Point Cabrillo Lighthouse – Mendocino, California

Point Cabrillo Lighthouse is a beautiful (and very photogenic!) working lighthouse on the Northern coast of California. Point Cabrillo lighthouse is located inside of Point Cabrillo State Park in Mendocino, California, perched on a beautiful headland overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Point Cabrillo Lighthouse Location

This beautiful lighthouse is located at the following address:
13800 Point Cabrillo Drive
Mendocino, California 95460

This historic state park/lighthouse is situated between Point Arena, California and Cape Mendocino, making it a great stop to add to your Northern California coastal road trip, or even if you’re visiting the nearby Redwoods National and State Parks.

Details

Cost: Free. Even though the lighthouse is part of the California State Park system, admission is free.

Hours: The park is open from sunrise to sunset, every day of the year including holidays. If you are interested in going inside the museum and gift shop, hours are 11am-4pm. Unfortunately, we visited on a holiday and the museum and gift shop were closed, so we could only walk around the outside of the lighthouse.

Parking: There is a free parking lot located 1/2 mile from the lighthouse. If you have a handicap sticker, you can park closer.

Time commitment: You will need to walk 1 mile (round trip) on a paved path from the parking lot to reach Point Cabrillo lighthouse. Count on spending about 30-45 minutes here.

Visiting Point Cabrillo Lighthouse

The hike (well, more like a walk) to the lighthouse was all on a paved path and was fairly flat. It’s 0.5 miles to get to the lighthouse and takes about 10 minutes. We saw a bunch of squirrels and marmots along the way. Once we reached the lighthouse, we walked around the perimeter and enjoyed photographing the lighthouse and surrounding headlands. The museum and gift shop are located inside the lighthouse on the bottom floor, but have limited hours and were not open during our visit.

Climbing to the top of the lighthouse is not allowed – I’ve read on other sites that occasionally, it is open for tours on certain days of the year, so if you have your heart set on going to the top, do additional research.

We visited Point Cabrillo Lighthouse in July and were greeted by the omnipresent fog that coats the area nearly every morning. As you can see from some of my pictures, the marine layer was clearing, revealing a bright blue sky in its wake. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay long enough to wait for it to clear. If you’re looking for better chances of seeing this lighthouse on a clear day (which will make for much better pictures!), spring and summer mornings should be avoided as they are usually overcast. During summer afternoons, often times the marine layer will clear for a few hours in the afternoon. May Gray/June Gloom is definitely a ‘thing’ here on the California coast!

While you’re here, you’ll notice a few other out-buildings. These cottages are former lighthouse keepers’ quarters and today, they have been converted to vacation rentals where you can stay the night out here. I haven’t stayed here personally, but judging from the website, they look quite cozy!

Nearby attractions

Other area attractions:
Glass Beach (17 minutes)
Russian Gulch State Park (8 minutes)
Mendocino Headlands State Park (7 minutes)
Point Arena Lighthouse (1 hour)

Point Cabrillo Lighthouse – Final Thoughts

Pros:
It’s a gorgeous lighthouse
It’s still operating!
Park grounds are open to the public every day of the year

Cons:
Not a ‘roadside’ lighthouse – the 1 mile round trip walk to the lighthouse adds time to your stop if you’re in a hurry
Visiting in summer will increase your chances of gloomy, gray weather.
Limited museum and gift shop hours