Take a walk through the Cypress Tree Tunnel at Point Reyes and explore the “wireless giant of the Pacific”

Cypress Tree Tunnel to KPH Station

Ornamental work at KPH entrance

Looking for Monterey cypress trees north of the Monterey peninsula? What about the Point Reyes peninsula north of San Francisco? There you can find weatherproof cypress trees branching out next to the trail leading to the lighthouse. And just off the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard—between Inverness and the lighthouse headlands—is the “tunnel” of giant Monterey cypress trees. This is the driveway to a historic wireless telegraph station—the civilian RCA/Marconi Station, also named KPH Maritime Receiving Station [1-3].

Everything intact? The KPH backside (November 2017)

As Morse code messaging declined and new technologies advanced, the station was retired in the late 1990s. It is currently preserved and cared for by the National Park Service and volunteers from the Maritime Radio Historical Society. A flyer posted onto the station's front door summarizes the history of and the current activities at the KPH station:

KPH began providing telegram service to ships at sea in 1905 from the Palace Hotel in San Francisco (thus the PH in the call sign). It continued that service until operations ended at this location on 30 June 1997.

There were hundreds of stations like KPH around the world. KPH was one of the biggest, called by some the “wireless giant of the Pacific.” One by one the lights went out at these stations. Bulldozers were waiting to demolish the buildings and antennas and build condominiums and golf courses. But KPH remained intact.

In 1999 the Maritime Radio Historical Society, in cooperation with the Point Reyes National Seashore, began a project to restore KPH to operation - the first and only a coast station left for dead has been returned to life.

Today KPH is on the air every Saturday from 12:00pm to 4:00pm. Please join us to see the only remaining civilian coast station in the world in full operation.

For more information call 414-990-7090 or send an email to: kph@radiomarine.org.

Getting there

From Olema or the Bear Valley Visitor Center, follow the direction given to get to the lighthouse trailhead. Halfway between Inverness and the end of Sir Francis Drake Blvd.—past G Ranch—look out for the sign reading “North District Operations Center - Historic RCA Building Established Circa 1929.” Find parking. The Cypress Tunnel is on the right side of the road.

References and more to explore

[1] JoshMc: Cypress Tree Tunnel in Point Reyes National Seashore.  “California through my Lens” blog post: californiathroughmylens.com/cypress-tree-tunnel.
[2] National Park Service: Historic KPH Maritime Radio Receiving Station and Cypress Tree Tunnel. Web-page: www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit/kph_treetunnel.htm.
[3] Roadside America: Cypress Tree Tunnel. Web-page: www.roadsideamerica.com/story/55705.