C525 PLT; OPERATING SINGLE PLT OP; WANTED TO DO 3 NIGHT LNDGS AT ZZZ1. HE BECAME TRAPPED BY LOW CLOUDS; AND DID NOT KNOW HOW TO OPERATE PLT CTLED RWY LIGHTING OR EVEN IF IT EXISTED. HE FINALLY FOLLOWED A HWY BACK TO HIS HOME ARPT AND MADE A VISUAL LNDG. HIS HOME ARPT HAS HIGH TERRAIN IN THE AREA.

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ON SEP/FRI/03 I TOOK OFF FROM MY ARPT AFTER DARK WITH THE INTENTION OF DOING 3 NIGHT TKOFS AND LNDGS AT ZZZ1; ABOUT 30 NM TO THE NW. THE SKY WAS CLR AT ZZZ. I HAD CHKED THE WX FOR BOTH. ZZZ1 WAS CLR; AND WAS FORECAST TO REMAIN CLR UNTIL XA00; AFTER WHICH THE MARINE LAYER WOULD START COMING IN. THERE IS NO FORECAST FOR ZZZ; BUT IT GENERALLY S MORE PROTECTED FROM THE MARINE LAYER THAN ZZZ1. AFTER TKOF FROM ZZZ; I CONTACTED ZOA AND ASKED FOR A VFR PRACTICE APCH TO THE ILS RWY 32 AT ZZZ1; BEGINNING AT THE ZZZ2 VOR. THE CTLR CLRED ME FOR THIS APCH AND THEN OFFERED ME THE WX AT ZZZ1. IT WAS 140 DEGS AT 7 KTS; VISIBILITY 7 MI; CLR; 29.92. ON THE ILS; I WAS SURPRISED TO PERCEIVE CLOUDS BELOW ME; WHICH I COULD MAKE OUT BECAUSE OF THE LIGHTS ON THE GND (IT WAS A MOONLESS NIGHT). I ASKED FOR AN IFR CLRNC AND WAS GIVEN IT. I KEYED ON THE ARPT LIGHTS AND BROKE OUT AT SOMETHING BELOW 1000 FT AND LANDED. THE SKY WAS CLR OVER THE ARPT. (AFTER LNDG; I TRIED SEVERAL TIMES TO CANCEL IFR WHILE TAXIING BACK FOR TKOF; BUT COULD NOT MAKE CONTACT.) IN MY INITIAL TRAINING IN 1990-1991 I DID NIGHT LNDGS AT ZZZ1 AND HAD BEEN TAUGHT THAT THIS ARPT TURNED OFF ITS LIGHTS WHEN THE TWR CLOSED. THE LIGHTS COULD BE TURNED ON BY PLT CTLED LIGHTING. I GOT THE IDEA THAT THIS WAS SOMETHING PRETTY UNUSUAL. IN PRACTICALLY ALL MY NIGHT FLYING SINCE THAT I HAVE FLOWN INTO ZZZ (LIGHTS ALWAYS ON); OR TRUCKEE (LIGHTS ALWAYS ON) OR LARGER ARPTS (LIGHTS ALWAYS ON). I TOOK OFF FROM ZZZ1 AND RE-ESTABLISHED CONTACT WITH ZOA. I ASKED FOR THE GPS IFR APCH BACK TO ZZZ. I WAS EXPECTING TO SEE THE SAME WX AT ZZZ AS WHEN I LEFT IT A SHORT TIME BEFORE. WHILE ON THE APCH I WAS TOTALLY SURPRISED TO SEE THAT THINGS WERE NOT OPENING UP. THE WX HAD CHANGED IN THIS BRIEF TIME. I DID THE MISSED APCH AT ZZZ AND FIRST CONSIDERED GOING BACK TO ZZZ1. IT SEEMED TO BE VFR OUT TOWARDS ZZZ2 AND TO THE E; SO I DECIDED TO GO TO ZZZ3 AND LAND; RESIGNED TO TAKING A TAXI BACK TO ZZZ. I ASKED FOR VECTORS TO ZZZ3. THE CTLR GAVE THEM AND ASKED ME TO RPT ZZZ3 IN SIGHT. I RPTED THAT I COULD NOT SEE THE ARPT. I