Alcatraz Island or “The Rock” as it is commonly known, needs no real introduction. Serving as a fort, a military prison, a Native American civil rights standing ground and perhaps most famously, a maximum security federal penitentiary, the rich, colorful stories and often tragic history and humanity of the island have long reigned within the imagination of persons worldwide. The island is now open to visitors and run by the National Park Service.
Alcatraz Island is only accessible by boat via Alcatraz Cruises, which departs daily on schedule from Pier 33 at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, CA. The cost of the boat ride is the only built in cost to the island – the wonderful audio tour is free. It is highly recommended that you book your departure well in advance as the Island is very popular, especially during the summer.
Alcatraz Island is only open to service animals so we were unable to bring the dogs with us. They had to wait for us at Fog City Dogs, a local daycare and boarding kennel. It was a little disconcerting to be separated from them even for just a few hours in a city we had never been to. Unfortunately, the National Parks are historically not dog-friendly but we understood ahead of time what we were getting into and were able to prepare and plan.
The boat ride to the island was all a part of the adventure. It was a nice, clear day weather-wise for our trip and the San Francisco Bay was calm. Upon exiting the boat, you will immediately see the signs of the Native American reclamation of the Island from 1969 – 1971 on the penitentiary sign and water tower. The tour of Alcatraz Island actually starts at the top, which is quite a walk for anyone with health or mobility issues. They do have first-come, first-served trams available. We were able to hitch a ride on one of those trams to the top. You then stand in line to receive your audio set complete with headphones to take the tour. The tour is narrated by former prisoners and is a very well done narrative, filled with grit and emotion.
Alcatraz Island is also surprisingly beautiful and brimming with life. It’s literally spilling over with beautiful flowers, exotic-looking plants and the cries and chirps of native land and sea birds. At the same time, the despair and desperation of the memories the Island holds are inescapable. You can really feel the weight of all of this while you are there among the crumbling and decaying buildings.
While Alcatraz Island was absolutely worth the money, time and effort to visit, the sheer amount of people there does take away a bit from the experience. For one thing, it’s hard to follow a self-guided audio tour when you have to push through crowds of oftentimes, very rude people and screaming children. We did go on this tour on a bright, sunny Summer morning – it’s quite possible that the crowds are very different depending on the time of day and the season that you visit.