Point Montara: A Moving Experience

Point Montara sits on the northern California coast, about 20 miles south of San Francisco. I had the extreme pleasure of attending a wedding there several years ago. It’s a beautiful light, set on an oft-foggy cliff, warning mariners heading for the Golden Gate. While books on my shelf talk about the present, cast iron, thirty-foot tower being erected in 1928, it was recently discovered that this very lighthouse first stood guard over East Coast waters.

Yes, Point Montara lighthouse has a secret past, beginning in Wellfleet Harbor on Cape Cod 128 years ago. Hard to imagine, moving an entire lighthouse so far. Those who uncovered this surprising story still speculate on how the beacon was moved. Was it loaded onto a ship and sailed through the Panama Canal?

Today, the lighthouse is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and American Youth Hostels, Inc., operates a 50 bed hostel for bicyclists and budget travelers for as little as $20.00 a night.

I don’t know of any other lighthouse that can lay claim to protecting both East and West coastal waters. Just a little bit of intriguing lighthouse history!

The Point Montara Lighthouse Hostel is perched on the California coast, 25 miles south of San Francisco and 7 miles north of Half Moon Bay. The hostel is on coastal Highway 1 (also known as Cabrillo Highway) near 16th Street, between the towns of Montara and Moss Beach.   Phone:  (650) 728-7177

If traveling by car, please be cautious as the hostel driveway is hidden on a curve on Highway 1. If you are driving northbound on Highway 1, you are advised to continue past the hostel (on yout left), drive on to the town of Montara, then turn around so you can enter the hostel driveway with a southbound right turn at the end of the guardrail.

PS:  Don’t forget today’s stop on my blog book tour!  Writing & Life with  Nick Valentino, where I am “Taking the Mystery Out of EBooks!” Stop by!