ASKED WHETHER PLT CTLED LIGHTING WAS NEEDED. HE REPLIED THAT HE DID NOT HAVE THAT INFO. I SOMEHOW TOOK THAT TO MEAN THAT THE LIGHTS SHOULD BE ON. FINALLY HE SAID I HAD PASSED THE ARPT. I THEN GOT MY ZZZ3 ARPT AND APCH CHARTS OUT AND ASKED FOR VECTORS TO RWY 6. THE CTLR TURNED ME BACK TO THE W. BEFORE LONG; I NOTICED THAT HE WAS CONTINUING TO SEND ME OUT TO THE W; INSTEAD OF VECTORING ME TO THE RWY. FINALLY I ASKED WHY. HE REPLIED THAT HE WAS SETTING ME UP FOR THE VOR 6 APCH; WHICH WOULD TAKE ME STRAIGHT IN TO RWY 6. EXPECTING VECTORS; I WAS NOT READY FOR THE VOR APCH BUT DID MY BEST (HAD TO RECONFIGURE MY AVIONICS; ETC). ON THE OUTBOUND LEG TO THE W; TOWARDS ZZZ; I SAW THAT ZZZ WAS VIRTUALLY VFR; BUT I WAS TOO HIGH TO LAND. TURNING BACK TO THE E ON THE ZZZ3 VOR 6 APCH; I THOUGHT ABOUT THE WX SIT AND REALIZED THAT I HAD SEEN THIS FOG AND CLOUD BEHAVIOR BEFORE. THE CLOUDS COME IN FROM THE N AND SOMETIMES DO NOT MAKE IT AS FAR S AS THE FIELD. ON THE VOR 6 APCH TO ZZZ3; I AGAIN COULD NOT SEE THE ZZZ3 ARPT. SOMEHOW; BECAUSE OF THE BUILDUP OF CIRCUMSTANCES; THE POSSIBILITY OF PLT CTLED LIGHTING AT ZZZ3 WAS TOTALLY OFF MY RADAR SCREEN. I ASKED FOR A VECTOR BACK IN THE DIRECTION OF ZZZ AND WAS SOON ABLE TO MAKE MY WAY TO ZZZ VISUALLY. I KNEW THAT THE HWY WAS FAR ENOUGH S TO KEEP ME CLR OF TERRAIN AND OUT OF THE INCOMING FOG FROM THE N. THE RADIO TWRS AND THE ZZZ ARPT LIGHTS SOON CAME INTO VIEW; AND I LANDED. THE MORAL OF THIS STORY IS TO ASSUME THAT ALL ARPTS WILL BE UNLIGHTED UPON ARR. BEFORE ARR CHK WHETHER THERE IS PLT CTLED LIGHTING; AND MAKE SURE THE FACTS AND FREQS ARE AT HAND. I HAVE SINCE DONE SOME INVESTIGATING AND HAVE DISCOVERED THAT THERE ARE SOME ARPTS SUCH AS CONCORD THAT LEAVE THEIR LIGHTS ON LOW WHEN THE ARPT IS UNATTENDED. PLTS CAN INCREASE THE INTENSITY IF DESIRED BY KEYING. OTHER ARPTS USED TO KEEP THEIR LIGHTS ON ALL THE TIME; BUT DON'T NOW TO SAVE MONEY. THE FACT THAT ZZZ; TRUCKEE; AND MANY ARPTS LEAVE THEIR LIGHTS ON AT NIGHT HAS LED ME INTO A FALSE EXPECTATION THAT THERE WILL BE LIGHTS. IT IS NOW CLRLY NECESSARY TO CHK EACH ARPT FOR ITS LIGHTING POLICY ON EACH LNDG OCCASION (THE POLICY MAY INDEED HAVE CHANGED SINCE THE LAST LNDG). CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: PLT WAS FLYING THE ACFT 'SINGLE PLT.' THE PLT STATED HE ATTENDS A FLT SAFETY COURSE GIVEN BY A COMMERCIAL SUPPLIER. SINCE HE ATTENDS THIS COURSE; HE CONSIDERS HIMSELF QUALIFIED.