Golden Gate Bridge Bike Tour Preview

Welcome! This tour is intended for riders to go at their own pace. We have provided information for each stop along the route. For the best experience, please enable location alerts. This map is color coded, so you can choose your own adventure!

• The stops with black icons comprise the primary tour route. Each stop is a notable location in the Golden Gate Bridge area with a brief history and fun facts!
• The stops with red icons indicate locations from television and movies. See where iconic scenes with some of the biggest stars were filmed.
• The stops with green icons are notable for their beauty and photo appeal. Take a snapshot in this location and share with us on social media!
• The stops with orange icons indicate our top recommendations for food on and near the route.
• The stops with teal icons show where public restrooms are located nearby.

We are so happy you chose to ride with Unlimited Biking and hope you have a wonderful tour! If you have any questions, please call us at 415-854-2222.

Domingo Ghirardelli (1817-1894) was an Italian chocolatier. He moved to Uruguay then Peru, where he established a confectionery. In 1849 at the age of 32, Domingo moved to San Francisco and began prospecting during the gold rush. He opened a general store in a tent in Stockton to sell chocolates and sweets to gold miners. The same year, he opened his second store in San Francisco.

In 1851, his stores both burned down. Ghirardelli opened the Cairo Coffee House in San Francisco, which was unsuccessful, then opened Ghirardely and Girard. After changing the company’s name to D. Ghirardelli & Co, he incorporated the business in 1852 and it has been in continuous operation since. Over the span of thirty years, the company expanded their cocoa seed import by 450%. Domingo retired in 1892, two years before his death, leaving the company to his three sons.

Ownership of Ghirardelli Chocolate Company moved from the Golden Grain Macaroni Company to Quaker Oats to a private investment company before landing with Lint and Sprüngli, where it remains today.

Fun Facts

• Ghirardelli is the oldest continuously run chocolate factory in the U.S.
• Ghirardelli invented the Broma chocolate making process
• Arguably Ghirardelli’s most famous product, the chocolate square, was developed in 1999

The Dolphin Club is an athletic club in San Francisco. The club and boathouse are currently owned by San Francisco’s Department of Parks and Recreation and leased by the approximately 1,500 members of the Dolphin Swimming and Boating Club. Founded in 1877 by twenty-five German immigrants, based on a similar sporting and social club from their home in Bavaria. They were granted permission by the local government to erect an equipment shack. The club’s structure and operations have moved several times over the years, moving to its current location in 1937. In 1976, six women brought a lawsuit against the Dolphin Club to allow female members. Women now make up about 33% of the club’s membership.

Some of the events and activities the Dolphin Club hosts include a polar bear swim challenge, a 100 mile row to Sacramento, bimonthly swims in the San Francisco Bay, and general training for swimmers and rowers.

Prior to the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, it was the principal automobile ferry terminal connecting San Francisco with Marin County by way of Sausalito to the north, and the East Bay by way of Berkeley.

Today, the pier is part of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Various historical ships are moored to the pier, some available for tours. Among the ships on display or in storage are the Balclutha, an 1886 square rigged sailing ship, as well as C.A. Thayer, Eureka, Alma, Hercules, Eppleton Hall, and over one hundred smaller craft.

Fun Facts

• The pier was originally built in 1922 for car ferries that shuttled passengers back and forth between San Francisco and Marin County.
• For several years, this ferry route was officially part of Hwy 101 until the Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937.
• The oldest docked ship is the Balclutha, a square-rigged ship built in 1886 in Glasgow, Scotland to transport wheat to California

Alcatraz is a small island measuring 22 acres about 1.25 miles offshore from San Francisco. In the 1850s, President Filmore established a military reservation on the island. When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, the island held 85 cannons around its perimeter. It was also used as a storage facility for firearms and training ground for Union troops. Fort Alcatraz housed soldiers convicted of crimes and prisoners of war. The US military built a jailhouse in 1867 for military prisoners. The prison population increased during the Spanish-American War from 26 to over 450 military prisoners. Between 1909 and 1912, the Us. Military constructed a large cell block, which is still the dominant feature of Alcatraz Island. The prison held conscientious objectors during World War I.

