Angel Island State Park

My girlfriend's friends enjoy following my itineraries. Thought I'd share one for the first time on Yelp for a hike to the top of Angel Island starting at Tiberon.

9:00A: Park at Lot B in Tiberon, located between Chase and CVS. Payment is made by putting $5 into a provided envelope and dropping into a strongbox. Obviously, cash only and exact change is needed. One of the cheaper parking options, expect to overpay for parking if leaving your car near the dock.
9:05A: Walk across the street to buy coffee and picnic food at Woodlands Market or Rustic Bakery.
9:20A: Walk 10 minutes to the dock for the Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry. Arrived too early (but better than too late) for the ferry. Drank coffee on bench in the city park along waterfront while enjoying the view of Angel Island and San Francisco.
9:40A: See people prepping the ferry from our park bench. Walk to dock to get in line for the 10:00A ferry that costs $15 roundtrip which includes the park's entrance fee.
10:20A: Get off the boat and begin our hike. The hike to the top is a loop that we did clockwise by heading left to the North Ridge Trail to save the views of San Francisco for later so the fog had more time to burn off. Views cover North Bay and East Bay but are mostly obscured by oaks and manzanita. If the first one up the trail, expect to collide with stiff cobwebs. All trails are clearly marked. Follow signs to Mt. Livermore.
11:20A: Reach the summit with a 360-degree view of the bay area. The trail was 2 miles with a 770' elevation gain. Our pace was obviously 2.0 mph. Check the weather before going because the amount seen varies with weather visibility. This isn't the only outstanding view of gorgeous San Francisco Bay, but the all-encompassing vista at the peak of Angel Island should be regarded as one of the best.
11:25A: Eat lunch at one of the few picnic tables and then hangout.
11:50A: Start 3-mile return hike to the dock via the Sunset Trail. Less vegetation meant consistent views of San Francisco, Alcatraz, and the Golden Gate Bridge.
1:10P: Arrive at the Angel Island dock in Ayala Cove to board the 1:20P ferry. Return ferries are not pre-booked making it possible to take later departures should the hike take longer than expected or wanting to try other activities on the island.
1:25P: Return to Tiberon and walk to car.
1:40P: Drive away.

This trip can also start using a ferry from San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf but costs a little more. Other trails exist that we didn't try along with other things to do besides hiking. Bicycles can be rented at Angel Island or brought on the ferry. Guided tours on motorized trams are ready-and-waiting at the Angel Island dock site which likely covers the Nike missile sites, artillery batteries, or immigration center. The dock site also has a small café and restrooms.

A couple times when in the wilderness, my girlfriend has seen angels or fairies. She didn't see any on Angel Island but ironically, pragmatic me (I write itineraries after all) had two "winged" occurrences on the breezy ferry - a feather flew into my hand and a monarch butterfly landed on the deck next to my foot.

This is by far one of the most worthwhile Bay Area hikes I've been on so far. If there's any hike I'd take a visitor on, it would probably be this one.

The more difficult part is at the beginning when you climb the stairs, after that it's an easy hike as it's very flat, and there are gorgeous views starting from halfway up. It took us a bit over an hour to get to the top, though we spent a lot of our time taking photos. The trails were well paved and we didn't need to rely too much on Google Maps - the signs were pretty clear. You can explore the island in under 4 hours - so taking the 12 or 1pm ferry from Fischerman's Wharf is fine. The island is actually quite large, so there is quite a lot to explore if you want to do a day trip as well.

Angel Island is a beautiful historic place to picnic and hike. Just lovely for a family outing.

Loved everything about my hike here yesterday. I wish I took advantage of Angel Island more often but living so close by, I take it for granted.

Getting There:
We took the 920 Ferry from the Ferry Building. On the way to Angel Island, the ferry stopped at Pier 41 around 945. Price is $9 one way and you can buy tickets on board (they take credit cards).

