The Light House operated 1870 to 1975.
Its a long walk down (308 stairs) to the Light House but wait till you start back.
Originally operated by the Government Lighthouse Service, the lighthouse was taken over by the US Coast Guard in 1915. In 1966, the Park
Service acquired the lighthouse station from the Coast Guard, which continued to operate the beacon and fog horn. In 1973, after the six year old
nephew of a guardsman was killed by its rotating lens, the lighthouse was closed to the public. It's beacon, which had been converted from to
electricity in 1939, was turned off in 1975 and replaced by automatic equipment. In 1977, the Coast Guard turned the lighthouse over to the Park
Service which -- in response to an editorial campaign in The Point Reyes Light -- reopened the historic structure to the public. In the years since
then, the Park Service has continue to keep the old lighthouse in operating condition in case its unromantic replacement ever breaks down.
The Point Reyes Lighthouse cast a rotating beam that could be seen for 24 nautical miles. The light came from four wicks, which burned refined
lard oil. The beam was focused by a three-ton lens consisting of more than 1,000 handcut prisms and "bull's eyes." The jewel-like lens mounted in
a brass framework was designed in France by August Jean Fresnel and built in Paris by the firm of Barbier and Fenestre. The 24-sided lens
stands 7-feet, 11-inches high and 6-feet, 1-inch wide.
You can see the Gray whale on there southward and northward migrations, January to April from the Point Reyes lighthouse.
Gray Whale info: http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/graywhl.htm
Point Reyes info:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Reyes
Point Reyes weather cam: Http://www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit/weather.htm