My wife and I are going to San Jose for an indoor lacrosse game (Wings vs Stealth), our major road-trip of the year. This will be in late January. We are planning to have two days of site seeing in San Francisco. She gets a day, I get a day. My day will be for lighthousing. Are there any MUST SEE lights in that area. I plan on seeing these, time and wife permitting:

Santa Cruz Breakwater
Santa Cruz Light
Pigeon Point
Half Moon Bay (Mavericks - famous surfing site)
Point Montara
Relief Lightship
East Brother
Alcatraz
Golden Gate Bridge (can't miss that)
Fort Point
Point Reyes
Point Bonita

Did I miss any that were nearby? Any help would be appreciated.

Quinn's Lighthouse Restaurant in Oakland is the former Oakland Pier Lighthouse. They do have good food.

Robert

My top three, off that list, are in this order: Pt. Reyes, Pigeon Pt, and Alcatraz. Pt. Bonita is also pretty cool. Plan on at least 1/2 day trip minimum to Pt. Reyes, Alcatraz at least 2-3 hours, and probably the same for Pt. Bonita (that could be done in conjunction with Pt. Reyes). You could conveivably lump Pt. Bonita, Fort Point, and Pt. Reyes into one day trip by taking Highway 1 (well worth the slower drive - the scenery is outstanding and winds high above the Bay and ocean). Pt. Reyes is an hour and half drive north of the Golden Gate. But the national seashore area there is so incredibly gorgeous, I would take your "alloted day" and make a day of it. It's far prettier than Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay. That area is also pretty, but nothing holds a candle to the Point Reyes National Seashore area. There is enough stuff out there that you can't see it all in one day. There are only certain days the light is open; here is a link for more information:

Point Reyes National Seashore

I'm sure your wife will find it thoroughly enjoyable too. Have fun!

Unless you are using a helicopter, there is no way you could get from one extreme on your list to the other. Remember that you will be dealing with short daylight hours in January. I have to agree with Jen on the ones I would call a MUST see - Point Reyes and Point Bonita. However, between these two you have pretty much spent your alloted day. (But, these two lights are well worth it!) You need to check to be sure you will be there on a day they are open, and also know that their posted hours are non-negotiable.

Convince your wife that she wants to see Alcatraz and that gets one more light in the mix. There is a one hour sightseeing cruise around the bay that allows you to see Alcatraz, Fort Point, Point Bonita in the distance, Mile Rock remains in the distance and Lime Point. It was a nice cruise, but may be a little brisque in January. Fort Point can be seen without too much trouble so it really doesn't count against your time constraints. You may only be able to get into the Fort on weekends if they are still working overhead on the bridge.

I agree with Bob on the dinner at Quinns. I enjoyed dinner there a couple years ago. If you go to Quinns you can also get a look at the Relief as it isn't too far away. The place to get a view of East Brother is a ways down the road, and is a monster drive in. As pretty a light as this is, I would probably invest my limited time elsewhere.

Pigeon Point is a beautiful light, but you can't climb now, and not sure if they have fencing up around it or not.

Have fun, and do be sure to take your warm clothes!

If you have some control over where you're staying, you might pop over to Monterey or Carmel on the night before your 'day off' and overnight there.

Have breakfast at the Tuck Box in Carmel (scones mmmm.) Then hit: Point Pinos in Pacific Grove and move up along the shore to see:

Santa Cruz (2 for one)
Pigeon Point
Point Montara

Head towards to Golden Gate Bridge and exit just before the bridge. Park in the gift shop lot and you can get some photos of Fort Point under the bridge. Drive down to to the water level and shoot that square building across the entrance to the Golden Gate (Lime Kiln) and take a telephoto of Alcatraz Island in case you can't get over on the cruise.