The United States Department of Justice acquired the island in 1933, designating it a federal prison in 1934. The intention was to hold prisoners who caused issues at other federal prisons. Many of the early prisoners were murderers and bank robbers. The initial staff was 155 men. It was used as a federal penitentiary for 29 years. Some of the famous criminals who were imprisoned there include: Al Capone, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, Bumpy Johnson, and Robert Franklin Stroud, known as the “Birdman of Alcatraz.”

The 1946 event named the Battle of Alcatraz occurred when four convicts and two more who joined after attempted to escape. Bernard Coy, the planner, spread the bars of the cellhouse’s gun gallery and overpowered the guard upon his arrival. He grabbed a rifle for himself and sent keys, grenades, and pistols to the other escapees. In their attempt to escape, they tried several keys and jammed the lock, making it impossible to get out. Instead of escaping, they began shooting. Two Federal Bureau of Prisons officers were killed and three of the perpetrators. Fourteen officers and one uninvolved convict were injured. Two of the perpetrators were executed in 1948.

While it was possible to escape from Alcatraz and it was attempted about 14 times by 36 prisoners, most attempted escapes ended in recapture, being shot by guards, or drowning. The most famous escape attempt occurred in June of 1962 by Frank Morris, Allen West, John Aglin, and his brother Clarence Aglin. They utilized metal spoons from the mess hall, saw blades, and an improvised drill made from the motor of a vacuum to widen the ventilation ducts beneath their sinks. They covered their work with painted cardboard and Morris played his accordion to cover the noise of their work. They created dummy heads from improvised papier-mache using soap, tooth paste, concrete dust and toilet paper. They painted it with paint from the maintenance shop and added hair from the barber’s floor. Three escaped on June 11th 1962, but Allen West ran into issues and ended up staying behind and going to bed. The Anglins and Morris climbed up the ventilation shaft to the roof then inflated a makeshift raft and wore makeshift life preservers. The three men are presumed to have drowned in the escape. The escape was fictionalized in the 1979 film Escape from Alcatraz, which inspired the annual triathlon.

Following two previous brief occupations, a group of nearly 100 Native American activists, led by Mohawk Richard Oakes, took over the island in November 1969. Citing an 1868 treaty that granted unoccupied federal land to Native Americans, the protestors demanded the deed to Alcatraz in order to establish a university and cultural center. Their proclamation included an offer to purchase the island for “$24 in glass beads and red cloth”—the same price reportedly paid by Dutch settlers for Manhattan in 1626. Federal marshals removed the last of the protestors in June 1971, but some of their graffiti remains. When the National Park Service recently rebuilt an Alcatraz water tower, it made sure to repaint the red graffiti that read “Peace and Freedom. Welcome. Home of the Free Indian Land.”

Fun Facts

• Al Capone reportedly played banjo in the inmate band, the Rock Islanders
• In 1755, Spanish Lieutenant Juan Manuel de Ayala named the island “La Isla de los Alcatraces,” meaning “Island of the Pelicans.” The name eventually became Anglicized to “Alcatraz.”
• Alcatraz was home to the Pacific Coast’s first lighthouse, built in 1854 and replaces in 1909
• Conditions were said to be better in Alcatraz than other national prisons with better and more food, single occupancy cells, and books/movies available with good behavior. Because of this, some inmates requested a transfer to the island.

Angel Island was designated a military reserve in 1850 by President Filmore to defend against possible Confederate attacks. Between 1905 and 1910, the Department of Labor and Commerce built a new immigration station, named the Angel Island Immigration Station. It has been called the Ellis Island of the West. Unlike Ellis Island, the majority of immigrants that came to Angel Island were from Asian countries like China, Japan, and India. Because of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the immigration station monitored Chinese immigration, only permitting merchants, students, clergy, teachers, and diplomats. Laborers were rejected. About 18% of immigrants were rejected in contrast to the 1 to 3% of immigrants at Ellis Island.

