Golden Gate National Recreation Area

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area encompasses land and water area of the shoreline of San Francisco extending south of the Golden Gate Bridge to San Mateo county and north to Tomales Bay covering 59 miles of shoreline that includes, beaches, lagoons, red wood forests, . and marshes. It is the largest urban national parks in the world, representing one of America’s biggest coastal preserve and one of the most visited units of the National Park Service having an estimated 16 million visitors yearly.

Fort Baker Golden Gate National Recreation Area

Photo by The City Project

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is a gold mine of historical and cultural treasures and resources that chronicles San Francisco’s rich history from the native American culture, through the Hispanic civilization, to its Mexican origin. These sites also represent the growth of American coastal defense, maritime and military history, development of agriculture, California gold rush, and the final growth of Urban San Francisco. Historical sites with a variety of military forts, archeological sites and other historical structures such as Alcatraz, Nike Missile Site, Muir Woods National Monument, Marin Headlands, Presidio San Francisco and Fort Point National Historic Site are only some of these historical resources.

Alcatraz – a tour of Alcatraz island gives visitors a look at close range of the site of the US fort built in the West Coast, the first light house and the notorious federal penitentiary long out-of-bounds to the public, and the 18 month Indian All Tribes occupation. Other than its historical value, Alcatraz also is a nature park with beautiful gardens, bird colonies, tide pools, an incomparable view of the San Francisco Bay.
A daily ferry service for Alcatraz leaves Pier 41 of the Fisherman’s Wharf and visitors can either tour the island on their own with the use of self-guide brochures or join a ranger-led tour to take an audio tour of the cell house for information about the island. There is also a video clip of the history Alcatraz shown in the museum every 30 minutes.

Marin Headlands – The Marin Headlands is an undulating area located at the southernmost part of Marin County, north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge. The Marin Headlands is well-known for their spectacular view of the Bay Area, particularly of the Golden Gate Bridge

The visitor centers for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area where tickets can be obtained are:
• Crissy Field Center – Open all year, Wednesday to Sunday, 9am to 5pm.
• Alcatraz Island Visitor Center – Open all year.
• Fort Point Bookstore – Open Friday, Saturday, Sunday 10am to 5pm.
• Marin Headlands Visitor Center – Open all Year, 9:30am to 4:30pm.
• Muir Woods Visitor Center – Open all year, 8am to sunset.
Pacific West Regional Information Center – Open all year, Monday to Friday, 10:00am to 4:30pm.