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Angel Island

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Overview

Wikivoyage guide · 16 sections

▸Introduction436 chars

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.

▸Understand173 chars

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. (updated Apr 2025)

▸History710 chars

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.

Facts

Rank

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Coordinates

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Source

WBP almanac

External sources

Wikivoyage Wikipedia

Media

From Wikipedia56 words

Introduction

Angel Island may refer to: Angel Island (California), historic site of the United States Immigration Station, Angel Island, and part of Angel Island State Park, in San Francisco Bay, California Angel Island, Papua New Guinea Angel Island (novel), by Inez Haynes Gillmore Angel Island Zone, a fictional location in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series.

56 words · source ↗

More in sights0

▸Flora and fauna566 chars

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 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.

▸Get in1,021 chars

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. This ferry does not accept Clipper cards. As of 2025, round-trip tickets are $18 for adults, $16 for seniors, $15 for children age 6–12, $6 for children age 3–5, and free for toddlers 2 and under. $1 extra to bring a bicycle. 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.

Dogs are not allowed on the island.

▸Get around770 chars

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 4–12).

▸See1,222 chars

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. (updated Apr 2025)

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. (updated Apr 2025)

Batteries. Old military batteries concentrated at the southwest corner of the island. Trails go near them, so you can wander around and go inside if you're interested. (updated Apr 2025)

Camp Reynolds. A former military fort, now sometimes home to a living history museum. (updated Apr 2025)

▸Do521 chars

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.

▸Eat423 chars

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.