Tier 2
Los Angeles Harbor Light
Los Angeles Harbor Light Station
San Pedro · Los Angeles County · Southern California
The green tower is one of the most visually distinctive working lighthouses in the country. It defines the visual entrance to the busiest port on the West Coast and the city's harbor identity. Pairs visually with Point Fermin a few miles up the coast.
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 Los Angeles Harbor Light 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.
Your passport is tied to this browser. Open My Passport to back up your personal marks.
From the field
Viewed this light from an approved public vantage point? Share a condition update for the next visitor.
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 1913 on the outer breakwater of the Port of Los Angeles. The 73-foot green cast-iron tower is known locally as Angel's Gate. Still an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation, displaying a flashing red signal every five seconds.
The visit
No public access to the breakwater or the lighthouse itself. The structure is easily visible from the San Pedro waterfront, from Cabrillo Beach, and from harbor cruises out of Ports O' Call. Bring a long lens if you want the photograph.
Make a day of it
Base yourself in
Nearby lighthouses
Point Vicente Lighthouse
★ Flagship 12Rancho Palos Verdes, Southern California
Visually striking white tower on dramatic cliffs above the Pacific. One of the most recognizable lighthouse silhouettes in California. Active light. Adjacent to whale migration corridor.
Point Fermin Lighthouse
San Pedro, Southern California
The WWII blackout story is unique in California lighthouse history. The Victorian architecture is extraordinary — unlike any other lighthouse in the state. Free museum with original Fresnel lens.
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/los-angeles-harbor-lighthouse
- Secondarylighthousefriends.com/light.asp
- Secondaryen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Harbor_Light
- Imagescommons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Los_Angeles_Harbor_Light.jpg
Image rights: USCG images public domain. Wikimedia Commons has CC-licensed images.
Research confidence: high · Last verified 2026-05-13