Alcatraz

Alcatraz: The Audio Tour Is Better Than Any Film Made About This Place

Alcatraz Island operated as a federal penitentiary for 29 years (1934-1963), holding about 1,500 inmates over that period. No one ever definitively escaped. The most famous attempt, in June 1962, involved Frank Morris and two brothers named Anglin, who dug through cell walls over months, built a raft from raincoats, fashioned papier-mache dummy heads to put in their beds, and disappeared into San Francisco Bay on a foggy night. The FBI officially closed the case in 1979. The three men were never found. Whether they drowned or lived is still unknown.

Ferries depart from Pier 33 in San Francisco every 30 minutes from 09:00. Book at alcatrazcruises.com at least a week ahead in summer; same-day tickets are essentially unavailable from May through October. A day tour with audio guide costs around $45 for adults, including the ferry. The Night Tour ($50-60) is available on selected evenings and includes areas not accessible during the day visit, including the dining hall, kitchen, and hospital ward. Both versions include the standard cellhouse audio guide.

What Makes the Visit Work

The audio tour is genuinely exceptional: recorded voices of former guards and prisoners discussing specific cells, specific incidents, and the daily texture of life on the island. It was produced in the 1980s when many of the people involved were still alive and talking. Standing in D Block (solitary confinement, where the Hole cells had no light or furniture) while listening to a former prisoner describe days spent there is an experience that works because of the audio rather than despite the crowds around you.

The island has a second history that most visitors walk past: from November 1969 to June 1971, Native American activists from the group Indians of All Tribes occupied Alcatraz under the assertion, based on an 1868 treaty, that federal lands returned to the US reverted to Native peoples. The 19-month occupation drew international attention to treaty rights and Native American self-determination. Stencilled slogans from the occupation remain on the water tower and some walls. The exhibits on this period are worth more time than most visitors give them.

Getting the Most from the Visit

Take the 09:00 or 09:30 ferry. By mid-morning, the cellhouse is crowded enough to make navigation through the audio tour layout difficult. The 45-minute ferry ride gives views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay that are worth having even before you reach the island. Bring layers: the island is cold and windy regardless of San Francisco’s onshore weather.

The gardens on the island’s south side, restored by volunteers over decades from the prison period when inmates tended them, are unusual and worth the walk if you have time after the cellhouse.