Point Bonita Lighthouse

Point Bonita Lighthouse stands at the rugged southern tip of the Marin Headlands, guarding the treacherous entrance to San Francisco Bay since 1855. Reaching it is part of the adventure — a half-mile trail leads through a hand-carved rock tunnel and across a small suspension footbridge perched above pounding surf.

Now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the still-active light offers some of the finest coastal views in the Bay Area, with the Golden Gate Bridge, the Pacific, and migrating whales and seabirds all in view.

Visitors walk the short but scenic trail through the rock tunnel and across the suspension bridge to the lighthouse, watch for gray whales and seabirds, and explore the surrounding Marin Headlands trails, beaches, and Cold War gun batteries.

Open limited days each week (typically late week through the weekend) — check the National Park Service for current hours. Spring and fall offer the clearest skies; winter brings gray-whale migration. Fog is common on summer afternoons.

Lit in 1855 to guide ships through the foggy Golden Gate, Point Bonita was the third lighthouse on the U.S. West Coast. The current structure dates to 1877, when it was moved to its dramatic outer point, and it was the last staffed lighthouse on the California coast to be automated, in 1981.

The point is built of dramatically folded and faulted Franciscan Complex rock — chert, greenstone, and sandstone scraped off the seafloor as the Pacific Plate met North America — sculpted by relentless surf into the cliffs and sea caves below the light.

Gray whales pass offshore in winter and spring, harbor seals and sea lions haul out below, and the headlands host brown pelicans, cormorants, and migrating raptors along the Pacific Flyway.

Coastal scrub and grassland cover the windswept headlands above a rocky intertidal zone, all within the protected Golden Gate National Recreation Area at the mouth of one of the world's great estuaries.

Part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Point Bonita anchors the Marin Headlands' layered history of lighthouse keeping and coastal military defense, just across the strait from San Francisco.

Reached via the Marin Headlands from U.S. 101 just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The lighthouse trail is about half a mile each way from the parking area; the tunnel and bridge are open only on designated days.

The National Park Service maintains the historic light and the fragile headlands. Stay on trails to protect coastal vegetation and nesting birds, and respect closures around the bridge and cliffs.

The trail is exposed and the surf below is dangerous — stay behind railings and on the path. Fog and wind can be intense; the suspension bridge limits the number of people allowed across at once.

The Marin Headlands' Rodeo Beach, Hawk Hill, the Nike missile site, and the city of Sausalito are all close, with the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco just across the strait.

Confirm the open days and hours before you go, arrive early on clear days for the best light and whale watching, and bring a windproof layer — the point is exposed and often foggy.