• Joe Dsilva via Flickr
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    Pigeon Point Lighthouse, California

    Fifty miles south of San Francisco, the 115-foot-tall Pigeon Point Lighthouse has been helping to guide sailors off the rocky Central California coast since 1872. Today it doubles as a popular hostel.

    The lighthouse itself remains closed to the public after a section of the exterior's cornice fell off in 2001, but the grounds remain open to visitors and 30-minute guided tours are available Friday through Monday. You might even spy seals or whales.