Alcatraz...every bit worth the trip!

I’ll confess: In all my travels to San Francisco, I had never made it to Alcatraz. Part of me wondered if it would be a bit “too” touristy and overhyped. Among all the other potential day trips and places to visit, Alcatraz simply never made it to the top of my list—that is, until this past March. The verdict: Wow. Just wow.

I had booked a ticket in advance through Alcatraz Cruises, the official tour agency for getting to Alcatraz Island, which is part of the National Parks Service. My plan was to take the early bird tour ($38.35), figuring that the first trip out (8:45 a.m.) would get me on the island before the rest of the day’s visitors began arriving. Note: While Alcatraz is part of the National Park Service, there’s no additional entrance fee once on the island.

The day was gloomy, with rain expected throughout the day (again). Despite the weather—or perhaps even because of it—the experience was every bit as eerie and awe-inspiring as I had hoped. And for the record, while Alcatraz does attract a huge number of tourists each day (even on this rainy Tuesday in March), it’s not at all a tourist trap. There’s a huge gift shop, yes, but if you’re fascinated by history and lore, “The Rock” is an amazing on any bucket list.

Alcatraz sits in the bay, just a mile and a quarter from San Francisco—so close but yet so far. I remember reading somewhere that prisoners were tortured by the sounds of the city that they could hear from their cells. Imagine knowing that life—and freedom—was within earshot but yet out of reach. The ferry over is short, just fifteen minutes, but the views of Alcatraz—as well as the San Francisco skyline—are pretty awesome, even on this gray day.

Once we docked and deboarded the ferry, we gathered for a brief narration from a park staff member, who provided pertinent information (e.g., restrooms, special exhibits, a note about accessibility). We were also introduced to a former Alcatraz inmate who would be available in the bookstore to talk to (and to sign his books—available for purchase, of course). He explained—and this was reiterated on the tour as well—that Alcatraz was where prisoners went when they were kicked out of other prisons. And with that, we were on our own to walk the quarter-mile up the steep hill up to the prison itself.

At the entrance, we filed into the prison and then received our headsets, which would allow us all individual guided audio tour, “Doing Time: The Alcatraz Cellhouse Tour.” The narration is powerful. I especially appreciated being able to pause when I wanted to so that I could snap a few extra photos without missing any part of the guided tour. As you’re listening, the narrated tour provides direction—along the lines of “at the end of the cell block, turn right” or “you should now be looking at the area called B Block, or Broadway.”) I, someone who’s a bit directionally challenged at times, really appreciated the verbal cues—it was easy to get your bearings and know exactly where you should be and what you should be looking at at each point of the tour. Honestly, this audio tour is brilliant—and not to be missed.

Having only seen the inside of prisons on TV and in movies, being inside was, in some ways, the way I expected it to look. In other ways, it was completely different. Of course, I kept thinking of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile (incidentally, two great films and two of my favorite works by Stephen King). Still, to be standing in the same hallways as some of the nation’s most notorious criminals—Al Capone; Robert Stroud, otherwise known as The Birdman of Alcatraz (fun fact: he wasn’t allowed to have any pet birds at Alcatraz); and George “Machine Gun” Kelly—was surreal.

At the end of “D Block” are six cells—the solitary confinement cells, otherwise known as “the Hole.” Visitors are allowed to step inside the cells. I did, but I certainly didn’t stand inside for too long.

While not all of the grounds are open to visitors, some tours do include “behind the scenes” access, and visitors, regardless of which ferry they take over to Alcatraz, can stay as long as they wish and simply hop on whichever return ferry they’d like. As a solo visitor among the many people visiting that cold and dreary morning, I found Alcatraz to be especially haunting and chilling. I had debated about doing the night tour or the behind the scenes tour, but I wanted to focus a bit more on taking photos (something that would be harder to do on the more guided behind the scenes tour). And knowing how eerie the visit was first thing in the morning, I can’t imagine doing the night tour solo. Next time, however, I’ll definitely opt for the 4-5-hour behind the scenes/night tour combo! For more info on the various tour options, visit the Alcatraz Cruises page here.