Tier 3
Mile Rocks Light
Mile Rocks Light Station
San Francisco · San Francisco County · Bay Area
One of the most dramatic offshore-rock lighthouse sites in California, and the engineering story of the truncation is its own thing.
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 Mile Rocks Light to collect your digital stamp. Add your name if you like.
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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
First lit 1906 on a submerged rock at the south side of the Golden Gate entrance. The original multi-story tower was demolished in 1966 and replaced with a helicopter pad and automated light. The stump of the original base is still visible at low tide.
The visit
No public access — offshore rock, active USCG aid. Best viewing from Baker Beach or Lands End on a clear day with binoculars.
Make a day of it
Base yourself in
Nearby lighthouses
Point Bonita Lighthouse
★ Flagship 12Sausalito, Bay Area
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 Light
Sausalito, Bay Area
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.
Help keep this guide accurate: report changed access, a broken link, or a factual correction.
Sources
- Officialen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mile_Rocks_Light
- Officiallighthousefriends.com/light.asp
- Secondaryen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mile_Rocks_Light
- Imagescommons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mile_Rocks_Light.jpg
Image rights: USCG images public domain.
Research confidence: high · Last verified 2026-05-13