Here's a report on a similar trip I took last Spring:

http://www.lighthousekeepers.com/forums/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=40;t=000344#000000

I was just in the San Francisco area two weeks ago. I pretty much agree with all that's been said - and Dave's right - there's no way to make those in one day. We spent an entire week startin at Pt Cabrillo and going down the coast to Pigeon Pt. Highway 1 is incredibly beautiful, but don't plan on making good time.
-Pt Reyes is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Definitely the top light on the list.
-Ft Point (we went on a Friday morning) was open while work was going on overhead on the bridge.
-Pt Montara is NOT open to visitors between the hours of 9:30am and 4:30pm.
-Fencing is still up around Pigeon Pt.
-East Brother is very pretty. We stayed the night there for our anniversary. But again Dave is right - the drive is a monster. Better invested going to some of the others.
-Call ahead for Lightship Relief. Tour hours are sporadic. Good pictures are tough to get with it's current location.

I'd definitely focus on the second half of your list - Alcatraz (convince your wife for her day to go to Pier 39 to see the seals and maybe hit the shops. Lots of good restaraunts. Alcatraz tour boats leave from here as well. The Ghiradelli Chocolate Factory is just up the street), Ft Point, Point Bonita, and Pt Reyes.

The two times Susan & Heather were with me in SF, we went to Ghiradelli Chocolate Factory for dinner. Why waste time and room on the main course when you can have a gigantic sundae instead? Little pricey, but well worth it. Ghiradelli is fantastic chocolate. Walk across the way and you can catch the cable car.

Ghirardelli Square has slowly morphed from a former chocolate factory converted to tourist shopping to a former chocolate factory with lots of office space. One of the few remaining retail stores when I was there last spring was Scan Trends.

Who cares about the retail stores at Ghiradelli Square? It's the gigantic sundaes that count! Honestly, they were fantastic.

What are my odds of keeping to this schedule on Saturday (20-30 minutes per stop)?

8:00 AM..... 0.0......... Depart Hotel in San Jose
8:53 AM..... 38.1....... Arrive Santa Cruz Breakwater Lt.
9:27 AM..... 41.8....... Arrive Santa Cruz Light
10:26 AM... 69.9....... Arrive Pigeon Point Light
11:14 AM... 91.2....... Arrive Half Moon Bay (Lunch)
11:54 AM... 98.6....... Arrive Point Montara Light
12:50 PM... 121.2..... Arrive Fort Point Light
1:27 PM..... 128.2..... Arrive Point Bonita Lighthouse
3:14 PM..... 183.5..... Arrive Point Reyes Lighthouse
5:11 PM..... 246.8..... Arrive Oakland Harbor Lighthouse
5:23 PM..... 247.3..... Arrive Relief Lightship
5:43 PM..... 260.4..... Arrive Hotel in San Francisco

SUMMARY
Driving distance: 260.4 miles
Trip duration: 9 hours, 33 minutes
Driving time: 6 hours, 43 minutes

Alcatraz is on Sunday. Yuerba Buena, Lime Point, East Brother are only if seen while traveling and if timer permits on either day.

What do you think of my San Francisco Lighthouse Challenge?

Who's driving? Mario Andretti?

Seriously, looks like you've worked this out in Streets & Trips so the main question is what will traffic and driving conditions be like. Only some of the locals can help you out there.

You can see Lime Point directly across from Fort Point. You may also be able to see it from the boat that takes you to Alcatraz.

Why not go to the L/S Relief first and then have dinner at the Oakland Harbor Light, which is a nice restaurant?

Don't forget that the road you will travel up the coast can be very, very congested and very, very windy. (worse north of SF than south). For example, you allow about 30 minutes to get from Santa Cruz to Pigeon Point, 28 miles from your notes. Personally I would not believe you are going to be able to do this.

I also think I would plan to skip past Fort Point and come back by it later. Point Bonita is more difficult to see, and they are not open 1 minute on either side of their open/close times. You have allowed only 7 minutes to go from Fort Point to Point Bonita - I would think 30 minutes travel is more appropriate. You will be in highly congested areas, with erratic traffic (on a good day). Once you get to the north side of the bridge and turn into the GGNRA, the drive out to the Point Bonita light is only a few miles - but at about 15-20 mph max.

