Protect Alcatraz Toolkit
Ryan Curran White / Parks Conservancy
Alcatraz Island is one of America's most powerful places to learn.
From prison to park, Alcatraz now opens minds instead of closing doors. A place once defined by incarceration now invites learning and connection, and offers the best national parks can offer.
People often arrive at Alcatraz curious about its prison era. They leave reflecting on freedom, justice, and what kind of future we want to shape together.
As an urban gateway to the national park system, Alcatraz connects millions of people to public lands in a place they already know and love. It adds $200 million annually to the economy, anchors local jobs, and preserves irreplaceable historic and natural resources.
Most of all, it shows what national parks can be when we protect them as places of possibility.
It's time to stand up for the value of Alcatraz as a national park. The resources on this page will help you tell the Alcatraz story, advocating for Alcatraz as a transformative place where history, nature, and dialogue intertwine. When sharing this toolkit, please use this link: parksconservancy.org/protectalcatraz.
Let’s protect the island—and everything it stands for.
Alcatraz is no longer about locking people up—it’s about opening minds.
Today, it’s one of the most-visited national park sites in the country, drawing more than 1.4 million people a year and generating at least $200 million in annual economic impact, according to NPS estimates.
The island helps people learn about hard history, reflect on justice, and connect with nature. It tells important stories—about incarceration, Indigenous resistance, resilience, and renewal. From restored gardens and nesting seabirds to youth programs and public talks, Alcatraz shows what national parks can be: places for learning, healing, and change.
Alcatraz is a national park site with global resonance. It sits at the heart of the Bay and in the national imagination, recently hosting the first‑ever live broadcast from Alcatraz during the Super Bowl pregame, underscoring its role as a cultural touchstone connecting history, place, and the present.
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Alcatraz shows what national parks do best. The island invites people to engage with difficult history and consider how it shapes our lives now. And the experience goes beyond the Cellhouse: People are often delighted by the restored Alcatraz Historic Gardens, 360-degree views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay, and thousands of nesting birds on the island.
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When we care for Alcatraz as a national park, we honor our shared humanity. Protecting this place means protecting the purpose of public lands as spaces for learning and connection. It also preserves a vital urban gateway park with a large cultural and economic impact on the region and the country, welcoming 1.4 million visitors each year.
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1.4 million visitors annually, according to NPS.
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Alcatraz is one of the top destinations in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which generated more than $2 billion in economic activity in 2024 and supported almost 12,000 jobs, according to the NPS Visitor Spending Effects study.
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NPS estimates Alcatraz generates at least $200 million in economic impact to Bay Area businesses per year.
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Alcatraz closed in 1963 after operating as a federal penitentiary for 29 years. It's now been a national park site for 54 years.
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The Occupation of Alcatraz by the Indians of All Tribes from 1969-1971 helped catalyze the modern American Indian Civil Rights movement.
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The island is a haven for 5,000+ nesting birds each year.
Social Media Resources
Click on the "+" below to download graphics and copy a caption for your social media posts.
Keep an eye on @parksconservancy on Instagram, along with our Facebook and LinkedIn pages, for more coverage/resources that you can share with your audiences!
On desktop, click the "download" link to the right of the graphic. Once the image opens in another tab, right click "save image as." On mobile, click the "download" link then, once the image appears, press & hold until you can save image on your camera roll.
Protect these national parks.
Protect Alcatraz.
Protect history.
Protect community.
Post 1
Alcatraz is a thriving national park that inspires, educates, and connects us to history, the land, and each other. Alcatraz tells important stories about incarceration, Indigenous resistance, resilience, and renewal. From restored gardens and nesting seabirds to youth programs and public talks, Alcatraz shows what national parks can be: places for learning, healing, and change. Let’s protect the parks, together.
To learn more, visit parksconservancy.org.
#ProtectTheParks #ProtectAlcatraz #Alcatraz
Post 2
Alcatraz is a thriving national park that welcomes 1.4 million visitors each year. Protecting this place means protecting the purpose of public lands as spaces for learning and connection: to history, to nature, to each other. Let’s protect the parks, together.
To learn more, visit parksconservancy.org.
#ProtectTheParks #ProtectAlcatraz #Alcatraz
Post 3
From history and justice to gardens and wildlife, Alcatraz shows us what national parks do best: They invite visitors to engage in reflection and dialogue, learn about history, ecology, and culture, and be inspired. Let’s protect the Alcatraz, together.
To learn more, visit parksconservancy.org.
#ProtectTheParks #ProtectAlcatraz #Alcatraz
- Spread the word: Share your support for the preservation of Alcatraz with your networks by using our suggested language and hashtags (#ProtectAlcatraz, and #ParksConservancy). Be sure to tag us at @ParksConservancy.
- Volunteer: Join the Parks Conservancy’s incredible network of volunteers restoring habitats, supporting visitor programs, and caring for places like Alcatraz. Every hour makes a difference.
- Donate: Your support helps protect Alcatraz and other iconic park sites across the Bay Area. Give today to invest in public lands, community programs, and future generations.
- Become a Member: Be part of something bigger. As a Parks Conservancy member, you’ll fuel hands-on conservation, youth engagement, and equity-centered storytelling across our national parklands.
- Shop: Discover exclusive items created for and sold on Alcatraz to help preserve the island’s history. Shop now to support its future!
