Rising in the middle of San Francisco Bay, Angel Island has been a military base, immigration station, WWII Japanese internment camp and Nike missile site, leaving interesting and thought-provoking forts and bunkers to explore. Spread out a picnic in a protected cove or beach with views over the urban grid and bridges, or explore this family-friendly beauty on foot or by bicycle.
Angel Island State Park
Top choice in Marin County
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
7.29 MILES
When Frederick Law Olmsted, architect of New York's Central Park, gazed in 1865 upon the plot of land San Francisco Mayor Frank McCoppin wanted to turn…
6.81 MILES
Was it the fall of 1966 or the winter of ’67? As the Haight saying goes, if you can remember the Summer of Love, you probably weren’t here. The fog was…
5.26 MILES
If you look close today at the clinker-brick buildings lining these narrow backstreets, past the temple balconies jutting out over bakeries, acupuncture…
5.1 MILES
No one could have predicted the cultural force City Lights would become when it first opened in 1953. Sure, it had a proletarian ethos suggested by its…
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
5.98 MILES
When the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art expanded in 2016, it was a mind-boggling feat that nearly tripled the institution's size to accommodate a…
4.79 MILES
If you want to really see San Francisco, head to Coit Tower, a 1933 art deco beaut designed by Arthur Brown, Jr. and Henry Howard that sits high up on…
4.52 MILES
Few cities boast a structure so iconic as the Golden Gate Bridge, commemorated in everything from films like The Maltese Falcon to not one but two emojis…
7.48 MILES
Welcome to San Francisco's sunny side, the land of street ball and Mayan-pyramid playgrounds, semiprofessional tanning and taco picnics. Although the…
Nearby Marin County attractions
0.08 MILES
Ferries arrive and depart at this lovely sheltered cove and it's here you'll find the visitor center (with a tiny museum), cafe, tour departures, marina,…
2. Angel Island Immigration Station
0.48 MILES
Nicknamed the 'Ellis Island of the West,' Angel Island's early-20th-century US Immigration Station is a 1.5-mile walk or bike ride from the ferry dock…
0.92 MILES
Shhhh. The trail to this secluded beach with jaw-dropping views out to Alcatraz Island, the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco is mostly grown over; few…
0.97 MILES
This lovely white-sand beach is the island's best and it's easy to reach. It's fairly sheltered but can still get a little windy; the riptides can be…
5. Railroad & Ferry Depot Museum
0.99 MILES
Formerly the terminus for a 3000-person ferry to San Francisco and a railroad that once reached north to Ukiah, this late-19th-century building showcases…
1.36 MILES
This fine 19th-century example of Carpenter Gothic architectural style can be seen from almost anywhere in Tiburon. Hiking trails lead from above it onto…
1.53 MILES
The saloon of the 1866 steamer sailing ship PS China was brought to this site when the ship was decommissioned in the late 1800s. Since then it's served…
2.57 MILES
Near the ferry terminal, the plaza has a fountain flanked by 14ft-tall elephant statues from the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San…