Piedras Blancas is located on California's central coast, just north of San Simeon. The point is named for a white rock out cropping located just off the end of the point. In the early 1870's, this location was chosen to fill the gap between the lighthouses at Point Conception and Point Sur.

The Piedras Blancas Lighthouse was completed in 1875. A two story Victorian style dwelling was completed later that year. The original tower was 115 feet tall and housed a first-order Fresnel lens. A fog signal building and additional keeper's dwelling were added in 1906.

Piedras Blancas lighthouse was operated by employees of the US Lighthouse Service until 1939 when the Coast Guard assumed command. Structural damage to the tower and new technology eventually replaced many of the functions of the lightkeepers as they became automated. The Coast Guard subsequently relinquished control and management of the Piedras Blancas Light Station to The Bureau of Land Management on October 12, 2001.

The Bureau of Land Management has assumed administrative control and is in the process of initiating restoration and stabilization efforts. The Bureau has completed a planning framework that will guide these activities.

This web site provides to all parties who are interested in the future of the Piedras Blancas Light Station, a focal point for news and information. The Bureau of Land Management is committed to a Community based partnership in restoring and managing this historic resource.

Management Plan and Environmental Assessment
(Final: October 2007)

Please contact the Bakersfield Office at (661) 391-6000 for information or on the web at http://www.blm.gov/ca/bakersfield.

Tour reservations can be made by calling (805) 927-6811
Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Go "Beyond the Brochure" with an online video introduction to the Piedras Blancas Light Station Outstanding Natural Area, including the light station and the surrounding historical area.

FUNNY.BYTES: Rocky, the lonely lighthouse

Rocky has given years of faithful service guiding ships away from the hazardous coast in Central California. Now that modern equipment has replaced tradition, will he be forgotten? Funny.bytes is an occasional look at the lighter side of BLM issues.

NEWS

May 8, 2008:  Piedras Blancas Light Station designated by Congress "Outstanding Natural Area," and added to the Bureau of Land Management's National Landscape Conservation System.

Text from the legislation