Parks

The towering redwoods of Muir Woods are waiting for you! On seven days in 2025, all national parks and national monuments that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to everyone, including Muir Woods in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Download these beautiful backgrounds for your video chats through Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet.

Visioning and planning efforts for Aquatic Park and Fort Mason are underway. We’re looking at improving Muni Pier, Hyde Street Pier, and circulation between the parks. There are things we haven’t thought about yet, and we need your ideas! 

An audio tour, " Doing Time: The Alcatraz Cellhouse Tour" is available for you when you are on the island!

We get more mild winters here in the Golden Gate National Parks then some of our friends at parks like Yosemite or Yellowstone—but we certainly do have subtle seasonal changes to enjoy.

Two closed-off stairwells lead down from the first floor of the Alcatraz Cellhouse to a lower, blocked-off basement level called the Citadel, one of the earliest structures on Alcatraz. Through the digital resources on this page, this site and its history can be observed and interpreted virtually. 

Learn more about the Alcatraz Behind the Scenes and Night Tours. You’ll get access to hidden areas of the island on small tours led by NPS rangers and historical experts from the Parks Conservancy. No two tours are ever the same. 

Alcatraz, once an 1850s military fort, is the site of the West Coast’s first lighthouse (since replaced by the current lighthouse) and the birthplace of the Native American “Red Power” movement (sparked by an occupation of Alcatraz from 1969-1971). Gardens, tidepools, nesting birds, and stunning bay views are also among its many attractions.