Walk two iconic islands—one shaped by nature and memory, the other by myth and history—both just a ferry ride from San Francisco.
I’ve always had a thing for islands.
Call me an islophile. Early in my writing career, I chased islands around the globe—from Tahiti to the Shetlands, from Crete to Corfu. But some of my favorite island adventures are much closer to home.
Out on San Francisco Bay, a short ferry ride can feel like a long journey. Within minutes, the city slips away, replaced by wind, water, and a sense of separation that only islands provide.
Each of these islands tells a different California story.
Angel Island invites you to walk through layers of history—Coast Miwok homelands, military outposts, and the poignant Immigration Station—while hiking ridgelines with sweeping views of the Golden Gate and the skyline beyond.
Alcatraz, once home to the likes of Al Capone, now belongs to seabirds and sea spray, its prison walls softened by time and tide.
Two islands. Two experiences.
All just a boat ride away.
Angel Island
From Tiburon, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, it takes only ten minutes by ferry to reach Angel Island, but once you step ashore, you’re in another world. A world of layered histories, where each cove and ridge seems to carry a new chapter of California’s story.
The Coast Miwok fished these waters for centuries before the Spanish sailed in. Later, pirates used the coves as hideouts. In Mexican times, Angel Island was part of a land grant. The U.S. Army claimed it during the Civil War, building Camp Reynolds and placing gun batteries to defend San Francisco Bay.
Then came the age of quarantine. Returning soldiers with tropical diseases were isolated here. Immigrants too—especially Chinese—were detained at the infamous Immigration Station between 1910 and 1943. Under the Chinese Exclusion Act, thousands waited here in limbo, their futures determined by interrogations and bureaucratic suspicion. Many carved poems into the barracks walls: poems of longing, anger, and resilience. Reading them today is one of the most moving experiences in the entire State Park system.
And Angel Island’s military career didn’t stop there. It served as a staging point for World War II troops, then as a Nike missile base during the Cold War. Only later, through the perseverance of conservationists and the vision of State Parks, was the island transformed into what we know now: a sanctuary of history and nature in the very heart of San Francisco Bay.
Rocky coves and sandy beaches, grassy slopes and forested ridges, plus a fine trail network, add up to a hiker’s delight. The five-mile Perimeter Road gives a grand tour of the island, with new views around every bend—San Francisco’s skyline, the Golden Gate Bridge, Mount Tamalpais, Alcatraz. Sunset Trail climbs to the island’s highest point, 781-foot Mount Caroline Livermore, for a 360-degree panorama that’s breathtaking on a clear day and mystical when the fog drapes the Bay like a theater curtain.
This isn’t just a walk through the past—it’s a living natural experience. Deer graze the meadows, hawks circle above the ridges, and in spring, wildflowers paint the hillsides. I’ve hiked Angel Island many times, and each time feels new. Sometimes San Francisco is hidden entirely, swallowed in gray. Then the curtain lifts, and there it is: gleaming towers across the Bay, as though revealed for the first time.
Few parks combine history and nature in such a small space, and few hikes are as satisfying. Angel Island is a reminder that the Bay itself is a dramatic stage, and we hikers get front-row seats.
Alcatraz Island
Once the island was populated with the likes of Al “Scarface” Capone, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, and a couple hundred more incorrigibles. Now the isle’s most distinguished residents are the black-crowned night heron, double-crested cormorant, and a few thousand Western gulls.
The birds, with National Park Service encouragement, have taken over Alcatraz. Restoring “The Rock” to some semblance of a natural world has been part of the park service’s mission ever since it inherited this storied slab of stone. And it’s working—these days, the raucous cries of gulls have replaced the clang of prison doors.
The island’s story is long and layered. The Pacific Coast’s first lighthouse was built here in 1854. Later, Alcatraz became a military prison, holding Civil War deserters, Native American leaders, and conscientious objectors from World War I. Then came the infamous years (1934–1963) as the nation’s maximum-security showcase, where “public enemies” were caged within sight of San Francisco’s bright lights.
When the prison closed, the island was abandoned to seabirds and sea spray—until 1973, when it opened as part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Since then, millions of visitors have ferried across the bay for a mix of prison lore, history walks, and ranger-led talks on subjects ranging from escape attempts to natural history. The 45-minute audio tour, narrated by former guards and inmates, is a perennial favorite.
Agave Trail (1-mile round trip including prison tour) reveals another side of Alcatraz. Planted as a deterrent to would-be rescuers during the prison years, the spiny agaves still spike the slopes. The trail skirts tide pools, overlooks a sea lion haul-out, and offers sweeping views of San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, and Treasure Island. Autumn is the season to come: the trail is open only mid-September through January, closed the rest of the year to protect nesting seabirds. Clear skies, fewer crowds, and hundreds of gulls swirling overhead—this is Alcatraz at its most alive.
Pop culture hasn’t ignored The Rock either. Clint Eastwood brooded here in Escape from Alcatraz. Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage fought off terrorists in The Rock. Hollywood loves the place—but seabirds have the final say.
Footnotes
You can visit Angel and Alcatraz Islands in one day. One commercial tour operator Alcatraz City Cruises offers ferry service to—and tours—of the islands, but alas for hikers it’s a tram tour not a hike around Angel Island.
Best way for hikers to see both islands is to catch the first ferry of the day to Angel Island from Tiburon. After hiking to your heart’s content, catch the last ferry of the day to Alcatraz. Btw, for a truly eerie experience, join a night tour of Alcatraz!
For a perfect way to end your day on Angel Island, stop for a gelato at Caffe Acri located at 1 Main Street, a short walk from the Tiburon ferry landing. The cozy Italian café is also a great place to start your day, too, with an espresso and pastry or ordering a sandwich to go for your hike.