Chinese immigrants were discriminated against due to racism and because they were willing to take lower paying jobs, causing reduced work opportunities for American workers. Immigrants were sometimes held for a few days while others were held for months. The longest recorded detainment was 22 months. During the thirty years of the Angel Island Immigration Station, there were concerns about sanitation and safety. A fire in 1940 burned down the administrative building and the women’s quarters, so the immigrants were relocated. The repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943 meant the station did not need to detain as many Chinese immigrants.

In 1963, the island was converted into a State Park. The buildings remain as more than 200 poems have been recovered from the interior where immigrant detainees carved them into the walls. One Chinese immigrant said about his time at Angel Island, “When we arrived, they locked us up like criminals in compartments like the cages at the zoo." They were routinely subjected to long interrogations about their lives and the legitimacy of their applications. Some of the translators did not speak the correct dialect, making the experience even more difficult. Some rejected detainees committed suicide due to the shame of rejection. One recovered poem reads:

America has power, but not justice.

In prison, we were victimized as if we were guilty.

Given no opportunity to explain, it was really brutal.

I bow my head in reflection but there is nothing I can do.

Another says:

Twice I have passed through the blue ocean, experienced the wind and dust of journey.

Confinement in the wooden building has pained me doubly.

With a weak country, we must all join together in urgent effort.

It depends on all of us together to roll back the wild wave.

Fun Facts

• There are over nine miles of bike trails on Angel Island
• There's a WWII era baseball diamond near Ft. McDowell open to the public on the island

During the American Civil War, Fort Mason was designated a coastal defense site by the United States Military. It was named for military officer Richard Barnes Mason (1797 - 1850). Following the war, he was appointed military governor of California, serving from May 31, 1847, until April 13, 1849. When gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill, Mason made a report of the finding to President James K. Polk. That official description of the massive gold discovery is credited with sparking the California Gold Rush, resulting in the settlement of the land.

In 1932, Fort Mason’s Pacific Terminal was designated the San Francisco Port of Embarkation, providing the U.S. Army forces with supplies. The port expanded over the years to accommodate the military’s needs. Fort Mason was the principal port for the Pacific campaign. Today, Fort Mason is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

The Palace of Fine Arts, designed by Bernard Maybeck, was constructed for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition and then rebuilt between 1964 and 1974. The Panama-Pacific International Exposition was a world’s fair held from February to December of 1915. The world’s fair featured the Liberty Bell, the first steam locomotive purchased by Southern Pacific Railroad, and several art pieces. The Palace of Fine Arts housed various art exhibits during and after the fair.

During the Great Depression, the state hired artists to replace the interior mural. The hall has been used to store cars, as a general warehouse, a phone book distribution center, and as a temporary Fire Department headquarters. The structure is featured in the movies: Vertigo (1958), The Room (2003), So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), was a partial inspiration for Game of Thrones’ the Sept of Baelor in season one.

Fun Facts

• It was designed to represent a dilapidated ancient Greek and Roman structure

The Presidio was originally a Spanish fort during the Spanish colonization of California. After Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, the Mexican military occupied the fort before it was seized by the U.S. military during the Mexican-American War in 1846. In 1848, the fort was officially reopened as American army headquarters and home to several units. The Presidio was involved in many American military engagements in the Pacific Rim. Starting in the 1890s, the Presidio housed the Letterman Army Medical Center,providing medical care for wounded veterans during the 20th century.

During World War II, the Presidio served as the Western Defense Command headquarters. At these headquarters, Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt signed Civilian Exclusion Orders and directives to inter Japanese Americans based on President FDR’s executive order.

In 1975, the Presidio became the first stop for 1,300 refugees from Vietnam. The controversial Operation Baby Lift airlifted infants and toddlers orphaned by the Vietnam War to the US for adoption by American parents. The Army agreed to house and feed the children until permanent homes were arranged, converting the drill hall into a nursery.

The last military use of the Presidio was when the remaining units were sent to Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

In 1996, Congress established the Presidio Trust to manage the Presidio in conjunction with the National Park Service. The Presidio has been financially self-sufficient since 2006. Since then, the area has gone through extensive renovations and the Presidio Trust has contracted some buildings for residential and commercial use. It houses the Walt Disney Family Museum, The Bay School of San Francisco, Arion Press, and other facilities.

