- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Point Arena Lighthouse Keeper Inc
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
Sponsored Result
You Might Also Consider
Wharf Master's Inn
- 19 reviews
- Location:
- Point Arena, CA
"This was probably one of the nicest rooms I've ever stayed in. The view was amazing and Mendocino is a great alternative to wine tasting in…" read more »
5 reviews for Point Arena Lighthouse Keeper Inc
Well crap. Here we are in this absolutely beautiful place, came up all these steps on this glorious day, the waves are crashing way down below, the birds are flying, and after four pictures my digital SLR shuts down. Dead battery, no charger.
Dude, spend the 5 bucks. Take the tour. It's not about getting "your money's worth". It's about seeing a part of California history that is slowly disappearing. and the $5 goes to helping preserve it. And if you can't afford the $5, then your shouldn't have spent the $40 in gas it took you to get here.
The light house is interesting. And when I did the tour the guy at the top of the stairs told us more history of the place and the surrounding area while our little group of 8 took turns looking at the view. The glass work of the lens is pretty cool, so admire it while you are standing there (see my picture).
The little shop there has a history room / museum in the back. Some fun little displays and interesting stories of the area - and the requisite local fish, bird, and wildlife displays. There are also a couple of short trails around the area.
When we were there, the people staying at the "Lighthouse Keepers Quarters" were flying kites. And I'm not talking about your little diamond shape jobbies. These were humongous, colorful, fun flying structures. There was a gecko, a snake, a ship, a bear, a ten ribbon kite, and 5 or 6 others all tethered up and flying around.
I was going to take pictures from the top of the lighthouse and when we came down, but .... see 1st paragraph.
Planning on going back and staying there with the family some weekend. I'd love to do it during the stormy winter months, but not sure how the rest of the family would feel about that.
People thought this was:
- Useful (3)
- Funny (2)
- Cool (3)
It's $5 for adult admission to the lighthouse area. There's a small museum in the back of the store and short "tour" every 15-20 minutes. You have to climb a large spiral staircase to reach the top (about 5 stories?) and you listen to a short presentation about the history of the lighthouse. The light is beautiful with all the different pieces of glass. You'll be disappointed by the replacement light sitting outside on the ledge.
I'd advise bringing a warm sweater or jacket because it's cold up there. You'll get a bit of exercise walking up the stairs and take a moment to look down the middle once you reach the top, just don't drop your camera!
People thought this was:
- Cool (1)
Not quite as prominent as other lighthouses that I've seen but it's a beautiful structure and the coastal view from Point Arena is amazing. The walk in to the lighthouse from the parking lot is about half a mile straight elevation walk and you'll be bypassing the Lighthouse Keeper's and his assistants' houses which were newly remodeled and will be turning into Point Arena Inn facility soon. The lighthouse was newly remodeled too with the aid of the community.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
we stayed in one of the houses formerly used by the lighthouse keepers. lots of room (3 bedrooms, 2 baths, huge kitchen, living room with wood-burning fireplace and lots of pre-chopped wood provided), TV wih Dish satellite and DVD - this was all for $225/night plus tax. and as residents you get the tour of the lighthouse for free!
note - the guides vary WIDELY - our 1st guide was a fanatic and gave us more info than we needed to know about the lenses etc, but we realized how lucky we'd been with him when we did the climb again the next day and had a monosyllabic guide who gave virtually no information aside from the fact that the original lighthouse had been built in 1870 and cracked in 1906 (due to the earthquake) - the current one was opened in 1908
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
- Cool (1)
Our tour consisted of a long hike up the lighthouse stairs to a small window. A lighthouse employee was sitting at the top, but he didn't have anything to say except that we could take turns looking out the window before heading back down. For this I paid $5? The view from that small window is great, yes, but there's plenty of free places along Highway 1 to stop and get the same thing without climbing up the stairs of a crumbling old lighthouse.
