AngelIsland

Angel Island Recalls Its Military History with a Newly Enhanced TramTour.

New tours focused on the rich military history of Angel Island begin March 24, 2002, according to Angel Island TramTours & Catered Events, the the park’s hospitality manager.

Angel Island State Park, located in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, is a virtual history book with many fascinating stories to be told about the military role it has played from the Civil War through the Cold War. The new effort to highlight military history is a cooperative effort involving the Angel Island Association, California State Parks and Angel Island TramTours & Catered Events. The stories will soon be shared by trained docents aboard an open-air TramTour of the island.

“Our existing TramTour offers a great overview of the island and all of its cultural and natural history,” said Donna Doran, Operations Manager for Angle Island TramTours and Catered Events. “The new Military History Tour focuses on the island’s many uses by the US Armed Forces dating back to the first postings during the Civil War era.”

Docents riding aboard trams will relate the untold stories and historic events that took place at the Civil War military encampments, Camp Reynolds and Battery Ledyard, as the tram travels through these sites along the island’s perimeter road. The guide will lead a tour of the guardhouse and jail cells of Fort McDowell, the island’s World War I and II Army debarkation installation. The little known role of Angel Island in national defense during the Cold War, with its now abandoned Nike missile installation, will also be shared.

The new Military History Tour is 1 hour 45 minutes long and costs $13.75 per person. The TramTour operator will donate a portion of the proceeds from each tour to the Angel Island Association, the island’s volunteer docent organization. As a way of honoring the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces, active duty personnel will be given a 50% discount for this tour package.

Tours will begin March 24 and run on Sundays only through May then on Saturdays and Sunday from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Weekend tour tickets may be purchased at the Cove Café on Angel Island. Tours depart from Angel Island’s Ayala Cove Cafe at 12:15 p.m.

Weekday tours are available for groups of 15 or more by reservation only, beginning March 25. The group tour price is $12.75 per person. For more information on TramTour times, rates, group reservations and the island’s Cove Café, call Angel Island TramTours & Catered Events at 415-897-0715 ext. 5 or visit their website at www.angelisland.com.

Ferry service to Angel Island’s Ayala Cove is available from San Francisco, Tiburon, Oakland, Alameda and Vallejo. For ferry rates and schedules contact the ferry companies directly.