Angel Island From San Francisco

You can see everything from here, even the fog

Angel Island is super dope. There are picnic grounds right at the Ferry Terminal, museums, bike trails, and a fairly straightforward hike to the top. 2 miles and 45 minutes later you can see almost all the Bay Area.

Getting There

We had to stand to the left for Angel Island, right for Tiburon. Probably so that the fares could be easily tagged for. There was a much longer line behind us and outside that started before the covered area. That was for the next ferry arriving. If you waited there, you'd miss this ferry.

The easiest way from San Francisco is catching the ferry from Gate B at the SF Ferry Building. If you've got a Clipper Card, this is really easy since a guy will come down the line with a terminal for you to tap it against. We had ours on our iPhones and it was quite straightforward. You do have to make sure you have the $9.50 ahead of time, though.

If you don't have a Clipper Card, you can get one at one of the downtown BART stations or on your iPhone, or you can buy a round-trip ticket from the Ferry Plaza, by Gate C, walking South just as you pass the public viewing area stairs. The lines get quite long but they're usually for the other locations, so make sure you don't (as we did) end up standing in the Gate B line for Larkspur or Treasure Island instead of the Angel Island / Tiburon trip.

The ferry website claims you will need to buy a round-trip ticket but if you're using the Clipper card, it's one-way only. You'll just pay on the way back as well. Some people didn't have theirs working but it seemed like they were doing something to work with them. I didn't see anyone tossed overboard.

There's a ferry from Tiburon alone as well but we didn't take that since it doesn't go from/to SF. That one has the advantage that the last one on it leaves the island past 5 PM.

We were on the holiday schedule (it's Memorial Day today) so the last GG Ferry was at 4:45 PM.

It's a pretty short ride on the ferry and it can be a great view on a sunny day.

The Hike to the Summit

The summit hike is about 2 mi and between 45 min and an hour. It's not particularly steep and has lots of switchbacks and is mostly shaded the whole way.

If you take the very last ferry from San Francisco, this means you'll have to hurry a little bit since the interval between ferries is roughly 2 hrs. It's still quite doable and you'll have a pleasant shaded hike through wildflower glades all the way to a section at the top where you'll be exposed to the wind (which was fortunately mild) and the sun (which I like, but Julie isn't as fond of).

And then a short while later you'll be at the top with picnic tables nearby with a fantastic view.