said Weseloh.

Lewis added, “My favorite critter would have to be the long-tailed weasel. They are so elusive, so fast and so adorable. We also see foxes, coyotes, deer, skunks, snakes,
newts, and a lot of ground squirrels. The bird population out here is incredible, I’ve seen bald eagles, peregrine falcons, northern harriers, cormorants, oyster catchers, and so much more. And as for our offshore creatures, the grey whale is always my favorite. Their yearly northern migration is one of the most incredible things to witness, and sometimes we see them right off the rocks, close to shore! We also see sea lions, harbor seals, humpback whales, orcas and dolphins, but the grey whale has a very special place in my heart.”

A fun fact about the park — movies and TV shows were made at the lighthouse include “Murder She Wrote,” where Point Cabrillo
Lighthouse made a cameo in episode eight of season one: ‘Hit, Run and Homicide’”.

“It’s a fun episode to rewatch, because it features a lot of aerial shots of the Mendocino Coast, even though they call Point Cabrillo the Cabot Cove Lighthouse,” said Lewis. “We’re also featured heavily in ‘The Majestic,’ the Jim Carrey movie that came out in the early 2000s. And while we weren’t in this movie, I am told that the Fresnel lens in the 2019 movie ‘The Lighthouse’ was heavily inspired by the Fresnel lens at Point Cabrillo Lighthouse.”

Along with viewing the last lighthouse in California still operational with an historic rotating Fresnel lens, there are a million things to do while in Mendocino and the area, such as hiking Russian Gulch State Park, meandering through Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, Jug Handle State Natural Reserve and more.

“Mendocino County has an amazing amount of natural, and historical gems hidden away waiting for people to discover,” said Weseloh. “From Point Cabrillo Lighthouse State Historic Park to the Ten Mile Beach with its intact dune system to the redwood trees in Hendy Woods State Park and Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserves.”