Point Loma Lighthouse

On our list of the best activities in San Diego.

The Old Point Loma Lighthouse went into service in 1855, one of the first eight lighthouses built on the Pacific Coast, and guided ships into San Diego Bay for 36 years before fog problems led to its replacement in 1891. President Woodrow Wilson set aside the site as Cabrillo National Monument in 1913, and the Navy later used the tower as a signal station during World War II. Restored keeper's quarters now show a kitchen, dining room, and bedrooms furnished to the 1880s, and the tower itself opens only on scheduled Open Tower Days to reveal its Fresnel lens.