Alcatraz National Park
California, USA
Hello, inquisitive people. Wander Woman here. I recently celebrated a birthday, and decided I wanted to take a special adventure; a day trip to Alcatraz National Park, the site of the infamous former penitentiary on a rocky island in the San Francisco Bay. Alcatraz is definitely best known for the time it spent as America’s “inescapable” prison, but there’s more history on the island than just the 29 years it spent as a penitentiary. I’m going to provide some of the highlights of a visit to Alcatraz here.
First, to get to Alcatraz, you have to take a boat (or try to swim! Not recommended.) It’s a quick, approximately 15-minute boat ride from Pier 33 on the San Francisco waterfront. Incidentally, Pier 33 is within easy walking distance of Pier 39, a major tourism hub for shopping and dining in San Francisco. Before or after your Alcatraz tour, I recommend checking Pier 39 out. You can grab a bite to eat – the area is known particularly for fresh seafood, with one popular specialty being clam chowder in a San Francisco sourdough bread bowl. You can browse a wide variety of San Francisco souvenirs, take a spin on the old-fashioned carousel, and visit the area’s most famous residents; a loud and exuberant colony of sea lions that live on the nearby docks. Now you’re ready to catch your boat to Alcatraz!
While on board the boat, valuable information about the upcoming tour is given over the PA system, such as where the restrooms are, where picnicking is allowed, where to pick up your included audio tour headsets, and how often boats depart the island to bring visitors back to the mainland. Upon arriving at Alcatraz, a park ranger is waiting to greet the boat, give even more detailed information and instructions, and answer questions. Then it’s time to hike up the hill to the prison itself. It’s a climb equivalent to a 13-floor building, so be prepared to make your way strenuously uphill. The park service does provide a tram for any visitors with medical conditions that would prevent them from climbing the hill on their own.
There are lots to see on the way up, not to mention once you reach the top. Long before it became an infamous prison, this island housed an American Civil War-era fort and you can see the ruins of old fortifications and cannon emplacements. Steep old stone staircases, now roped off for safety reasons, cling to the cliff-sides.
Once you reach the top, where the penitentiary itself sits, you can claim your headset and begin the audio tour. Alcatraz operated as a prison for 29 years (1934-1963) and housed some of the most notorious criminals in 20th-century American history. including infamous gangsters Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly. It also housed prisoners with a history of escaping other institutions, since Alcatraz was considered to be inescapable due to being on an island. One interesting historical fact is that three prisoners, working together, did indeed escape the island in 1962. Their fate remains unknown to this day. It was never confirmed that they reached the mainland, as none of them were ever found.
They were presumed to have died in the attempt, either drowning or succumbing to hypothermia in the frigid waters of the bay. However, no bodies were discovered either, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility that one or more of them might have reached the mainland and started a new life under an assumed identity. The actual fate of the escapees will always remain a historical mystery.
A final fascinating historical footnote is that in 1969, six years after it closed as a prison, Alcatraz was taken over and occupied by members of several Native American tribes who felt that since it was no longer in use, the island should be returned to Native American jurisdiction. The occupation lasted 19 months, but it was forcibly ended by the federal government in 1971 and Alcatraz eventually became the US National Park it is today. With so much rich and varied history concentrated on a small island, easily accessible via a short and pleasant boat ride, Alcatraz is a must-see the next time you visit San Francisco, the City By The Bay.
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READ MY PREVIOUS TRAVEL BLOG AT MACKINAC ISLAND
