The stark beauty of Pigeon Point Lighthouse, located between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz, beckons many a Highway One traveler. Those who follow the short crumpled road down to this lighthouse will be treated to magnificent ocean views, a dose of California history, and a few surprises. When you unwrap the gift that is Pigeon Point, you find three presents inside.

Present #1: Pigeon Point Lighthouse is a California State Historic Park. Open daily from 8am to sunset, visitors can take guided half-hour history walks of the grounds between 10am and 4pm Fridays through Sundays (except on rainy days). However, whether you are with a guided tour or on your own, sadly, no one is allowed inside the lighthouse. In December 2001, a section of the exterior wall fell off and the structure is closed indefinitely until it can be made safer.

A boardwalk leads you around the lighthouse to a lookout with postcard-perfect views. Make sure to check inside the Fog Signal building next to the lighthouse. Inside is a wealth of information about the lighthouse, including the story of how Pigeon Point is named for a clipper ship that went aground about 500 feet offshore. Finally, while its Fresnel lens, first lit on November 15, 1872, is now only lit once a year, its beacon is still used by the US Coast Guard.

Present #2: The lighthouse keeper’s accommodations have been restored and are now used as affordable accommodations affiliated with International Youth Hostels. For those unfamiliar with Youth Hostels, you might (as I did) imagine rows of bunk beds, shared bathrooms, and close, rustic quarters. While the least expensive accommodation option at Pigeon Point Youth Hostel is to sleep in dorm rooms with six beds per room, private rooms (singles, doubles, and triples, as well as a private family room that sleeps four to six), are available as well. All accommodations include fully equipped kitchens and dining rooms, guest lounges with wood stoves and outdoor patios with a spectacular clifftop view of the ocean. There’s even an oceanside hot tub where you can soak in the sunset after a day watching elephant seals, hiking through redwoods in nearby Butano State Park, or exploring tidepools only a short hike from the cabins. What a unique way to savor the California coast!

Present #3: Pigeon Point is the site of an exciting youth outdoor education program run by the nonprofit organization, Exploring New Horizons. According to Tracy Weiss, Program Director, Exploring New Horizons runs three youth outdoor education programs – in Loma Mar, Sempervirens, and Pigeon Point. While each is a residential program for elementary through middle school students and fosters an appreciation for the natural world, the program at Pigeon Point is unique. The Pigeon Point student group is smaller and the duration of the camp is only one to three days. Special emphasis is placed on team-building and good citizenship.

Students stay in the hostel facilities and work together to prepare meals and keep their cabins clean. They also participate in group activities led by specially trained counselors. Exploring New Horizons has a close relationship with local state parks (their counselors are even trained as docents at Año Nuevo State Park) as well as with the management of Pigeon Point Youth Hostel. Educators interested in reserving space for their students for the 2010-11 school year can make reservations this spring.

Pigeon Point Lighthouse, a solitary white tower, has stood for over a hundred years on this sliver of California coastal land. Time and storms have taken their toll. Even though its beacon no longer lights the way of safe passage for ships, Pigeon Point Lighthouse has become a beacon of another kind, a beacon that brings visitors of all ages to celebrate California's history and natural beauty.

For more information about Pigeon Point see the www.parks.ca.gov Web site. If you’re interested in booking a room at the hostel, visit www.norcalhostels.org/pigeon/.

For more information about the outdoor education programs of Exploring New Horizons, visit their Web site at www.exploringnewhorizons.org.