Trinidad Head Lighthouse

1871 lighthouse still in active service — one of the oldest on the California coast

The Trinidad Head Lighthouse has been in continuous operation since 1871, making it one of the oldest active lighthouses on the California coast. The original Fresnel lens was replaced with a more modern optic in the 1940s, but the 1871 light tower — a compact masonry structure perched at the edge of the headland at 196 feet above sea level — still stands.

The lighthouse is on Coast Guard property and not open to visitors, but it is clearly visible from the Trinidad Head trail and from the harbour below. A full-scale replica of the original Fresnel lens is on display at the Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse at the foot of the headland, in the small park near the harbour parking area. The memorial lighthouse is a 1949 replica built by local residents to honour fishermen lost at sea; it now serves as the practical viewpoint for the real lighthouse visible on the cliff above.

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A story
When a severe storm struck in December 1914, the keeper of Trinidad Head Lighthouse reported waves striking the lighthouse itself — at 196 feet above sea level. He later stated that a solid wall of water passed completely over the top of the light. The report was dismissed as exaggeration for decades until oceanographers calculated that storm waves in this region can, under extreme conditions, reach precisely that height.

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