Tier 2 · Notable

Point Diablo Light

Point Diablo Light Station

Sausalito · Marin County · Bay Area

Point Diablo Light is an active lighthouse on the Bay Area coast of California, first lit in 1922, owned by National Park Service / U.S. Coast Guard.

Active aidstandingPublic accessmoderateNational Park Service / U.S. Coast Guard

Point Diablo Light on the Marin shore of the Golden Gate — Photo: Frank Schulenburg· CC BY-SA 4.0· Wikimedia Commons

Year first lit

1922

Current structure built

1922

Tower height

18 ft

Focal plane

85 ft

Optic

Automated LED beacon

Light characteristic

Fl W 2.5s (flashing white every 2.5 seconds)

Owner

National Park Service / U.S. Coast Guard

Manager

NPS – Golden Gate National Recreation Area

Coordinates

37.8283, -122.4986 Map

Current hours

Trail accessible during daylight hours. Exterior only.

Fees

Free

History

Built 1922 on the Marin shore of the Golden Gate strait, between Lime Point and Point Bonita. A small automated light at 85 feet above the water, marking a rocky headland that catches inbound traffic from the north. Light characteristic: Fl W 2.5s.

Why it matters

The least-visited of the three Marin Headlands lights — easy to skip in favor of Point Bonita's suspension bridge a few miles west. Worth seeing for the Golden Gate viewing angle alone, and as the middle piece of a complete Marin lights walk.

The visit

Reachable via Marin Headlands trail. Exterior only; the structure is closed to the public. Combine with a Lime Point or Point Bonita walk for a Marin lights morning. Free parking at Battery Spencer or Conzelman Road pullouts.

Logistics

Recommended base

Sausalito or San Francisco

Accessibility

Accessible via Marin Headlands trail. Exterior only. No interior access.

Nearby lighthouses

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 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

Officialnps.gov/goga
Secondaryen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Diablo_Light
Imagescommons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Point_Diablo_Light.jpg

Image rights: NPS images generally public domain.

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