Ferry:
The experience starts with a lovely ferry ride. Made sure to sit at the bow of the boat (the part facing the shore when docked). There were some fierce flies and interesting smells at the piers but both subsided as we got underway.

AMAZING views of the skyline, bay bridge, Oakland, treasure island, Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Belvedere/Tiburon.

Arriving at Angel Island:
The ferry can get crowded once it picks up passengers at pier 41 so make sure to start heading down as you approach Ayala Cove so you can leave the ferry before the throng.

Hike:
We used the Bay Area Hiker website for the Northridge to Sunset trail with a short climb up Mt Livermore. You can't take bikes on this trail but there's a 5 mile perimeter road that is good for biking.

The trail was beautiful and surprisingly sparse of other hikers. We saw about a dozen people over 2-3 hours. If you hike fairly often, you'll probably find this hike pretty easy. I wore Tom's and was totally fine. The people in full on hiking gear were "doing too much." A pair of athletic shoes and comfortable pants will do you just fine. At best, the level is easy/moderate.

Lots of spectacular views on the trail! I took so many pictures because it just kept getting better and better as we ascended to Mt. Livermore. On a clear/sunny day, it's one of the best views in the bay.

After our hike, we sat at one of the picnic tables in the group area (in front of the visitor's center) and ate a packed lunch. I was surprisingly hungry so pack something more substantial than snacks (pb&j sandwiches never tasted to good!).

The visitor's center was informative and the park ranger who was inside was really knowledgeable. She recommend we go to immigration station which is about a half hour walk from the visitor's center on the perimeter road. Unfortunately we only had about 15 minutes at the station and just walked around a bit before heading back. There is a paid ($5) self guided tour. It also closes at 3 so if you're trying to take the 320 ferry back, it's a bit tight.

We thought we would be able to take the 1235 ferry back-definitely not enough time if you do the Northridge/sunset trails. The 320 ferry back was perfect timing for us since I was pretty tired at that point.

There's a small beach in Ayala Cove near the restrooms. We didn't get to explore all of the garrisons on the island but will return soon!

Fun fact: There are deer!!! We saw one at immigration station :)

Back to SF:
Ferry back was a lot more crowded and only stopped at pier 41.

Overall: Great day activity for out of towners and an easy/moderate and scenic hike without having to drive to Marin.

The ferry ride from Tiberon was short but wonderful. Loved the views! The views on the island are amazing too! The reason for 4 stars instead of 5 was the tour. The tram was very loud, which made it difficult to hear the recorded audio about the island. We asked if we could take a couple minutes to look at the chapel but were told the tram would not wait for us. The tram was 18 minutes late from our scheduled tour time so maybe the driver had to make up time to get back on schedule. Anyone in good shape can walk around the island and see everything. I was disappointed the cantina was closed on a Saturday.

This was my first time going to Angel Island! It's a really beautiful place and I was lucky because the weather was perfect.

So there is a more of a nature path and a cultural path. I went on both during my time at the park. The nature path is a more steep walk that goes to the peak, but you get to enjoy amazing views! The cultural path is a walk around the island and is mostly flat. Depending on what you want to get out of your trip on the island and the amount of time you have I would highly recommend doing both paths! I also saw that you can rent bicycles, but it looked kind of expensive. You can bring your own bike on the ferry, and they have specific bike paths on the island! Lastly, make sure to plan your trip well on the weekends because they have limited ferries that go from the island back to San Francisco and Tiburon in the afternoon then.

Definitely do the perimeter loop walk on a 99.9% paved road (there is a little bit of mildly sloping elevation gains) but do bring adequate water with you. The actual loop may take only 2 1/2 hours but that's if you don't stop for the Immigration museum (do NOT miss it if it's open) or take photos of the scenic vistas of the bridges, SF skyline, Sausalito and Tiburon or stop for a wonderful picnic lunch which we packed in from a Tiburon deli. There are also numerous historic buildings which speak to a former military history and current Coast Guatd presence as well. We made all the aforementioned stops and it took us approx 3 hrs 15 mins at a leisurely pace. (It was 80 today and very sunny; freakishly warm which made for a slower pace and LOTS of water.) Pick up the map from the unmanned visitor center and it will give you all the info you need, including where the convenient flush toilets are located along the loop trail.

