Skip the masses at popular vistas and landmarks, and opt for these nearby (empty!) locales instead

Greg Moore took the helm of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy in 1985 with three employees and no clear purpose beyond helping raise money for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. In May 2019, he stepped down as CEO of an organization with a $56 million budget and a...

Sarah Shroud was one of three hikers arrested by Iranian authorities in 2009 while hiking in Iraqi Kurdistan and unknowingly crossing into Iran. Shourd was held in solitary for 410 days. In 2016, she presented the first iteration of “The Box.” Now she is staging it on Alcatraz Island for two sold-out...

Greater San Francisco’s most valuable treasure is its 80,000-acre necklace of wildflower-spotted hills, miles-long beaches, and oceanside bluffs. Stretching from Tomales Bay in the north to the redwood groves southwest of the Bay, with the Golden Gate Bridge smack in the middle. See butterflies, redwoods, whales, and some of the most beautiful coastline any major metro area has to offer.

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which extends from the San Francisco Peninsula into the North Bay and encompasses Alcatraz Island, received 15.2 million visitors last year, making it the most visited national park site in America.