On the windswept bluffs of the 300 acre Nature Preserve, the Point Cabrillo Light Station (1909), with it's operating Third Order Fresnel lens, is the most intact light station remaining in California. Built to serve the doghole schooners that supplied the north coast lumber trade. The station was staffed by 3 keepers and their families who maintained the light and the fog signal, and raised crops and livestock on the headlands.

Image of Light Station

Point Cabrillo Light Station State Reserve

Managed today by the non-profit Point Cabrillo Lightkeepers Association, exhibits feature the area's maritime history including a display of artifacts from the wreck of the Frolic, the Gold Rush era vessel that changed the north coast forever. Learn a little intertidal ecology at the Preserve's mini marine science center located in the historic blacksmith shop, or take a guided walk with a history docent. The Lighthouse Gift Shop features collectibles and the work of local artists and photographers. To learn more about Point Cabrillo Light Station, visit www.pointcabrillo.org.


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