In 1939, the Coast Guard took responsibility for the lighthouse and decided it was no longer needed. The Bandon Lighthouse stood neglected for twenty-four years, until Bullards Beach State Park was created on the north side of the river.

Violent winter storms deposit piles of drift wood on the beach near the lighthouse and have eaten away at the lighthouse’s foundation. To correct this problem, a restoration effort, costing over $600,000, was carried out during the summer of 2007. The project included removing damaged stucco, repainting the exterior, replacing the roof, adding a false chimney, and repairing copper flashing. The colors used to paint the lighthouse were reportedly found on some older layers of stucco, but some locals strongly oppose the new color scheme and insist that white is the historically accurate color.