Did a family outing to Angel Island today. No good pictures of anyone on bikes, but here are some notes:
The ferry to/from Alameda only runs on weekends and it has a transfer (in the TO direction, at Pier 41 in SF), but it looks like a determined group could get from Alameda to Pier 41, then to Angel Island on weekdays - this would be two ferry tickets per person, instead of one). You could also take BART or a ferry to Embarcadero and make your way up to Pier 41 on a weekday.
From Alameda (west-end), there's only one Ferry - everyone has to be up and at the dock at 9:10 on Saturday or Sunday. Going to Angel Island (AI) requires a transfer, an immediate transfer, at Pier 41 in SF - unbelievably good views of SF on your departure from SF to AI - bring a camera.
From Alameda, bikes have to be stashed at the stern before departure, so younger riders might need some help hoisting their bike into the stand-up bike stands on the boat. You have to hassle the bikes from one ferry to another at Pier 41 but the SF-AI ferry has a bike stand right in the middle of the bottom deck - easier to manage than the high-tech bike holders on the SS Zielinsky (I probably spelled this wrong). Overall, the Ferry crews handled the bike loading/unloading really well.
Tickets are $12/adult, free for kids 5 and under (check website for specifics http://www.eastbayferry.com/when/angel.html). This is a round-trip ticket and includes the AI admission fee. You might also want to buy an AI map for $1 when you get there.
There are concession stands and a snack bar at the dock on Angel Island. You can ride your bike to the "Bike Route" sign (I mostly walked - there are a lot of pedestrians). We took the bike route left, which is steep enough to knock you out of your SPDs if you are not ready for it. The "Bike Route" is almost an MTB trail - a bit of paving, a bit of gravel and a bunch of dirt and rocks for about 1/3 mile, where it hooks up to (paved) Perimeter Road. We took the clockwise direction. We took it slow and easy - there are some hills that can make an infrequent rider get off and walk, but they aren't very long. We stopped at several sites - Immigration Station, Hospital, Guard House (also a visitor center), Nike Missile Base (missiles long gone of course). Some near-perfect photo-ops along the way, your choice of San Francisco, Golden Gate, Bay Bridge, Richmond-San Rafael bridge, or Tiburon as a background. Some lucky park employee (or is it employees?) have a great place to live along this road.
The total Perimeter Road loop is only five miles with some ups-and-downs, with one challenging hill that's about 1/4-1/2 mile long. Lots of pedestrians. No bikes allowed to the top of the island (Mt. Livermore). The website says there are some other MTB trails, but I didn't see them. There are restrooms all over the place.
We brought snacks and four water bottles, which we finished, and we bought lunch at the Cove Cafe and ate on a picnic table in Ayala Cove near the ferry dock. Really nice location, with one annoying bee. Be warned that both the Ferry and the snack bar are charging tourist prices ($1.75 for hot chocolate on the Ferry, $40 for sandwiches, drinks and onion rings for 4). The fog burned off at noon, so if you need sunscreen, bring some.
The kids played on the beach (some maniacs were actually swimming), and I rode the loop again - took about 22 minutes, and I only broke the island's 15 mph bike speed limit once. We did not visit the visitor's center at the cove. There was a guided tour of some Victorian Houses on the island today - we didn't go (three houses, I think).
The return Ferry goes direct to Alameda, and leaves pretty much on time at 3:10 - uneventful trip, bike racks on the stern again. The crew boarded the bikes first this time, and the first bikes on were able to use a small bike rack on the main deck - everybody else went back to the stern to stow their bikes. Loaded the bikes on the car, and "they" drove home. I rode my bike - we both got home to Harbor Bay around 4:15 - I believe they stopped for a Foster's, though.
Ferry website: http://www.eastbayferry.com/when/angel.html
Angel Island website: http://www.angelisland.org/
posted: Wed, 17 Sep 2003