In brief:
Angel Island is a perfect day trip, where the journey to the trailhead rivals the hike for sheer relaxation and beauty. Since you can only reach Angel Island by boat, sit back and enjoy the ferry ride, then climb to the top of the island and back, with incredible 360-degree views nearly the entire trip. Just keep an eye on the clock to make sure you catch that last ferry.

Distance, category, and difficulty:
Moderate 5 mile loop hike, with 1560 feet in elevation change.

Exposure:
About even amounts of shade and exposure.

Trail traffic:
Moderate-heavy.

Trail surfaces:
Dirt trails and fire roads and some short segments on pavement.

Hiking time:
3 hours

Season:
Spring is best, but nice all year.

Getting there:

Unless you have a boat, Angel Island is only accessible by public transportation. Ferry service from SF is via Golden Gate Bridge Ferry. If you start a journey to Angel Island from a location served by BART or Muni trains, it makes perfect sense to take public transportation: BART or Muni to the Embarcadero station, come above ground and walk across the Embarcadero to the Ferry Building. If you want to drive to the ferry, there are parking lots near the Ferry Building. A ferry to Angel Island also departs from Tiburon.

GPS coordinates* for Angel Island trailhead:
Latitude 37°52'7.71"N
Longitude 122°26'4.21"W
(* based on Google Earth data, shown as degrees, minutes, seconds)

Gas, food, and lodging:
If you'd like an extended Angel Island visit, you can stay overnight in 1 of 9 primitive campsites, but you'll have to haul your gear about 2 miles from the ferry to your campsite.

Details:
The $28 round-trip Golden Gate Bridge ferry ticket includes park admission (make sure you buy a round trip ticket -- there is no way to purchase a return ticket from Angel Island). You can also catch a ferry in Tiburon (slightly more expensive, but a great excuse to spend time in Tiburon before or after Angel Island and the ferry is super cute). Toilets and drinking water are available at the trailhead. From the Angel Island website: "Cove Cafe deli, bike rentals, and motorized tram tours are available every day from April through October. Please note that bike rentals, tram tours, and the cafe are CLOSED during the winter months (late November thru February) and are open Thursday thru Monday during March and early November." Some trails here are flat, and may be accessible to wheelchairs, but this hike is not suitable for chairs or strollers.

Rules:
Park is open from 8 a.m. to sunset. Dogs (except service animals) are not allowed on the island at any time.

The Official Story:
CSP's Angel Island page
Ranger Office 415-435-1915/415-435-5390
Angel Island Association Home page

Map/book choices:

• This hike is described and mapped in 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: San Francisco, by Jane Huber (order this book from Amazon.com). (Yup, that's me, the creator of this website.)
• A Rambler's Guide to the Trails of Mt. Tamalpais and the Marin Headlands, map from Pease Press (order from Pease Press) is useful.
• Map from CSP (download pdf)
• The park map is available at the park's visitor center and at the ferry landing.



Angel Island in a nutshell -- a printable, text-only guide to the featured hike.



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