In 1999, George Lucas and Lucasfilm won the development rights for 15 acres of the Presidio. After six years and approximately three hundred and fifty million dollars, they established the Letterman Digital Arts Center as their corporate headquarters for LucasArts, Lucasfilm’s digital side, and Industrial Light & Magic (visual effects department).

Fun Facts

• El Presidio and Mission Dolores (constructed at the same time) were the first institutions built in what would become San Francisco.
• A pro-democracy foundation run by former Soviet president Mikhail S. Gorbachev opened an office in the Presidio in 1993

The area was originally colonized by the Spanish before the United States military took control during the Gold Rush. On December 12, 1884, the War Department designated 9 acres, including the site of the old post cemetery, as San Francisco National Cemetery. It was the first national cemetery established on the West Coast and marks the growth and development of a system of national cemeteries extending beyond the battlefields of the Civil War. Initial internments included the remains of the dead from the former post cemetery as well as individuals removed from cemeteries at abandoned forts and camps elsewhere along the Pacific coast and western frontier. In 1934, all unknown remains in the cemetery were disinterred and reinterred in one plot. Many soldiers and sailors who died overseas serving in the Philippines, China and other areas of the Pacific Rim are interred in San Francisco National Cemetery.

In 1776, Spain occupied San Francisco and constructed a fort named the Castillo de San Joaquin to house cannons against British and Russian aggression. After Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821, they took control of the fort. However, they moved locations less than two decades later. During the Mexican-American War, the United States army took control of the fort and disabled all of the cannons on the promontory. While Mexico occupied the territory, it was known as Punta del Castillo, which roughly translates to Castle Point, or its final name Fort Point.

Because of the rapid development caused by the 1849 Gold Rush, the United States Military needed to secure San Francisco and the surrounding area. In 1853, the US Army Corps of Engineers hired nearly 200 unemployed miners to build a fort as the previous one had crumbled due to age and weather. The new construction was set to defend the harbor with cannons and additional artillery.

During the American Civil War, troops were stationed at Fort Point, but the Confederate Army never attacked the area. Their planned attack on San Francisco was canceled after the captain of the CSS Shenandoah learned that the war was over. After the war, the American military stopped continuous operations at Fort Point and moved troops out. In the twentieth century, the cannons on Fort Point were sold for scrap metal and the island was briefly used as detention barracks, training facilities, and storage.

When Joseph Strauss was planning the design for the Golden Gate Bridge, he altered it to save Fort Point. The fort was preserved during the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and after World War II. On October 16, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed a bill creating Fort Point National Historic Site.

Fort Point has been seen in Dark Passage (1947), Vertigo (1958), High Anxiety (1977), and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014).

Though a bridge connecting San Francisco to Marin County had long been discussed, engineer Joseph Strauss was able to secure support for the bridge. After first proposing a cantilever bridge in 1917, Strauss had to get local support from the community and state legislature as well as from the U.S. military who were concerned about Navy ships being able to safely cross under a bridge. The new automobile industry, eager to have more roads for drivers and incentives for people to buy automobiles, enthusiastically supported the bridge.

When construction began in 1933, Strauss was the chief engineer, but his original design had been rejected for being too ugly. Instead, the project utilized the Manhattan Bridge engineer, Leon Moisseiff’s suspension bridge design. The Golden Gate Bridge’s tower shape, Art Deco style, color, and other design elements were designed by Irving Morrow. Charles Alton Ellis, the project’s principal engineer, worked remotely with Moisseiff to figure out the calculations for the bridge’s design and construction. He helped to implement the plan for the bridge before being fired by Strauss. Ellis, unable to find work during the Depression, worked for free to turn in ten volumes of handwritten calculations. Strauss was largely credited with the design and development of the Golden Gate Bridge and there is a statue dedicated to him, but in more recent years, historians have generally agreed that Strauss’s collaborators, particularly Ellis, were fundamental to the construction’s success.

To finance the project, the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District (a special purpose district created for the purpose of this project) was incorporated in 1928 by an act of the California Legislature. The District struggled to find funding after 1929 Wall Street Crash, so it lobbied for a municipal bond, which was approved in 1930 for $27 million ($438 million today). Eventually, they were able to sell the bonds to Amadeo Giannini’s San Francisco-based bank, Bank of America.

