Fort Baker

ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!!!
There’s something calming about being on this side of Golden Gate Bridge. Can life get any better than this? I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. There’s a myriad of activities to choose from. Families and tourists come from all over to explore this beautiful historic army post.
— Bay Area Discovery Museum
— Marin Headlands
— Point Bonita Lighthouse
— Muir Beach/​Stinson Beach
— City of Sausalito
— Kayaking
— Kirby Cove
— Muir Woods National Monument
— The Marine Mammal Center
— Scenic hiking/​biking trails
Spend a full day and discover countless outdoor activities this fascinating place has to offer. You’ll find it hard to decide which nearby attraction to tour. Try them all ~ happy picture taking! =)

This is definitely a must see place. There are nothing but great views of the Golden Gate Bridge as well as other great viewing pleasures.

Yo. I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. Then I was thinking to myself, «where to next?» It’s not like I had any clue where the hell I was or what I was doing.
I got off an exit, and started driving. I ended up in a little town called Sausalito. Cool little town if you have the time to check it out! I just drove through. Just a heads up, the roads are windy, and there are a lot of pedestrians, so be patient!
As I passed the town, I saw some signs. I had some time to burn before work, so anything touristy or park-​wise, I was all for it. I saw a sign for a place called Fort Baker, and headed for it. Learning my lesson from all other things touristy in the SF area, I was armed with a wad of cash, ready to pay whatever entrance fees there may be.
I was shocked, as I approached, there were no gates or no rangers collecting fees! And, it looked like I was on territory of the Coast Guard. I kept driving, and saw a pier. I parked my car, and got out.
It was a breathtaking view of not only the bridge, but the bay area. I was getting dirty looks from the local fisherman (the majority were Asian, shouting in their native dialect (which was awesome, I felt like I was at home in Atlanta on Buford Highway all over again). I hope I didn’t offend them, taking pictures and such (hey, I left in one piece!).
The scene was amazing. It was peaceful. There was bird crap covering the pier, but I didn’t care. I barked at the birds, they stayed close by. It was epic.
I noticed too, they had cell phone stops– where you dial a special number, a d they load you up on info. Cool stuff!
They even had porter potties, which, covered in graffiti, they got the job done.
This place was a hidden gem and I got to see a side of San Francisco and surrounding areas I would have never thought possible in this lifetime. Not to be missed!

Very good view of the bridge and way less crowded than the other spots we tried. It was also located on a little marina so it made for some good scenery and a nice walk. We also got some really good pictures from our stop here.

Nice place to have a relax afternoon. I went with my daughter and we have a great time. You can fish and take a very nice pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the City are amazing from here! We came here on a Friday after exploring the Marine Headlands. Since it was a weekday we had no problems finding a parking space.

My fifth trip. If you can navigate well and enjoy scenic walks away from major tourism. This is a spot. As a former active army base for officers and support groups this vintage establishment has been remade for civilians. A 4 star resort. Classy. Elegant. And remodeled homes exquisitely redefined by obvious extremely rich patrons. This base is clean. Neat. Has active museums and lots of pageantry type of events year round if you look around. Crash a party! VIP services and shuttles nearby. A great view of treasure island and the golden gate bridge. A phenomenal view of San Francisco and the bay waters. Catch the Navy going in and out during fleet week and what a glorious site. Come during the early mornings on Saturday and see the charters and cruise lines come in gracefully. Such a lovely spot for touries like me. Enjoy.

I love Fort Baker! Just when you think that you have taken a picture of every possible angle of the Golden gate Bridge, you get to Fort Baker and see yet another awesome angle of this beautiful bridge. The surrounding area is gorgeous! Cavallo Point restaurant is there so after you explore and take your pictures, you can then go have a bite to eat. Fort Baker is a great park and I highly recommend bringing your camera and getting those awesome shots of the bridge.

Seriously they weren’t lying about the views. I never knew SF was such a beautiful city until I saw it from here. Pick a sunny day and it just doesn’t get any better than this. I was worried about what to wear but was fine in a sundress and sandals, however I did need 2 jackets. Definitely check the weather before you go and if you plan to do more than a leisurely stroll I’d suggest proper footwear. There’s plenty of paved ground to walk though if you’re feeling like your tootsies need some fresh air.
Currently under some expansion and improvement project I can tell it’s going to be even nicer once it’s done. With more walkways and maybe even a restaurant or coffee shop? I couldn’t really tell what they were doing but there’s also what looks like a function hall/​yatch club that would be so beautiful for a wedding.
Now ladies, there are not a lot of bathroom options. I mean I call this out being that I’m pretty much always needing one so be prepared for EITHER porta potty situation OR try to get into the children’s museum before it closes. Otherwise I’m not sure… you might be left out in Mother Nature
This is a great place for a picnic as well so just be prepared with your blanket, food, and clean up after yourself.

Having the crabbing experiences was fun and interested beside for the male officer who gave us an infraction in possession of dungerous Crabs. The crabs were going to be thrown back into the ocean, if they were caught, but he would not let us explain our side of the story. In addition, he threw back all the crabs that were caught despite every single one we kept was not dungerous.
After he threw away all our hard work, he came up to my male friend and gave him the «talk» about dungerous crab. He then proceed to asked everyone in the group, 2 males and 3 females, who was going to take the citation, while starring down at my male friend, I felt like the male officer was being very sexist. I had agreed to take the citation every single time he asked the question of who was going to take the citation, but the male office wanted my male friend to man up and take it.
Not only that, he called us very «uneducated» for not knowing which crabs to catch and for having our tent set up. There is no rules where it states that it is illegal to have our tent set up. However, the last time my friends and I were crabbing here, we noted that other people like us had there tents set up too. In addition, he stated that we were crabbing during the wrong season when the sign stated that crabbing is all year long.
Having that in mind, to whom ever decided to crab in this area, be careful of what you are catching. In addition, if it is cold outside, I would recommend to wear a lot of layers and man up to the cold

One of the best places I know to escape to.

