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ItalianoAngel Island
Angel Island
Angel Island is a historic immigration station and military post turned state park in the San Francisco Bay. Sometimes considered the Ellis Island of the west coast, Angel Island was for decades the first place that many immigrants to the United States arrived, especially coming from East Asia. Nowadays it makes an interesting day trip by ferry from San Francisco or Marin County, for hiking and a look around the immigration museums.
Understand
[edit]The entire island is a state park, reachable only by boat (ferry or sailboat).
- 1 Visitor Center. Has a small museum of the island's history and wildlife.
History
[edit]For many centuries, Angel Island was a seasonal hunting ground for the Miwok people, who lived in Tiburon and elsewhere in Marin County. After colonization, it was used as a United States military fort for decades, and from 1910 to 1940 it was an immigration station. The "Ellis Island" of the west coast, it was used to inspect and detain many tens of thousands of immigrants, mainly but not exclusively from China, Japan, and other Asian countries. Many immigrants were detained, sometimes for months, while authorities decided whether to allow them into the country, and some of their possessions and messages now form interesting exhibits in the island's museums. In 1955, Angel Island became a state park.
Landscape
[edit]A hilly island, typical of the landscapes you'll find in other parts of the Bay Area including the rest of Marin County nearby. It's close to Tiburon, and until the end of the last ice age, Angel Island wasn't an island at all: it was connected to the Tiburon peninsula until rising sea levels cut it off.
Flora and fauna
[edit]Wildlife is similar to the rest of Marin. Raccoons, seals, sea lions, and a variety of birds live on and around the island. Deer were introduced in the early 20th century by the US army. Coyotes were absent until very recently (around 2017) when they seem to have started swimming over from Tiburon.
The island is covered with forests of native and introduced trees, and in the spring there are beautiful wildflowers in yellow, purple, and orange.
Angel Island is notable for having its own subspecies of mole, but you're unlikely to see it except in exhibits at the visitor center.
Climate
[edit]Cool, rainy winters and dry, warm summers. Like in the rest of the Bay Area, temperatures can vary significantly over the course of the day, so dress in layers. Despite how close it is to San Francisco, the Bay Area's microclimates mean that the temperature can be different from the city.
Get in
[edit]From the Embarcadero in San Francisco Golden Gate ferries serve Angel Island a few times a day. Pay with a Clipper card or buy tickets at the ticket office. Tickets are not sold on Angel Island, so make sure you have a round-trip ticket or enough money on your Clipper card to go both ways. As of 2025, tickets are $15.50 each way or $9.50 if you pay by Clipper card; children 4 and under are free.
From Tiburon (in Marin County), the Angel Island Ferry has service Wednesday–Sunday. Book in advance.
If you're coming from other parts of the Bay Area, your best option will likely be to take BART to Embarcadero station for the San Francisco ferry or drive to Tiburon for that ferry.
Private sailboats can also dock at Angel Island, near the 1 ferry landing.
Fees and permits
[edit]For ferry passengers, your entry fee is included in the ticket. If you're coming on your own boat, you'll have to pay some fees; see the park website for details.
Get around
[edit]
Hiking or biking are the main options; the island is crisscrossed by hiking trails (some of which allow bikes) and is circled by the Perimeter Road which is used by park service vehicles but is also perfectly fine to walk or bike on. Bikes can be brought on the ferry, or if you don't have one, you can rent one near the landing ($16 per hour for mountain bikes, $26 per hour for ebikes, as of 2025).
It's about 1.5 km (1 mile) from the ferry landing to the museums, and about 9 km (5 miles) around the whole Perimeter Road.
If you'd rather skip the physical exertion, shuttles to the museums leave from the cafe near the landing, $5 one way or $10 round trip, and one-hour shuttle tours of the island's historical sites are $18 ($17 for seniors, $12 for children 5–12).
See
[edit]The buildings at the historic immigration station have been converted into two interesting museums, and the circumference of the island is dotted with historic sites of military interest. Other than that, the main things to see are nature and excellent views around the bay.
- 1 Angel Island Immigration Museum. W–Su 11AM–2:30PM. Rotating exhibits about the history of U.S. immigration policy and the Angel Island immigration station, housed in what was once the station's hospital. Free.
- 2 Detention Barracks Museum. W–Su 11AM–2:30PM. Where immigrants were held, sometimes for weeks or months, while authorities decided whether to allow them into the United States. The highlights of this museum are the numerous artifacts belonging to detainees and the poems in Chinese that some of them scratched into the walls (interpretive signs provide translations). $5 for adults, $3 for youth 5–17.
- Batteries. Old military batteries concentrated at the southwest corner of the island.
- Camp Reynolds. A former military fort, now sometimes home to a living history museum.
Do
[edit]Hiking. Angel Island's trails have great views of lots of landmarks around the bay: going clockwise, you can see iconic skyline of San Francisco with Alcatraz in front of it, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Marin Headlands and the hills of Sausalito, the mansions of Tiburon and nearby Belvedere Island, the San Rafael–Richmond Bridge in the distance, the industrial landscapes and sprawling hills of the East Bay, the skyscrapers of downtown Oakland, and the Bay Bridge via hilly Yerba Buena Island and flat Treasure Island.
Buy
[edit]Good souvenirs are sold at the small 1 Angel Island Conservancy store, where all proceeds support the state park. The café (see below) also sells some merchandise and basic outdoor supplies.
Eat
[edit]The 1 café near the ferry landing sells sandwiches and various snacks and drinks, and food may be available on the ferry. Other than that you should bring whatever you need.
Please keep the wildlife wild – don't feed coyotes or birds, and try not to leave crumbs behind you. They can make the wild animals lose their natural fear of humans and become dependent on visitors instead of finding food the way they naturally do.
Drink
[edit]Water fountains are scattered around the Perimeter Road, but you should definitely bring a water bottle or two if you're planning to do any hiking. The café has some drinks for sale.
Sleep
[edit]Camping is possible. Otherwise, your lodging options are back in San Francisco or Tiburon. If you're not planning to camp, make sure you don't miss the last ferry back!
Go next
[edit]- Alcatraz is not far away, and served by ferries from San Francisco's Embarcadero too. It has less nature but even more history.
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