Looking at the coast of the Palos Verdes Peninsula from out at sea after nightfall, one light instantly catches your attention. It shines brighter than the rest, flashing unfailingly at regular intervals. This is the beam of the Point Vicente Light Tower, standing guard over the local ships, ever vigilant.

The lighthouse is shrouded in mystery, with rumours that it is home to the ghost of a lady who tragically lost her lover at sea, and now she paces restlessly back and forth in the lighthouse, as many have reported seeing her shadow flit across the windows. While some believe staunchly in the haunting, realists offer another explanation. The shadows are merely reflections from the famous Fresnel lens that resides at the top of the 67 foot tower. Manufactured by the oldest lens company in the world in Paris in 1910, consisting of prisms precisely aligned to the tee, this feat of optical engineering lends the lighthouse it’s especially luminous beam. So bright in fact, that it had to be purposefully dimmed during World War II so as to avoid alerting Japanese submarines, and so powerful that it sparked complaints from people living inland. As a solution, lighthouse keepers painted the inside wall a pearly white, which you’ll notice when you see it.

This lighthouse also incorporates a pleasant-sounding foghorn to audibly warn ships during times of low visibility which are common to the area.

Follow the guiding light or the sounds of the intermittent foghorn blasting to this iconic area. Grab a pair of binoculars, leash up your dog, and come on down for a walk by the seaside where you can while away the hours attempting to spot the fluke of a grey whale breaching the ocean.