Point Montara Lighthouse Hostel celebrates 30 years

Posted by Sarah on Jul 19, 2010

On July 15, the Point Montara Lighthouse Hostel quietly celebrated its 30th anniversary.

Hostel guests came and went, enjoying the newly landscaped yard and vista point; staff went about regular front desk and housekeeping duties; and the little salt-worn lighthouse shone through the night. It was just another day.

To celebrate 30 years of those days — and looking forward to 30 more, we’ve compiled a brief history of the lighthouse and the hostel that opened there July 15, 1980. Historical photos can be found here.

A more complete history can be found on our website or at the hostel itself — hostel staff recently installed interpretive plaques (download the 20-page PDF here) near the cliff overlook, filled with facts and photos of the point, lighthouse, and hostel covering nearly 150 years of Point Montara history.

Making Hostelling History

For Hostelling International — then called American Youth Hostels — that history culminated in 1975 when the State of California developed a plan to transform five vacant light stations into youth hostels. Agreements were made, leases were signed, the legislature appropriated nearly $2 million for the project, and in 1980, the first — Point Montara Lighthouse Hostel — opened its doors to travelers.

The second — and last — lighthouse hostel to be completed before funding and government support ran out was the Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel (also an HI hostel) about 30 miles south of Point Montara.

Though never brought fully to fruition, the original vision behind converting vacant coastal properties into hostels included a network of them lining the entire West Coast, each within biking distance of another.

In February of 1981, local officials, hostel board members, and others made a commemorative 50-mile bike ride from the flagship San Francisco International Hostel at Fort Mason (now called the San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf Hostel) past Point Montara to the opening ceremonies at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel.

Today, the Point Montara hostel hosts about 10,000 guests per year, plus another 10,000 day visitors who drop by just to see the historic lighthouse.

The Little Lighthouse That Could

The Point Montara Lighthouse may not at first be as visually arresting as the 115-foot Pigeon Point Lighthouse to the south, but this solid little lighthouse was once one of the most important to steamer ships approaching San Francisco’s harbor.

In 1916, with a candlepower of 2,900, the light could be seen 14 miles out at sea. In 1919, as testament to Point Montara’s importance to navigators, the candlepower was upgraded to 25,000. Though many visitors today comment on its small stature compared to the stereotypical lighthouse, this height is its most valuable asset! It allows the light to cut below the fog that makes the northern California coast so treacherous to navigate.

The present-day fog signal building — now housing hostel guest rooms, a common area, and interpretive displays — was built in 1902; the original keeper’s house dates to 1875. More guest rooms are in former Coast Guard housing built in the 1960s.

The lighthouse itself, not installed at Montara until 1928, was first erected on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in 1881 — making it the only known lighthouse to have served both American coasts.

Today, the working light is automated and — thankfully for hostel guests — the fog horn is located on an offshore buoy.

Come Visit!

For years, the hostel was known as a well-kept-secret getaway for both Bay Area and international travelers — in the past two years, HI-Point Montara Lighthouse has been counted among the top 10 customer-rated HI hostels in the world!

Because of the hostel’s popularity, we recommend making reservations in advance either online or by calling (650) 728-7177.

Check out MontaraHostel.org for more information on hostel amenities and rates as well as things to see and do around Point Montara.

If you’ve read our website history or visited the hostel and still want more information on Point Montara, its shipwrecks, and the lighthouse, check out JoAnn Semones’ Hard Luck Coast: The Perilous Reefs of Point Montara, published earlier this year.