Travel Guide Angel Island State Park

This island in San Francisco Bay had an eventful history before becoming the national park it is today. During the Civil War, Angel Island was used as an infantry base, better known as Camp Reynolds. Later, the Federal Army used it as a base to fight the local Indians. During both World Wars, soldiers leaving and returning from combat passed through the Angel Island camps. Apart from its military history, the island is best known for its past as an immigration center. Like New York's Ellis Island, it served as a quarantine center for new arrivals. Asian migrants were thus held on the island for unjustly prolonged stays, particularly after the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Today, it's an uninhabited national park with magnificent landscapes and protected biodiversity. Hikers and bikers come here to enjoy the peace and quiet, the unspoilt nature and the incredible views of the bay and San Francisco. Only two ferry companies link the island to the mainland, either from Tiburon or San Francisco.