New Public Seating Area Opens at Pigeon Point
POST's Council Circle Benches Enhance Accessibility, Honor Donors at Whaler's Cove

June 22, 2006

In time for the summer travel season, the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) has completed construction of the new Council Circle seating area next to Pigeon Point lighthouse on the San Mateo County coast.

The seating area, located just off Highway 1 south of Pescadero, opened to the public earlier this month. Part of Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park, the area includes a ring of two semicircular benches nestled into a scenic bluff top in view of the lighthouse and Whaler's Cove.

"The addition of the Council Circle overlooking Whaler's Cove enhances the spectacular experience available to all at Pigeon Point," said Susan Ford Dorsey, Chair of POST's Board of Directors. "The site honors members of our community who came together to protect this beautiful place, and now the public can enjoy the land just as it is for generations to come."

The benches, made of yellow granite on a concrete base, list the names of special donors to POST's recently completed $200 million Saving the Endangered Coast campaign. A nearby information kiosk highlights the history of the cove and the effort to protect it, while a lookout deck juts over the bluff's rocky cliff face to provide dramatic ocean views. The new Council Circle benches, kiosk and deck all comply with ADA standards of disability accessibility.

Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park has long been a popular destination along the California coast. In 2000, POST purchased three acres of bluff top known as Whaler's Cove adjacent to the lighthouse. At the time, a developer had already begun erecting a nine-unit private motel on the land. Had POST not stepped in to protect the property, the motel would have permanently blocked ocean views and public access to the cove.

In 2001, POST tore down the motel units and, four years later, successfully transferred Whaler's Cove to California State Parks, reserving a public trail easement on the land. As part of the easement, POST opened Mel's Lane, a quarter-mile wheelchair-accessible path, to the public last fall. The path, honoring long-time conservationist and POST co-founder Melvin B. Lane, winds through the Council Circle as part of the 1,200-mile California Coastal Trail.

"We wanted to ensure that the unique beauty of Whaler's Cove would be available to everyone," said POST President Audrey Rust. "Thanks to the partnership between California State Parks and POST, visitors to the coast now have an ideal stopping point along Highway 1 where they can soak in world-class views of Prisoner's Rock, Año Nuevo Point and boundless ocean horizons."

"California State Parks is committed to fostering the public's appreciation of our state's rich and diverse landscape," said Director of State Parks Ruth Coleman. "The additions POST has made to Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park are truly commendable, allowing thousands of visitors a year to engage with the landscape in a rejuvenating and intimate way."