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When you hear the words “national park,” most people’s thoughts naturally leap to the great heights of Yosemite or the grand depths of the Grand Canyon — or cartoon bears toting pic-a-nic baskets.
So you might not think of the National Park Service in terms of, say, the Balclutha at Hyde Street Pier, a former munitions port in Concord or a Nobel-winning playwright’s home in Danville.
Yet these, too, are historic sites under the protection of the National Park Service, which oversees more than 400 national treasures. In fact, the Bay Area is home to a fine collection of national park treasures — some well-known, like Muir Woods and Alcatraz, and others that remain off the typical tourist’s radar, such as Point Bonita Lighthouse in the Marin Headlands or John Muir’s home in Martinez.
As the National Park Service turned 100 in 2016, we celebrated its centennial of stewardship of America’s natural and historic gems by exploring some of the lesser-known NPS sites — some parks, some not — right here in our own backyard. Here’s just a sampling.
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
The only forest in the vicinity of Fisherman’s Wharf may be the thicket of crab legs in vendors’ pots, but you’ll still see national park rangers walking the docks — in full olive-green garb and Smokey Bear hats. On Hyde Street Pier — built in 1922 as the San Francisco Bay’s main auto-ferry terminal — rangers guide visitors through 19th-century maritime history. You can tour historic ships, like the square-rigged Balclutha, learn to tie nautical knots and tug on a block-and-tackle to lift heavy barrels.
The stats:The park includes the Hyde Street Pier, Aquatic Park and the Maritime Museum. The grouping came under the NPS umbrella in 1988, and by virtue of its popular tourist location across from Ghirardelli Square, the site sees about 4 million visitors a year.
Insider tip: On the first Saturday of each month, there’s a Sea Chantey Sing from 8 p.m. to midnight. Bundle up and bring a mug for hot cider at intermission. The event is free, but email reservations are required; www.nps.gov/safr/.
Details: Hyde Street Pier, at Hyde and Jefferson streets, is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Access to the pier is free, but there’s a $15 fee to board the historic ships (free for kids 15 and under). The free Maritime Museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily in the Bathhouse Building at 900 Beach St.
But the best place to start your nautical adventure is at the park’s visitor center, at 499 Jefferson St., across from the Hyde Street Pier; www.nps.gov/safr/.
Point Bonita Lighthouse, Marin Headlands
Lighthouses, by their very nature, are remote, isolated, clinging to the edge of the world to warn ships of treacherous waters. And while Point Bonita may be on the tip of the Marin Headlands, it’s likely not on the tip of your tongue as a day-trip destination. But it should be. Just getting there is an adventure that includes a trek over a hill, along a steep half-mile trail, through a hand-hewn tunnel and across a footbridge — suspended about 100 feet over waves that crash in a craggy chasm. The lighthouse, its fixed Fresnel lens lighting the way from this cliff since 1877 (the lighthouse was originally built on a higher ridge in 1855), now houses a small museum.
The stats: Point Bonita is part of the well-known Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which encompasses everything from Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods to Alcatraz, the Presidio and the Phleger Estate, just outside Woodside. This national recreation area gets 14 million visitors a year, but the lighthouse only sees a handful of adventurous souls. It’s well-known in the lighthouse community (yes, there is such a thing) as the only American lighthouse to be reached by a suspension bridge.
Insider tip: Along the trail to the lighthouse, you’ll see ruins of a historic Coast Guard rescue station, pillow basalt rock formations and wildflowers. After your trek, take a lunch to the picnic benches at nearby Battery Wallace for spectacular views overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge.