Construction began in 1933 and was completed on May 27th 1937. A subsidiary of Bethlehem Steel Corporation, McClintic-Marshall Construction, carried out the construction of the bridge, which cost more than $35 million to complete ($550 million today). Strauss utilized a moveable safety net beneath the men working which is credited with saving 19 lives. However, a scaffold fell in 1937, breaking the safety net and sending twelve men down a 200 foot drop to the water below. Two of the twelve survived the fall.

The bridge was closed from 1951 to 1954 while lateral and diagonal bracings were connected to the trusses to prevent swaying in bad weather. The original bridge deck was replaced between 1982 and 1986 without road closures.

Between 1937 and 2012, an estimated 1,400 bodies have been recovered from individuals committing suicide. About 5% of suicide attempts survive the initial impact but most die by drowning or hypothermia if they do survive the fall. The 245 feet drop lasts about four seconds with the person hitting the water around 75 miles per hour. The fatality rate is 98%. While numbers are never accurate for these suicides, it is estimated that someone jumps about once every two weeks. Some individuals travel to San Francisco for the sole purpose of committing suicide on the bridge. There have been various methods used to prevent suicides, including volunteer patrols who talk people down, suicide hotline postings, and barriers. Currently, the district is working toward installing a suicide barrier made of stainless steal. It is expected to be fully installed by the end of 2023. Attempted suicide survivor Ken Baldwin said that while he was falling, "I instantly realized that everything in my life that I'd thought was unfixable was totally fixable—except for having just jumped."

Concerns about high winds and earthquakes have led to consistent upkeep of the bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge has been featured in several movies and TV shows. Interestingly, the bridge is often destroyed in these narratives, including: It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), Pacific Rim (2013), and Godzilla (2014). The Bridge is shown, not destroyed, in: Vertigo (1958), Interview with the Vampire (1994), Hulk (2003), Star Trek (2009), Inside Out (2015), and Avengers: End Game (2019).

Fun Facts

• The bridge's orange color was originally intended just as a primer
• On it’s opening, people competed to be the first to run, push a baby stroller, and even roller skate across the Golden Gate Bridge. The first person to cross the bridge on stilts occurred on its opening day
• San Francisco celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge on May 24, 1987 with a bridge walk. The bridge began to groan and sway with an estimated 300,000 people. The middle of the bridge sagged seven feet under the weight, causing the arch to flatten. Officials closed the bridge, preventing an additional 600,000 people from crossing. Engineers afterward said that the bridge, which was built to bend, was never in danger of collapsing.
• It took 30 years (1965 to 1995) for the original lead paint to all be replaced with zinc based paint.

The name Sausalito comes from the Spanish word sauzalito, meaning small willow grove. The town began as a Coast Miwok indigenous settlement called Liwanelowa. The Coast Miwok of the area, known as the Huimen, were reportedly kind and hospitable to early European settlers of the area. In 1770, the indigenous population in Sausalito and surrounding areas was estimated to be between 1,500 and 2,000. By 1848, the estimated population fell to 300 and by 1880, the population was estimated at 60. This decline is attributed to European settlers, particularly the Spanish, massacring the Huimen despite their kindness.

William Richardson (1795 - 1856) was an English-born Mexican citizen who first claimed the site and began to develop Sausalito as a private rancho. However, his claim of ownership was tenuous as the Mexican government had reserved the land for military use. After the cession of California to the U.S. following the Mexican-American War, Richardson’s petition for the land was granted and he formed the Rancho Saucelito.

After the Gold Rush, Sausalito housed both commercial fishermen and yacht enthusiasts. During the prohibition era, bootlegging and rum running flourished in Sausalito. During World War II, Sausalito developed as a shipbuilding center with many laborers working in the area. This led to a landmark California Supreme Court case. The local Boilermakers Union excluded Black workers from membership and had a "closed shop" contract, forbidding the shipbuilder from employing anyone who was not a member of the union. Black workers could join an auxiliary of the union, which offered access to fewer jobs at lower pay. A suit was filed on behalf of Joseph James and future Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall won a ruling that the union be required to offer equal membership to African Americans. The court extended the ruling to apply explicitly to all unions and all workers in California.

