Posts Tagged "angel island"

Angel Island is a California State Park in the middle of the San Francisco Bay. It has incredible views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the city of San Francisco and Alcatraz. In a previous post, I made a day trip there but this post is about spending the night on Angel Island. Depending on the season, the last ferry leaves the island between 3:30 and 5:20pm (make sure to check the schedule online) and unless you have your own boat that’s your deadline. But for a few hard core planners, it’s possible to secure a camping spot on Angel Island. In that case you will be sharing the island with at most 40 persons (including the park rangers, the kayak groups, and the large camping group). After the departure of the last ferry (which was 3:30pm in our case), the...

The Golden Gate Bridge is like  few monuments in the world (Eiffel tower in Paris, the statue of liberty in New York, the opera house in Sydney, the burj khalifa in Dubai), it’s an iconic symbol that almost everyone recognizes instantly. It’s also extremely photographed and making a unique image of the Golden Gate Bridge is almost impossible. I have a strong attraction for this bridge and the map below that shows the GPS point of where I took my images reflects that fact. I have shot the Golden Gate Bridge at night, at sunrise, at sunset, from a boat, from a helicopter, from a car and there are still images in my head I want to make that have not happened yet. View San Francisco Photo Spot series: The Golden Gate Bridge in a larger map The...

Angel Island is one of the largest islands in the San Francisco Bay. It used to be an immigration center from 1910 to 1940 and a missile base from 1950 to 1962. The immigration center was modeled after Ellis Island in New York. Angel Island is now a California State Park and the buildings of the old army bases and the immigration station (more info) can be visited. My interest in Angel Island, beside the historical significance, is the incredible views of San Francisco. The best way to explore the island is to use a bike. You can bring your own bike or rent one at the Ferry Pier (Ayala Cove). If you are not up for the workout, you can even go on a Segway tour (more info). If you come by regular ferry from Tiburon (Angel Island Ferry), you will arrive at Ayala...