You are going to have to move along smartly to have a chance to keep this schedule, I believe. Good luck - watch out for the CHP!

My main object is to get to Point Reyes by 4:00pm. Since the Santa Cruz lights will be closed at that time, they are basically a shoot and run. It is true, I could get Fort Point on Sunday (if the wife is generous) or from some other location while passing by, probably while I'm shooting the Golden Gate Bridge at some point. The Lightship Relief and Oakland Harbor are last on my list because they will be there after 5:00pm.

Would this be more possible (more fluff time)?

7:30 AM..... 0.0......... Depart Hotel in SJ
8:23 AM..... 38.1....... Arrive Santa Cruz Breakwater Lt.
8:57 AM..... 41.8....... Arrive Santa Cruz Light
9:56 AM..... 69.9....... Arrive Pigeon Point Light
10:44 AM... 91.2....... Arrive Half Moon Bay (early lunch)
11:24 AM... 98.6....... Arrive Point Montara Light
12:28 PM... 126.4..... Arrive Point Bonita Lighthouse
2:15 PM..... 181.8..... Arrive Point Reyes Lighthouse
4:12 PM..... 245.5..... Arrive Relief Lightship
4:34 PM..... 245.0..... Arrive Oakland Harbor Lighthouse (possibly dinner)
?:?? PM...... 258.7..... Arrive Hotel in San Francisco

I need to wear my glasses when I look at the computer - I missed your mention of Reyes altogether (or maybe I figured you are even crazier than I am for even thinking you could do this.......)

You need to allow probably 1½ to 2 hours for Point Bonita from the time you leave 101 until you return. The walk down to the light is probably a half mile or more, and the walk back is a steep uphill. The trip from where you get back to 101 to Point Reyes is probably 90 minutes if you are flying. The roads between the two are, shall we say, a little twisty and windy. 35 mph is speeding along much of the route. If you get stuck behind someone who is not in a hurry you are screwed. Most of the way you are on US1 - a beautiful drive for sure. However, there is no way you can travel it fast, especially with a passenger (this is a road that will make people car sick even if they have never had a problem before.) Not trying to be discouraging, but there is no way you could make this timeline.

My suggestion would be that you leave San Jose, head north to Point Reyes (believe it opens at 10) and then head back south to as many as you can get to. Point Reyes and Point Bonita are the most spectacular and hardest to get to of this group, and I would go for them first. After you leave Bonita ging south, you have to decide whether to continue on to Montara & Pigeon Point or head over to Oakland. If you go south you are adding distance, but I think you have a better chance of that than lighthousing your way north.

What a great trip. My lacrosse team lost (BOO, HISS), but it was a good game anyway. The next morning we were off lighthousing (my wife may never forgive me for the 11 hour drive). We got to see Point Reyes, Point Bonita, Montara Point and Pigeon Point. I had to bypass the rest due to time. On Sunday we saw the Golden Gate Bridge, Fort Point, rode the cable cars, and went to Alcatraz at night.

Between Friday and Sunday night, I took over 600 shots. I have alot of pics to wade through. I'll have a report and pics of the whole thing ready when I can.

DaveH, you were right. That was one helluva drive. I also took your advice and started at Point Reyes and went south.

Thanks for the help.

Glad you had a good trip and are home safely, Joe. Sorry your team wasn't able to add a "W" to make the trip complete. Will be looking forward to your report.

It really is hard to describe the coastal hiway to someone until they have experienced it first hand!

Dave,

I've described it to people as the original "Long And Winding Road" and mentioned they don't put up signs to tell you about curves- they tell you when a straight part is coming.

Also you need to watch out for the cows- I went around some curves and had to brake quickly for the cows standing in the middle of the road.

Of course most of this occurred north of Pt Reyes.

Dennis