QuikTrip: Point Bonita Lighthouse Tour

Our last day in Napa we headed back to San Fransico for a guided sunset tour of the Point Bonita Lighthouse, which is located at the entrance to the San Francisco Bay. We were hoping to get a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge too, but once again, it was shrouded in fog.

The tour, which started at the parking lot, is about one mile roundtrip. We had three National Park guides. One of them is originally from Nacogdoches, Texas, which is close to where I was born and spent much time. There were 20 or so on our tour. It was chilly, breezy and foggy. We didn’t expect to see much of a sunset and we were right!

The trail took us through a hand-hewn tunnel, down a somewhat steep path and across a suspension bridge. Even though the sun wasn’t visible, the views were impressive.

Fast Facts:

• Point Bonita was the last manned lighthouse on the California coast.
• It was built because more than 300 boats ran aground near the Golden Gate during the California Gold Rush years.
• It is the only lighthouse in the United States which can only be reached by a suspension bridge. Up until 1940 the lighthouse could be reached by a trail, but erosion caused the trail to crumble into the sea. A wooden walkway was installed, but when that became treacherous a suspension bridge was built in 1954.
• The original lighthouse was built in 1855 at 306 feet above sea level but fog shrouded it so they moved it down to its present location in 1877.
• The lighthouse is still active and maintained by the Coast Guard.