BEST GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE SHOT we took was from here!
This would be a great first date or even a great 100^th date! It’s windy and freezing cold, even in the middle of June! We even saw a sea lion or something frolicking right there at the end of the pier!
Best of all, it was FREE.

Amazing views of the bay, Alcatraz, and, of course, the Golden Gate Bridge. It gets windy and is covered with bird turd, but it doesn’t even matter. Check this out, totally worth the trip!

I think the best pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge AND San Francisco’s skyline in one shot must come from Fort Baker.
You can head up northwest on the mountainous side of 101 for pictures of the west facing side of the bridge. It gets chilly in the afternoon when the Bay fog rolls in, so be prepared for this and wind. Also, parking on this side is nigh impossible as it’s a very touristy area.
If you can battle the 101 and feeder traffic, you can head down to the flatter south-​east side of the bridge. Here, you can capture the GG Bridge from sea-​level. Somewhere down here is also a very nice but expensive restaurant if you’re hungry.
As the name may imply, Ft. Baker was once a military establishment. So, as you’re running around, you can see baracks and other military buildings around. :)

Careful Folks! Dungeness Crabbing inside the SF Bay is NOT allowed by the CA Fish and Game Rules.
Rock or Red crabs are OK. Rock crabs have limits and size restrictions too. So follow the rules or don’t get caught — the fines are hefty.
If you snare or catch a Dungeness crab, you should toss it back. If you don’t — don’t be surprised when the game warden walks up to you and ask to see what’s in your bucket/​cooler. Remember they don’t need a search warrant!
Have fun and enjoy Fort Baker pier!

I forgot to take a picture while I was hanging out here, so there’s really no way for me to describe how nice this place is. So I’ll let this haiku I just wrote speak for me:
Go out to the pier.
Marvel at the bridge of gold.
Catch a crab. Free meal.

Great views on a sunny day. You can see the bay and golden gate, the city, east bay and angel island. Fairly small area to explore but nice open field. Close to the children’s museum and a restaurant, plus cooking classes if you’re up to it. Definitely a great space for a picnic. As always take a jacket.

So you want to find a super unique place to do a photoshoot, see San Fran at water level from across the bay, or perhaps look up at the underside of the Golden Gate Bridge and see ships pass below it with SF in the background? Well this is where you need to come to do it. It is a special fun unique place.
Fort Baker is a bit daunting to find how to get down to it. You need to exit the 101 N right after the Vista Point Overlook
on Alexander Ave (Sausalito exit). Make the first left on Bunker Rd and follow it around and back underneath Alexander Ave. Bunker Rd will take you down to the Fort proper as well as Horseshoe Bay, the Marina, and the pier. There are some unique hiking trails, tidal zones, and picture taking opportunities down here.
They have some large open grass areas that you can play sports or games on… tour the museum that is down here as well. Essentially, if you wanna have something fun happening you can make it occur here for sure.
As you can see from the pics, a lot of people are crabbing off of the pier! This is some great fun stuff… so check it out and enjoy it someday. I cant count the number of times that I have been here. But I have gone here for over a decade to provide a unique look at the SF bay etc…
Ohhhh did I mention that this place was free as well? woo woo!!!

Come early in the morning, I mean VERY EARLY to get a spot. By the time we arrived on a Saturday morning around 845, there were already a lot of people. A lot of people were fishing, some were crabbing, & not many tourists (only 1 guy & his kid weren’t fishing or crabbing). If you want to fish, come early & bring your gear. I saw a lot of people catch fish that were about 10″ long, really long sardine looking fish, not sure if they taste good though. Good fishing spots get taken fast (towards the back, facing the Bay Bridge & the city).
We only brought home 1 red rock crab. It was a bit larger than the one we got from Muni Pier in SF.
The only thing that sucks about this is that it’s on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge, so it costs $ 6 to go home. If I lived on the other side, I’d come more often. I’m not sure if that 1 red rock crab was worth $ 6, but we learned that it is THE PLACE TO FISH. I will need to buy a fishing pole & come back.
This is a nice place to see…
–The Golden Gate Bridge up close (you might not be able to see it on a foggy day)
–Views of the Bay Bridge & the city
–Usually a sea lion (coming for bait)
— Families fishing/​crabbing
I will probably be back real soon.

Ok picture this.
You’re out crabbing/​fishing with friends/​family + lawn chairs + beers + some music = Good times, 4 stars you’re a fan right?
now add…
a ridiculous view of the Golden Gate Bridge (
) and some caught crabs. No, not the itchy crabs you get from drunken Taco Tuesday at the Power Exchange. Rock and Dungeness crabs like this (
) I’ve been fishing before and it sucks when you don’t catch anything, but the crabs here, just like at the Power Exchange are plenty.
To me that’s instant memories and a 5 star experience.
— — - FYI ——
–Crab season is from November to June.
–You can only take crabs fished from the Pacific Ocean (so you can’t take them from here) the rock crabs aren’t as meaty as Dungeness but are fair game to take home.
—— Usefel Links ——
California’s fish and game page for Dungeness which has the current rules and regulations.
How to do on the pier crabbing
and just in case if you were thinking about the other crabs.