Following World War II, the area was occupied by houseboat and waterfront communities. Notable residents of Sausalito include: Janis Joplin, Baby Face Nelson, Dave Eggers, Amy Tan, Shel Silverstein, Otis Redding, and Frank Oppenheimer.

FUN FACTS

1. Sausalito has three sister cities:
   1. Sakaide, Kagawa, Japan
   2. Cascais, Portugal
   3. Viña del Mar, Chile
2. The town is featured in the movies: Funny People (2009), The Addams Family 2 (2021), Dear Brigitte (1965), Foul Play (1978).
3. Otis Redding wrote “(Sitting On) The Dock of the Bay” while living in Sausalito.

Public Restroom at Hyde Street Pier

Public Restroom at Great Meadow Park

Public Restroom at Alta Plaza Park

Public Restroom at Mountain Lake Park

Public Restroom at Little Marina Green Picnic Area

Public Restroom at San Francisco World Monument

Public Restroom at H. Dana Bowers Rest Area & Vista Point

Public Restroom at The Sausalito Center For The Arts

Baker's Beach is a beautfiul spot for a photo! This picturesque beach offers a stunning display of the Golden Gate Bridge from a unique perspective.

This active lighthouse is set on a rocky point. It's a perfect spot for a beautiful photo of the structure overlooking Bonita Cove.

Pier 7 is a great spot to see the boats docked around San Francisco and to get a new view of the city. Take a photo from every angle to get great shots!

San Francisco's historic Chinatown neighborhood is gorgeously decorated. This exciting area has steller food and offers great photo opportunities!

Built in the 1930s, this large tower is a San Francisco gem. The exterior of the building is stunning, but if you lock up your bikes and take the 300 stairs up, you can see expertly crafted murals and an unforgettable view of the city.

This sculpture of Cupid's bow and arrow was installed in 2002 and created by married artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Feel the love and take the opportunity to get a stunning photo!

If you have extra time on your ride, lock up your bikes and explore the whimsical Cartoon Art Museum. Featuring art from world renowned cartoonists, this museum is a great place for a family photo!

San Francisco is a great city for seafood lovers! We recommend trying the fish of the day or the fish and chips at this classy restaraunt located near the Argonaut Hotel.

There are several authentic Chinese restaurants in San Francisco and the Bamboo Restaurant is one of our favorites! We recommend the Bamboo Duck and Chow Mein. This is a great spot for the whole family to eat!

Wildseed is perfect for vegan and plant-based meals. With outdoor seating available and a seasonal menu, this is a perfect San Francisco lunch or dinner joint. We recommend trying their Harvest Bowl!

This local chain has been delighting San Franciscans and tourists since 1947! We recommend this for individuals and groups who prefer all American food. Their burgers are classic, but you've got to try the tasy Pesto Melt!

Dining on a budget? This Mexican restaurant has an incredible menu available at low prices. We recommend trying the beef, beans, and rice burrito - you won't be disappointed!

Sausalito's best sushi place has great lunch items, but we highly recommend their house roll: eel, shrimp, smoked salmon and more in a delicious bite!

Any style of pizza you can imagine is available at Tony's! Get a pie for the family and enjoy the delights of Italian cooking at its finest. It's hard to go wrong with pizza, but we recommend the Broccoli Rabe and Honey Calabrese Sausage pizza.

The hit TV show Full House takes place in San Francisco. Though most of the show was shot on a soundstage, you can visit the Tanner's household from the opening credits!

Robin Williams' 1993 comedy classic is set in San Francisco. The family home still stands on Broadway!

Alfred Hitchcock utlized this shooting location in his classic 1958 film.

Dirty Harry (1971) shot Clint Eastwood to international fame. The opening scene features a sniper on the top of this building.

Ali Wong and Randall Park's 2019 Netflix film has been praised as new classic romantic comedy. The two characters grew up in San Francisco and much of the city appears in the film.