| Lighthouse | Location | Public Access? | Special Features |
| Alcatraz Island | Golden Gate National Recreation Area | No | Alcatraz was the site of California's first light house. The present structure was built after the completion of the new cell house in 1911. Though you cannot go into the lighthouse, you may walk around just outside it. For information on visiting Alcatraz, call 415-705-5555 |
| Anacapa Island | Channel Islands National Park | No | You can arrange to visit Anacapa Island for the day or overnight camping. Contact Island Packers at (805) 642-1393) The vicinity of the light house, however, is off limits due to the intensity of the fog signal. |
| Año Nuevo | Añño Nuevo State Reserve | No | The island is a prominent feature along Highway 1. It is best viewed from deep inside the reserve, on one of the walks to see the elephant seals. |
| Carquinez Straits | Vallejo (moved) | Yes | Now a restaurant for the Glen Cove Marina. |
| Crescent City/Battery Point | Crescent City | Yes | Access to the light depends on the tides. For more information call (707) 464-3089. |
| East Brother Island | East Brother Island | Yes | The island light is now a bed and breakfast inn. Call 510-233-2385. |
| Farallons Islands | South Farallon Island | No | This lighthouse, perched alone on a rock, can be viewed only from the water. Landings on the Farallons are prohibited because of its status as a National Wildlife Refuge and important sea bird rookery. |
| Fort Point | Fort Point National Historic Site | No | The Fort Point Lighthouse is a tiny, temporary structure set atop Fort Winfield Scott, just beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. You may climb to the top of the fortress to the base of the lighthouse. For another perspective, view the light from atop the Bridge itself. Lime Point fog signal station is visible across the water. Alcatraz, Point Bonita, and Mile Rocks can also be observed from here. |
| Humboldt Bay | Eureka | No | The second light, from Table Bluff, has been moved to Woodley Island Marina. |
| Los Angeles Harbor | Entrance to Los Angeles Harbor, San Pedro | No | This is located out at the end of a two mile long breakwater. The light is visible from Catalina Island. Best seen from the sea. Fourth order Fresnel lense. |
| Mile Rocks | San Francisco | No | Look for a flat platform off Land's End. |
| Oakland Harbor | Oakland | Yes | Now a restaurant at 51 Embarcadero Cove, Oakland. |
| Piedras Blancas | San Simeon | No | The decapitated tower is visible from Highway 1. The first order Fresnel lense can be seen in Cambria, a few miles to the south. A herd of elephant seals has taken up residence at the light and may be seen at the scenic turnouts just south of here. |
| Pigeon Point | Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park | Yes | The most photographed lighthouse in California is located just off of Highway 1 between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay. The State now runs a Youth Hostel where you can spend the night within earshot of the fog signal. Tours are conducted on Sundays. Call (650) 879-0633 for tour information and overnight accomodations. |
| Point Arena | Point Arena | Yes | This is the second lighthouse at Point Arena. There is a small museum at the light. The keepers' quarters may be rented. For a special thrill, peek out the top of the light down into the blowhole. Call (707)882-2777. |
| Point Bonita | Golden Gate National Recreation Area | Yes | Getting to this light is an experience because you have to descend a steep hill, pass through a tunnel, and cross a narrow suspension bridge. The waterline view of the Golden Gate is unique! |
| Point Cabrillo | Caspar | Yes | The light is currently being restored by the Nature Conservancy. The surrounding land is now a nature preserve. |
| Point Fermin | Point Fermin Park, San Pedro | No | The first light at Los Angeles Harbor, it is something of a Victorian monstrosity, though restoration efforts have improved it. The building is located on the grounds of Cabrillo Beach Park. Fourth order Fresnel lense has been removed. |
| Point Loma | Cabrillo National Monument | Yes | Meticulously restored by National Park Service though the light itself has nothing to do with the purpose of the monument, which is to honor Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo who discovered San Diego Bay and first charted the coast of California. Third order Fresnel lense. |
| Point Loma (2nd) | Near Cabrillo National Monument | No | Visible from road leading to tidepools area at Cabrillo and from Whale Overlook. Third order Fresnel lense. |
| Point Montara | Montara | Yes | The Montara Light is located on a bluff a few miles south of San Francisco on Highway 1. Like Pigeon Point, it hosts a Youth Hostel. For overnight accomodations call (650) 728-7177. |
| Point Piños | Pacific Grove | Yes | Point Piños is California's oldest continuously operated light. The second to go in commission and its fourth order fresnel lense have never missed a night. The site is now run by the Pacific Grove Historical Society. Call (831) 648-3116 for information about tours. |
| Point Reyes | Point Reyes National Seashore | Yes | You go down to this lighthouse, located at the tip of the Point Reyes Penninsula, a future Pacific island. The National Park Service maintains a visitor's center dedicated to lighthouses and life in this isolated piece of California. A nearby overlook commands a view of a seal rookery. |
| Point Sur | Point Sur State Historic Park | Yes | Point Sur is situated on one of the most frightening locations of any California lighthouse. It is a steep climb to the light station. Weather changes frequently. Tours take place on Sundays and, during the summer season, on Wednesdays. For more information call (831) 667-2315 |
| Point Vincente | Rancho Palos Verdes, Los Angeles County | No | The Point Vincente Interpretative Center is located near the lighthouse near Hawthorne Boulevard and Palos Verdes Drive. Third order Fresnel lense. |
| Punta Gorda | Kings Range National Conservation Area. | No | It's a long, hard walk to this light. |
| St. George Reef | Crescent City | No | The light may be viewed from the end of Washington Boulevard near the airport. |
| San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo | No | Though plans have been made since 1978 to open this light, nothing has become of it. For current status: (805) 546-4904 |
| Santa Cruz/Mark Abbott | Lighthouse Field State Beach | Yes | The light is the second incarnation of the Santa Cruz Light, reconstructed by the parents of Mark Abbott, a young surfer who was killed on the rocks near here. A Museum of Surfing is housed inside. |
| Trinidad Head | Trinidad | Yes | Trinidad Head is an active U.S. Coast Guard Station. |
| Yerba Buena | San Francisco | No | The light is best viewed from the water. Land access from Yerba Buena Island is restricted, though you can get peeks from the roads leading off the Bay Bridge. |
| For more information, visit Lighthouses of California | |||