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All the United States California Point Bonita Lighthouse

Point Bonita Lighthouse

This lighthouse has been guiding shipping into the Golden Gate since before the American Civil War.

Tamalpais-Homestead Valley, California

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slgwv
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The lighthouse from the footbridge. The fog today shows why the lighthouse was necessary.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The lighthouse from the footbridge. The fog today shows why the lighthouse was necessary.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The lighthouse from the footbridge.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Site of the lighthouse keeper’s house.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Footbridge to the lighthouse.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Footbridge looking back from the lighthouse.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Looking back across the footbridge.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Cormorant rocks below the lighthouse.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Detail of gargoyle drain spouts. They were intended to direct rainwater onto the windows to wash off the salt.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The top of the lighthouse. Note the gargoyle drain spouts underneath the topmost eaves.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The lights over the years (display in the lighthouse).   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Shipwrecks off the Golden Gate.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The lighthouse through the fog.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Along the footbridge. The lighthouse is out there in the fog.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Footbridge in the fog.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Headland with foundation, off the trail.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The trail to the lighthouse beyond the tunnel.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The tunnel, looking back.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Inside the tunnel.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The trail to the lighthouse goes through a tunnel.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Stairs down to the building that originally housed the boiler to run the steam foghorns. This part is not open to the public.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
A foggy day, illustrating the need for the lighthouse!   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The footbridge from the trail, through the fog. The lighthouse is at right.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The trail to the lighthouse, which is invisible in the fog to the right.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The trail to the lighthouse–and into the fog.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The trail to the lighthouse.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The approach to the Golden Gate is one of the most hazardous sea routes in the world. It is narrow with swift currents, is flanked by numerous partly submerged rocks, and is often the site of dense fog. It furthermore is heavily trafficked. Even with today's navigational aids such as radio, GPS, and radar, it can be perilous. In the days of sail and steam, it was much more so, as shown by the occurrence of many shipwrecks. These dangers motivated the construction of this lighthouse on the north side of the passage in 1855. The original location proved to be too high, such that the light was often obscured by fog, and so the lighthouse was moved to its present site in 1877. The light was first fueled by whale oil, then by kerosene, and then by oil vapor.

From 1927 to 2021, the light was an electric incandescent lamp. But in 2022 it was replaced by an LED. Through all these changes, the original Fresnel lens, made in the 1850s, has remained in use. The lighthouse also included a foghorn and a building housing a steam boiler, built in 1903, still exists below the lighthouse proper, although it is usually closed to the public. The foghorn was a steam whistle like those on locomotives. A foghorn still exists, but it is now electric. The light was finally automated in 1981, the last on the United States West Coast, and the lighthouse keeper's cottage was torn down. A

Although the light still actively operates under the management of the US Coast Guard, the rest of the structure is accessible as a historic site managed by the National Park Service, with scheduled open times when docents are available for talks and to take questions.

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Architecture History & Culture Lighthouses

Know Before You Go

Point Bonita Lighthouse is completely contained within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and detailed directions to the site are on the National Recreation Area website. Check the website also for the tour days and hours, as they are limited. Be sure to arrive well before the posted closing time. The tours are also subject to weather closures.

The trail out to the lighthouse is wide and paved and at one point goes through a tunnel. Uniquely among US lighthouses, a suspension footbridge leads out to the lighthouse. The lighthouse is closed when gusts over 30 miles per hour are measured at this bridge.

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slgwv

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Myke G

  • Myke G

Published

July 10, 2023

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Point Bonita Lighthouse
Tamalpais-Homestead Valley, California
United States
37.815615, -122.529659
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