Point Sur Lighthouse stands on a dark volcanic rock just off the Big Sur coast, separated from the highway by surf, wind, and open pasture. Its isolation is the point: lighthouse keepers lived here to mark one of California's most dramatic and dangerous stretches of shoreline.
Visits are usually by guided tour, so check times before building it into a Highway 1 day. The walk up the rock is exposed but memorable, with views that make the engineering and loneliness of the station easy to understand.