Point Bonita Lighthouse Reopens to Public After Pandemic Closure

SAUSALITO (KPIX) -- One of the Bay Area's most beautiful attractions reopened after nearly two years. The Point Bonita Lighthouse resumed tours Sunday and visitors said it felt like a light at the end of the tunnel for the pandemic.

For the first time since March 2020, members of the public entered the tunnel connecting Point Bonita on the Marin Headlands to the rest of the world. From there, the remainder of the walk feels like a trip back in time to 1877 when the lighthouse found a home at its lonely, rocky outpost -- a welcome sight to mariners seeking the protection of San Francisco Bay.

Andrew Michael said he's visited the area from time to time, wondering when it might reopen.

"When I first came, the light wasn't on and I was so irritated," he said. "It's like an old lost brother or something wasn't there."

The lighthouse kept operating during the pandemic but the public was kept away. It reopened Sunday without a lot of fanfare so most of the visitors had no idea they were the first ones to see it in a very long time.

"I didn't know that there was a lighthouse out here," said visitor Jameson Hendler. "But we were just out riding and exploring and saw 'Point Bonita Lighthouse' and, like, 'let's go check this out!'"

It was no accident for the Cervantes family who live in the Central Valley. They've been exploring the Bay Area during the outbreak.

"We started going on a bunch of trails when the pandemic hit," Monica Cervantes said. "We've been kind of traveling around the coastal area, looking for trails and we had seen this. This has been on our list for a while but it's been closed so we finally got a chance to come out here."

Her 8-year-old daughter Addison said having huge waves crash on rocks beneath her isn't something she sees at her home near Fresno.

"You can feel the wind and it feels like you're on a boat," Addison said. "It feels nice and fresh out here and it's very pretty."

The lighthouse itself is a bit odd as a tourist attraction. There's one small building with a few old photos but the beacon light upstairs is off limits so a tour of the place only takes about 10 minutes. Those who see it say the lighthouse really isn't the star of the show.

"The thrill of being here is just the location of where it's at and the beauty of everything you can see out here," said Frankie Cervantes. "I mean, the waves, the mountains, the Golden Gate Bridge and so -- it's just awesome."

"It's such an incredible location," said Monica Goerss. "I mean, just walking over that bridge and seeing the water coming together with the rocks...it's just a very exciting and very dynamic place."

For nearly 150 years, the Point Bonita lighthouse has stood as a beacon of hope, welcoming sailors safely back from stormy seas. Sunday, it did the same thing for people weary of navigating another kind of storm.

"Today's just a good day. I've been smiling all day," said visitor Tara Longnecker. "It's just good to be out around people again, you know? You don't think you miss it until you do stuff again."

Self-guided tours of the lighthouse are available first-come / first-served on Sundays and Mondays only from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.