Picture a 3.5-mile stretch of white beach with few tourists and no highrises. It's just you and the waves and the seabirds at Ocean Beach, on the westernmost border of San Francisco, adjacent to Golden Gate Park. 

Infamous for its maximum security prison, Alcatraz is also known for remnants of an 1850s military fort, the West Coast's first lighthouse, the birthplace of a Native American movement, an important bird-nesting locale, and the historic Alcatraz Gardens.

It's hard to believe such a vast, beautiful, and diverse wilderness is so close to a major metropolitan area. The Marin Headlands is a crown jewel of the Golden Gate National Parks, abounding with places of natural wonder and beauty (Rodeo Valley/Lagoon, Gerbode Valley, Hawk Hill, Tennessee Valley) and remarkable historic sites (Point Bonita Lighthouse, Fort Cronkhite, Nike Missile Site, Battery Townsley).

Windswept, exhilarating, and covered with unique red and green pebbles, this beach is just three miles northwest of the Golden Gate Bridge.

It is awesome atop this 2,500-foot high mountain in Marin with its 360-degree view from San Francisco Bay to the Pacific. But anywhere on "Tam" you can find nature at its most glorious. Miles and miles of trails ribbon the mountain, crossing redwood valleys, creeks, waterfalls, and wide-open grasslands. It has been treasured turf for hikers, cyclists, and equestrians since the 1880s.

See a verdant redwood forest reborn here at the southern tip of the Golden Gate National Parks. This tranquil park was once severely logged and century-old redwood stumps and remnants of steam mills are still in evidence.