Alcatraz Island ~ San Francisco, California – San Francisco is one of our favorite towns, but it was only during our last trip that we finally made the trip across the channel to Alcatraz Island.

Alcatraz Island is now part of the National Park Service, and you get to the island via Alcatraz Cruises, a private ferry company under contract with the National Park Service.  You should also know that space is limited and reservations are a must as they are frequently sold out weeks in advance.

When visiting Alcatraz Island, you should plan for at least a half-day.  During our visit we enjoyed an informative introductory video, and then opted for a well produced audio-guided tour.

The tour explained that Alcatraz was at first a military fort, and then a federal penitentiary.  Further, after the penitentiary closed, the island was taken over and occupied by American Indians before finally becoming a part of the National Park Service in the 1970s.

Disclosure:  our Alcatraz Island experience was provided by the cool folks at Alcatraz Cruises.  Thank you!  We had a great time.