Details: From San Francisco, cross the Golden Gate Bridge and exit at Alexander Avenue, bearing right. Turn left on Bunker Road and stop at the Marin Headlands Visitor Center to get a map of the Headlands and directions to the lighthouse. The lighthouse is open from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday-Monday, weather permitting, and admission is free. It gets breezy out here; be sure to bring a jacket. www.nps.gov/goga/pobo.htm
John Muir National Historic Site, Martinez
It seems only right for a celebration of the National Park Service to include a visit to the home of the man considered the father of the National Park Service. When not out exploring, naturalist John Muir lived at his wife’s family fruit ranch in pastoral Martinez. The house is not only filled with Muir history — the old typewriter, fireplace, rocking chair and original desk in the study he called his “scribble den” — but the 14-room mansion itself, built in 1833, is a beautiful example of Italianate Victorian architecture.
The stats: The preserved site includes 325 acres of native oak woodlands and grasslands. Muir and his wife, Louisa, moved into the house in 1890, and he lived there until his death in 1914. It became a National Historic Site in 1964, and gets about 35,000 visitors a year.
Insider tip: Be sure to climb up through the attic to the bell tower to enjoy the view. If you’re lucky, rangers will let you ring the bell.
Details: The John Muir site is at 4202 Alhambra Ave., Martinez. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is free; www.nps.gov/jomu/index.htm.
Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site, Danville
“Obsessed by a fairy tale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door and a lost kingdom of peace,” wrote American playwright Eugene O’Neill in “More Stately Mansions.” The Nobel laureate and his third wife, Carlotta, found a modicum of that peace from 1937 to 1944 in the solitude of their Danville hills home when O’Neill was at the height of his fame. The home was dubbed Tao House, or “the right path” in ancient Chinese philosophy. Theater lovers may feel inspired by the book-lined office where he penned (actually, usually penciled) his final plays, “The Iceman Cometh,” “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” and “A Moon for the Misbegotten.”
The stats: In 1974, the Eugene O’Neill Foundation saved Tao House from a wrecker’s ball. The National Park Service acquired 13 acres of the property in 1980 and after extensive restoration, the site opened to the public in 1985. It draws around 3,000 visitors a year.
Insider tip: The pastoral grounds surrounding Tao House are accessible from hiking and mountain biking trails in the Las Trampas Regional Wilderness. The area is excellent for bird watching — and picnics. Drama lovers take note: Several Eugene O’Neill’s plays are presented here each year. Find details at www.eugeneoneill.org.
Details: While the house is located on Kuss Road, you can’t drive there yourself — the road now cuts through a gated community, so visitors must take a shuttle. It picks up at 205 Railroad Ave. in downtown Danville, just outside the Museum of the San Ramon Valley. Guided tours are offered by reservation Wednesday-Friday and Sunday, with shuttle pick-up at at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Self-guided tours (no reservations required) are offered on Saturdays, with shuttle pick up at 10:15 a.m., 12:15 and 2:15 p.m. Admission is free; www.nps.gov/euon/index.htm.
Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, Concord
Burned stumps of an old pier stand like tombstones in the waters of the Carquinez Strait — reminders of a summer night in 1944 when 320 men were “blown into forgetfulness,” as one surviving sailor later said of his comrades, while loading ammunition onto a cargo ship. The memorial itself is little more than these stoic piers and a few granite markers, but the backstory is monumental. The explosion was the largest homeland disaster during World War II, and because more than 200 of the men killed were African American, the tragedy highlighted racism in the military, eventually resulting in desegregation of the Armed Forces.
The stats: This national memorial was dedicated in 1994. It became an official unit of the National Park System in 2009. Fewer than 1,000 visitors per year tour the site.
Insider tip: Visiting here takes some planning (see below). Allow at least an hour and a half for a visit and bring a jacket. There’s no shelter at the memorial, aside from the shuttle, and it can be windy and cold during any season.
Details: Because the memorial is located on an active military installation — the Military Ocean Terminal Concord — all visitors must be cleared with the U.S. Army at least two weeks in advance. Reservations are required, and you can’t just drive to the site. Approved visitors meet at Martinez’s John Muir National Historic Site, 4202 Alhambra Ave., and are shuttled to the memorial; www.nps.gov/poch/index.htm.
