The hook
The only lighthouse in America you reach by crossing a suspension bridge — out a hand-carved rock tunnel and over a miniature Golden Gate to a light clinging to the last crag of the Marin Headlands, where the Bay meets the ocean.
01Why it's worth it
Point Bonita is the dramatic bookend to the Golden Gate: sited in 1855 too high in the fog, moved in 1877 to a 124-foot crag at the very tip of the headland, and reached only by a 118-foot tunnel blasted and chiseled through hard rock, then a small suspension bridge built in the 1950s to deliberately echo its giant neighbor across the strait. It was the last staffed lighthouse on the California coast, and the walk out — cliff on both sides, container ships sliding through the Gate below, the whole approach a series of thresholds — is one of the most cinematic short trails in the Bay Area. Honest and important: the suspension bridge closed indefinitely in August 2024 for repairs, so access to the lighthouse itself is currently suspended; the half-mile trail to the overlook stays open and still delivers the tunnel and the Gate view. Confirm the bridge's status before counting on reaching the light.
02How to experience it
Field Rd out to the tip of the Marin Headlands (Conzelman/McCullough from the north end of the Golden Gate). Walk the half-mile trail through the tunnel to the overlook; check nps.gov for whether the suspension bridge and lighthouse have reopened before planning around them. Pairs with the Marin Headlands batteries, Nike SF-88, and the Point Bonita YMCA cove.