Tier 3
Ballast Point Light (demolished)
Ballast Point Light Station
San Diego · San Diego County · Southern California
A reminder that the larger Point Loma headland once hosted three navigational lights (the original, the current active aid, and Ballast Point), not the two more often discussed.
Labels
- Tier 1–3
- Editorial browse cues for prominence and context—not circuits, checklists, or achievements.
- Active aid
- The light currently serves navigation. It does not mean the tower, grounds, or interior are open to visitors.
- Public / restricted access
- Some approved visitor access versus a legal viewpoint, special arrangement, or no ordinary public entry. Always check the official guidance.
- Flagship 12
- The curated statewide circuit. It is separate from the editorial tier labels.
Your lighthouse passport
Stamp my passport
Check in at Ballast Point Light (demolished) to collect your digital stamp. Add your name if you like.
Lighthouse Circuit is here to inspire real visits. To collect a location-verified stamp, you’ll need to be at the lighthouse with location access enabled. Need help adding past visits? Email us and we’ll be happy to add them manually.
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From the field
Viewed this light from an approved public vantage point? Share a condition update for the next visitor.
Photo coming soon
Visit essentials
Access
Current hours
Accessibility
The light
Year first lit
Current structure built
Tower height
Focal plane
Optic
Light characteristic
Stewardship & location
The story
Built 1890 inside what is now Naval Base Point Loma, near the entrance to San Diego Bay. The lighthouse was demolished long ago and no public-facing structure remains. Included here as a curiosity entry.
The visit
No public access — the site is on active Navy land. Visible only at a distance from harbor cruises. No interpretive marker on the public side.
Make a day of it
Base yourself in
Nearby lighthouses
Old Point Loma Lighthouse
★ Flagship 12San Diego, Southern California
The oldest lighthouse structure on the West Coast and one of the most historically significant in the United States. Its deactivation story — too high, too foggy — is a foundational lesson in lighthouse engineering.
New Point Loma Lighthouse
San Diego, Southern California
The 'replacement' story — why the old lighthouse failed and how the new one solved the problem — is a compelling engineering narrative. Visible from Cabrillo NM.
Help keep this guide accurate: report changed access, a broken link, or a factual correction.
Sources
- Officialhistory.uscg.mil/Browse-by-Topic/Assets/Land/All/Article/1975557/ballast-point-lighthouse
- Secondaryen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballast_Point_Light
Image rights: USCG images public domain.
Research confidence: low · Last verified 2026-05-13