The Point Reyes Lifeboat Station was built on a rare stretch of sand on an otherwise rocky coastline south of Point Reyes, which abruptly thrusts out into the Pacific 40 miles northwest of San Francisco, creating the western end of Drakes Bay. Placed near the end of the point, the station is exposed to the extreme conditions of climate and topography that created a need for a lifeboat station: heavy fog, high winds, and angry surf. The boathouse, the principal structure of the station, stands at the base of the hills and cliffs of the point, with its piers and lifeboat launching marine railway extending into the bay. Above, perched on the hillside, stands the rest of the complex. - NRHP