Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz Island is an island located in the San Francisco Bay, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. Often referred to as The Rock, the small island early-on served as
a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison, and a Federal Bureau of Prisons federal prison until 1963. Later, in 1972, Alcatraz became a national recreation area and received landmarking designations in 1976 and 1986.

Today, the island is a historic site operated by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is open to tours. Visitors can reach the island by ferry ride from Pier 33, near Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. In 2008 the nation's first hybrid propulsion ferry started serving the island. Alcatraz has been featured in many movies, TV shows, cartoons, books, comics, and games.

The island, once an 1850s military fort, is the site of the West Coast’s first lighthouse (since replaced by the current lighthouse) and the birthplace of the Native American “Red Power” movement. Gardens, tidepools, nesting birds, and bay views beyond compare are also among its attractions.

Alcatraz was the home of the West Coast’s first lighthouse. Equipped with a simple oil lamp, the Alcatraz light began guiding ships through the narrow entrance to the bay in 1854

A walk around Alcatraz can be a breathtaking experience. The island is one of the bay’s best vista points, a place surrounded by mountains, bridges, ships, and skylines. The most spectacular views can be seen from the Agave Trail (open approximately October through February, when the birds aren’t nesting), the parade ground, and the lighthouse plaza. Apart from the 360-degree panorama of the bay, a walk on Alcatraz takes you along rocky cliffs, past colonies of western gull nests, and through areas overgrown with exotic flowers and trees.