This is a great location for a close-up look of the Golden Gate Bridge. From here one can also get a good view of the Alcatraz Island and downtown San Francisco. Parking is available but it can fill up pretty quickly on a busy day.

On our trip, we entered San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge and the first site we stopped at was Fort Point. Various forts have been constructed on this point to protect San Francisco Bay since 1784 when the Spanish constructed Castillo de San Joaquin near this site. The current version of the fort was constructed from 1854-1861 and then modified in 1892. Forts like this are interesting to visit, since there are not many similar historical-type forts in the US. It also provides a great view from underneath the Golden Gate Bridge as it stretches out across the San Francisco Bay. The fort offers guided tours and has a small theater with a short, informative film.

Fort Point is a very interesting historical site that's located at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge at the San Francisco end. It was built in the lead up to the Civil War (completed in 1861), but was never engaged in battle. It's very interested to explore the fort and pretty much everything is open. There's multiple levels of the fort that you can explore and many interesting displays that contain the history of the fort. The views of the Golden Gate bridge are worth the visit too as you get an underside view of the bridge when you're in the fort and you get an oblique view of the bridge from the parking lot (which was my favorite). It's a great place to visit and learn more about the history of San Francisco!

We stopped by on our way back from Muir Woods just for some photos. What an amazing place. The history of it is incredible and most people don't even know it's right there. You can easily spend hours there going thru it. Don't miss the roof top for great pictures but beware of the wind as I almost lost my hat and glasses. Also bring a jacket as it's gets pretty cold with that wind.