The Lighthouse Circuit

Access, tours, hours, fees, and closures change often. Always verify with the official source before driving.

Tier 3 · Curiosities

Fort Point Light

Fort Point Light Station

San Francisco · San Francisco County · Bay Area

Fort Point Light is a demolished lighthouse on the Bay Area coast of California, first lit in 1855, owned by National Park Service.

DemolisheddemolishedPublic accesseasyNational Park Service

Year first lit

1855

Current structure built

1855

Tower height

Demolished ft

Focal plane

Demolished ft

Optic

Demolished

Light characteristic

Demolished

Owner

National Park Service

Manager

NPS – Golden Gate National Recreation Area

Coordinates

37.8108, -122.4773 Map

Current hours

Fort Point NHS open Friday–Sunday 10am–5pm (verify with NPS)

Fees

Free

History

First lit 1855 under what is now the south anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge. Demolished in 1934 to make way for bridge construction. The site is now inside Fort Point National Historic Site, where NPS preserves the Civil War-era brick fortification.

Why it matters

Lighthouse-meets-bridge-construction story is the entry. The original navigational role was made redundant by the very structure that erased the building.

The visit

Fort Point NHS is open Friday–Sunday, 10am–5pm (verify with NPS). Free admission. No lighthouse to see — just the site beneath the bridge and the fort itself.

Logistics

Recommended base

San Francisco

Accessibility

Fort Point NHS is open. The lighthouse itself was demolished. The fort is the attraction.

Nearby lighthouses

Point Bonita Lighthouse at the end of its suspension bridge in the Marin Headlands

Point Bonita Lighthouse

★ Flagship 12

Sausalito, Bay Area

Tier 1Active aidPublic accessmoderate⚠ Verify

The guardian of the Golden Gate. One of the most dramatic lighthouse settings in the United States — perched on a rocky point, accessed by a suspension bridge over crashing surf. The very limited access (one Saturday per month) makes planning essential.

Lime Point Lighthouse beneath the north anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge

Lime Point Light

Sausalito, Bay Area

Tier 2Active aidPublic accessmoderate

One of the most photographed lighthouse positions in California by accident: it sits squarely under the Golden Gate Bridge. An active aid to navigation still doing the original 1900s job, automated. The light characteristic is Fl W 5s — flashing white every five seconds.

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Sources

Image rights: NPS images generally public domain. Historic images at Library of Congress public domain.

Research confidence: high · Last verified 2026-05-13