news Pt. Reyes Lighthouse Weekend Bicycle Access Limited Through March
Whales and seals are showing up off the Pt. Reyes coast, but bicycle access will be limited while the annual Shuttle Bus Transportation System operates.
The Point Reyes Lighthouse shuttle bus service began on New Year’s Weekend and will be running through late March 2018. To ensure the safety of bus operators and passengers, the National Park Service limits private vehicle access – including bicycles – on the roadways while the buses are running.
Limited parking is available at prime viewing areas, such as at the Historic Lighthouse and Chimney Rock headlands. Bus service eases congestion in these areas. The shuttle transportation system was identified in the Headlands Management Plan as an important tool to protect the fragile headlands but also allow access for visitors. Bus service runs only in good weather on weekends and federal Monday holidays.
Ticket and schedule information.
Shuttle System History
In the mid-1990’s, the park experimented with a variety of options to meet the increased demand for parking. Options included closing the road, numbering parking spaces, and running van shuttles. Those options, unfortunately, resulted in two hour waits and lines of cars backing up in the South Beach parking lots. The whales were passing by as visitors waited patiently in their cars.
In 1998, to relieve this congestion and eliminate the two-hour waiting period, Point Reyes National Seashore contracted large 40-passenger buses to provide transportation from Drakes Beach to the Headlands. The 1998–1999 lighthouse shuttle bus experiments proved successful, parking lot congestion was relieved, and visitors were provided with a comfortable and quick trip to the Headlands. The success of the lighthouse shuttle bus prompted the National Park Service to indefinitely continue this service.
