If you're looking for miles of scenic hiking and bicycling trails, board a Blue & Gold Fleet ferry destined for Angel Island. It takes almost no time to get there, and you can count on night-time views of the San Francisco skyline that no one should miss. You won't have a problem seeing most of the island in a couple days, as the Perimeter Trail takes just six miles to wrap around it. Walk through the eucalyptus forests and catch the Summit Trail up to Mt. Livermore, the highest point on the island poking up merely 781 feet. At night, enjoy the vistas of the city's skyline and Golden Gate Bridge.
The unforgettable vistas of San Francisco and Marin are the perfect setting for a midday picnic or an island paradise you can call your own. Now a California State Park and Wildlife preserve, Angel Island is, perhaps one of the finest historical sites in the Bay Area and includes military garrisons and compounds from every major war dating back to the U.S. Civil War. Also known as the "Ellis Island of the West," Angel Island's Immigration Station was the first stop for millions of Pacific Basin, Asian and Russian immigrants entering the United States.
Angel Island Immigration detention center - Immigrants, because of the long length of time to process their applications, expressed their feeling in poems carved on the walls. "Inside, the barracks walls are covered with poems and messages left by the people forced to stay here. The writings reflect their fears, anger, frustration, and grief." Tall fences, barbed wire, bar-windows, and a guard tower were reminder to the immigrants that they were in fact imprisoned here until they were released or shipped back to China.
Between 1942 and 1946, WWII prisoners of war (both Japanese and German) were housed in the same barracks.
A day trip to Angel Island will provide a quick overview, but the ferry trip must be planned ahead, as there will be only one or two trips to the Island, and you must catch the last ferry back.
Summer - 2001 We took our bikes over to Angel Island on the ferry which departs from Pier 41. Be sure to take an early morning ferry, especially if you are planning on walking. Even with a bike, it takes quite a bit of time to traverse the island and see all the sites. Carry plenty of water because water is available only at the main dock except at the campsites situated in the undeveloped areas of the island.
Below is a listing of images and standard GIF images various activities on Angel Island.By clicking on them you will bring up a larger JPEG view of them.
Pictures 1 thru 13 were from our first trip back in Aug-2001
- Map of Angel Island - A topo view of Angel Island.
- Alcatraz - A view of Alcatraz from the ferry.
- San Francisco - A view of the San Francisco Sky Line
- San Francisco - A view on the return back home
- Harbor View - A view of the Angel Island Harbor from above
- Oakland View - A view from the northeast side of Angel Island looking toward the Bay Bridge
- Immigration Station - A brief history of the center
- Detention Center - A Description of the detention center
- Detention Barrack - These barracks housed several immigrants at the same time.
- Living Quarters - Bunk beds were stacked three high
- Toilet Facilities - Just a few toilets were available for the hundreds of immigrants detained at the center.
- Wall Craving - Example of poems carved into the wall in the detention center
- Poem 1 - Translation of a poem carved into the wall
- Interrogation - An exhibit illustrating how interrogation was conducted
Pictures 15 thru 28 were from our Camping trip back in Oct-2002
- Ayala Cove - The main building that greets visitor at Ayala Cove. This building, now a park museum, was once the former bachelor officer quarters of the old US Marine Health Service
- Ayala Cove - The picnic area at Ayala Cove
- Wildlife - A deer on the bike trail leading from Ayala Cove
- Ft McDowell - The old officer's housing, now use as employee housing on the island
- Sunset Camp - The view from our campsite at Sunrise
- Top of Mt. Livermore - Jin enjoying the view from the top
Night scenes taken at the base of Mt. Livermore on Angel Island. Various view of the Golden Gate, Marin Headland, the Bay Bridge, City of San Francisco, Oakland and Berkley.
- Sunset - Sunset over the Golden Gate
- Sunset - The Marin Headland
- Night scene - A view toward San Francisco
- Night scene - A night view of the Bay Bridge in the center, San Francisco, and Oakland
Several panoramic views from Angel Island
- Golden Gate - A view of the Golden Gate with a Coast Guard Cutter on patrol
- Perimeter Road - A view toward Triburon from the North Perimeter Road, the Richmond - San Rafael Bridge in the background
- Mt Livermore - The view to the South toward San Francisco
- Mt Livermore - The view to the North toward Triburon
