The Piedras Blancas Outstanding Natural Area lies halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles in is home to the historic Piedras Blancas Light Station, first illuminated in 1875. Lighthouse operations continue to this day.  The site is surrounded by the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, rocky shoreline, and large rocks of the California Coastal National Monument.  This area includes fantastic coastal vistas, estuaries, wetlands, dune fields, and a large array of marine wildlife, including harbor seals, sea lions, sea otters, Bottlenose and Pacific White-Sided Dolphins, Gray and Humpback Whales and the iconic Elephant Seals.