Point Sur

In 1873 the steamer Los Angeles wrecked on the rocks off Point Sur, and Dr. John Roberts rode from Monterey in three and a half hours to find a hundred and fifty victims on the rocks and the beach. It horrified the coast.

In 1879 the Ventura wrecked too, and ranchers came for miles to salvage fine linens and knock-down wagons. Out of those two disasters came the light station, built on the great rock in 1889 and worked by keepers whose families lived on the rock itself. It is a state historic park now, and you go up only with a guide.

You can climb it. The state park runs guided walks a few days a week, three hours and a stiff half mile up the rock, through the lighthouse, the keepers' houses, the barn and the little community that lived up there in the wind. You meet at the gate on the highway at the foot of the rock, the regular tours take no reservations, and the group is small, so come early.

In summer there are moonlight tours. Look at the rock as you pass. Nothing else on the Pacific coast looks like it.