Point Pinos
Pacific Grove, CA
Point Pinos is home to the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the West Coast, still guiding ships past a genuinely scenic, rocky shoreline that draws tide poolers as much as lighthouse visitors. Perkins Park nearby adds a smaller, quieter stretch of the same rocky coast.
A genuinely historic, still-operating lighthouse with real tide pools around it, though the rocky shore means it's a walk and look spot more than a swimming beach.
How we score beachesTime a tide pool walk to low tide, the rocky shoreline around the lighthouse is one of the better tide pooling spots in Pacific Grove.
Free parking is available near the lighthouse.
A path leads from parking to the lighthouse and shoreline.
Dogs on leash are allowed at Point Pinos under Pacific Grove's general leash law, since it is not one of the city's specifically dog restricted parks.
Fog is common most mornings year round, typical of the Monterey Peninsula.
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