California's Curious Coastline
Sea of Wonders: An Itinerary Through California’s Stunning Shoreline

One of the oldest lighthouses in the state of California sits in the far north, on the border with Oregon state. Sometimes it’s on an island, but other times you can walk right up to it. 

Built in 1865, the Battery Point Lighthouse is joined to the mainland by an isthmus—a thin stretch of land connecting two larger areas of land. At low tide, the isthmus is above water, making for a narrow walkway that leads to the lighthouse. But at high tide, the walkway is underwater, making the lighthouse its own little island again.

Being so close to the water, this 165-year-old lighthouse has seen its fair share of nasty weather and survived it all—even the tsunami caused by the 1964 Alaska earthquake (the strongest ever recorded in the Northern hemisphere).

Today, the lighthouse doubles as a museum that tells the history of this storied night light through a collection of 19th century maritime artifacts and stories. Visitors can even climb into the tower for unobstructed views of the big blue! Just make sure to leave before the tide comes in.

This “tidefall” in Bolinas is a hike to get to, but the views are well worth it. These falls stretch about 40 feet down to Wildcat Beach, a secluded stretch of sand on the northern California coast; Alamere is one of two waterfalls in the state that drop from seaside cliffs onto the nearby beach.

The secluded nature of Wildcat Beach is one of its draws, and the 13-mile roundtrip hike is well worth it to see these falls crash into the sand below. The falls are a part of the Phillip Burton Wilderness, which is home to over 30,000 acres of preserved forest, grassland, and sand dunes on the Point Reyes National Seashore. So, while your hike to the falls may not be short, it will certainly be a scenic build-up to one of the California coast’s most striking views.

At the end of a jetty in San Francisco Bay, a unique art installation allows you to hear the ocean as you’ve never heard it before.

The Wave Organ features a cleverly submerged network of PVC piping that emerges in dozens of places throughout the jetty’s listening platform, allowing visitors to hear a bassy, otherworldly gargling that is actually the push and pull of the bay’s waves and tides. If the granite, marble, and concrete installation seems patchwork, it’s because it was actually constructed from bits of upcycled materials taken from several defunct Gold Rush-era cemeteries.

The tidal orchestra is loudest at high tide, as the sun glistens off the picturesque bay and boats dance across the water against the backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Just how old is the oldest continually active lighthouse in California? It’s so old that it was first lit in 1855 with a flame fueled by whale oil. Today, the Point Pinos Lighthouse is fully electric, but it’s still used to help sailors navigate the historically treacherous seas off of Monterey Bay’s Pacific Grove Peninsula. In fact, its light can be seen 17 miles out to sea!

But it’s not just old—this lighthouse is also geographically unique. The fact that most lighthouses are built on islands far from the mainland has long made lightkeepers’ jobs very isolating. But Point Pinos is on the mainland itself, allowing lightkeepers to host some of the most unique parties in local history.

Occasionally, the lighthouse will offer events where costumed tour guides lead visitors through the historic lighthouse, learning bits of nautical history while taking in stunning views of Monterey Bay’s iconic coastline. Come on the right day, and you’ll see whales, seabirds, and deer!

Before the widespread use of kerosene, animals like seals and whales were once hunted for their blubber, which could be used to fuel lanterns and torches. In fact, the hunting nearly drove the Northern Elephant Seal—the second largest seal on earth after the Southern Elephant Seal—to extinction. 

Today, the giant seals have made a miraculous recovery along the West coast. Throughout the year they come ashore by the thousands to mate, give birth, and shed their skin—a process you can see for yourself at the Piedras Blancas Rookery.

It’s the only free public rookery of its kind on earth. Reached by a scenic coastline drive on Route 1, the rookery provides a wooden ramp leading to a viewing platform where visitors can witness 15-foot-long male bulls fight for dominance, see females give birth to 60-pound pups, and observe an autumnal “haul-out,” where juveniles enter the ocean, alone, for the very first time. 

Bring your binoculars—with up to 20,000 seals covering the shore at peak times, there’s a whole lot of seal to see.

When you get to Santa Barbara, keep an eye out for bubbles and an ear out for a high-pitched ‘toot.’ They’ll be coming from the cutest water taxi on the high seas. 

Lil’ Toot is a stout little boat that wears a permanent smile on its bright-yellow bow. It shuttles up to 20 people at a time between Santa Barbara Harbor and Stearns Wharf, a trip that takes roughly 15 minutes each way. Sure, you could walk the distance in about the same time, but who wouldn’t want to bob around in the picture-perfect waters of Southern California on a smiling boat that blows bubbles?

Kids get to steer the ship and pull a rope to sound its signature “toot.” Lil Toot’s policy is that if you don’t have any fun, you get your money back, but captains claim no one’s ever asked for a refund.

Being the most heavily surfed area on the West Coast, it makes sense for Huntington Beach to be home to the International Surfing Museum. 

Through a series of displays including historic surfboards, surf films, and exhibits on legendary surfers, this museum tells the story of surfing and its curious origins. Did you know, for example, that surfing was once reserved for the ruling elite in Tahiti, or that the sport nearly disappeared before it was revived in the early 20th century?

A permanent collection is dedicated to Duke Kahanamoku, an Olympic swimmer who helped popularize surfing in the 1920s. The museum also owns the Guinness World Record-holding Largest Surfboard—a 42-foot-long board that 66 people successfully surfed together for thirteen seconds back in 2015.