We took the 10am Tiburon Angel Island Ferry - no crowds at all today - and left on the 3:20 pm last ferry back to Tiburon. We bought a couple of Gatorades from the Angel Island Cafe for $5 ea, but hey - they have huge costs transporting everything in. It was worth it to sit at a shady table waiting for the ferry. Do this trip if you like history, walking, serene views of land and sea without the SF crowds.

We had such a nice visit to the park. What a hidden gem! The tram ride was a great way to see the whole perimeter of the island quickly and get an overview of the history. Really great driver and tour guide. The cafe is chill, food is ok, but atmosphere is very relaxing with a view of the harbor and some tables under shade. We didn't have time to hike around, but definitely looking forward to another trip to the island to explore hiking trails and maybe camp.

This is a great place for taking it fantastic views of the entire Bay Area. You need to come early or bring a bike to truly experience this gem. I guess you could pay the extra $15 per person and take the tram if you are not able to do the hike on your own. Biking is definitely they way to do this. There are many different areas for picnics or just watching the bay. Many families here using the bbq and hanging out. They have camping so that might be pretty cool also

this was an awesome place to visit, hike, and explore. for my recent birthday, hubby asked if i wanted to go on a casual hike, followed by dinner, and after some research, we decided to spend a day here. fortunately for us, it was the weekend following a dry week, so the trails were in pretty good shape, with very few puddles/slippery sections.

admission to the park is payable at the ferry terminal, and you have a few choices depending on which part of the bay area you're coming from. we chose to board the ferry from tiburon, so it was $15 per person, which included roundtrip ferry rides and admission to the island.

upon arrival, we had a choice of 1) hiking up to mt. livermore, about 2 miles straight up to the peak or 2) walking around the perimeter of the island ~5 miles around. we were ambitious and decided to do both (or at least attempt to do so).

we had packed a light lunch, so we grabbed a picnic table near the ferry boarding area and had our food, to fuel up for the hike. we enjoyed the scenery, watching folks board/unboard the ferry, and gazing at the beautiful water and background. it was truly a gorgeous sunny day!

after, we took the sunset trail and hiked up ~788ft to mt. livermore, which took just under an hour (at a moderate hiking pace). it was a nice hike, with several vista points allowing us to take in views of san francisco, the golden gate bridge, and east bay. as we climbed higher, it got pretty warm since it was a sunny day and we had climbed higher than most of the trees! i have to admit, the vista at the top was a bit on the small side. there were a couple of resting points, with some picnic benches, but generally felt crowded since there were many people who were there when we arrived. we took some water, a few photos, admired the view, and headed back down to sea level. on the way down, we took the north ridge trail, just to see the other side of the island. the views were about the same, but it took less time, ~45 minutes for the hike down.

after grabbing some more water, and sitting for a quick snack, we decided to circumference perimeter road, hoping that we could see all of the sights before heading back to the ferry docking station. unfortunately, we didn't quite have enough time to see everything, and only saw about 40% of the east side of the island (another 1/2 hour and we'd have been able to walk the entire 5 mile circular road). the east side included sites such as the immigration station, with immigration building and liberty bell, as well as employee living quarters, and some old buildings that were in the process of being demolished. we also saw the tram, carrying passengers for their guided tour of the island.

although we had to rush back to the dock to catch the last ferry of the day (lest we be left to spend the night here), we really enjoyed our 5 hours on the island and would love to return for a longer journey so that we could walk the entirety of perimeter road.

this is a great excursion for anyone who loves to walk, hike, and take in beautiful views of the bay area. suitable for adults and children alike, just be sure to wear comfy walking/hiking shoes!