Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend.  My brother was in San Francisco for the weekend and we went hiking around Muir Woods and Angel Island.  I wrote about taking the bus to Muir Woods a few months ago: Day Trip to Muir Woods National Monument by Bus from San Francisco.  In this post, I will talk about our day trip from San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf to Angel Island.  Right next to Fisherman’s Wharf is Pier 41, where the ferries depart.  Buy your tickets at the ticket window before standing in line to board the ferry.  The price was $8 per person, each way.  Children and seniors might be cheaper.  Here is the schedule for when the ferry departs from Pier 41 and Angel Island.  Keep these times in mind when planning your activities on Angel Island.  Don’t miss the 4:30pm departure time unless you are planning on camping on the island.

If you are interested in other ferry routes from Pier 41, here is the brochure with departure times for Summer and Fall 2016.

There are a few different Blue & Gold Fleet ferries that go to Angel Island.  The ferry below was actually not the ferry we went on.  Our ferry parked on the far side of this ferry (unfortunately, I have no photo of that ferry).

After a short 20 minute ride from San Francisco, we arrived at Angel Island.  The bay can be very cold and windy, so you may want to bring a sweatshirt or jacket just for the ferry ride, or you can stay inside where it is warmer.

Here is the view of Angel Island harbor when we arrived at 10am.  By the time we got back to the Angel Island harbor, there were many sailboats docked.

My brother and my roommate (Rhianna @ Confessions About Nothing) hiked to the top of a hill to get a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge across the bay.

There were a few people dressed in old-fashion military gear preparing to fire a cannon and 3 small white tents near agave plants along the beach.

Here is a panoramic view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the beach on Angel Island.  I walked along the beach to see if I could find anything cool that washed up on shore, but there was nothing.

Here is a panoramic view from the top of Angel Island.  On a clear, sunny day, you can see for miles in every direction around the bay.

After hiking down from the top, we grabbed lunch and one of the 2 restaurants that is located right next to the harbor.  They have burgers, tacos, and oysters.  After a lengthy hike, I went for the burger, BBQ chips, and Lagunitas IPA on tap.  After finishing lunch, we lined up for the ferry headed back to San Francisco.  I didn’t realize how warm it was, but I got sunburned on my arms, next and parts of my face.  Wear sunscreen, kids!

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.  Have a great day everyone!