Military brats and retirees -- you will love this place. It is located across the Golden Gate Bridge from THE Presidio. Any Army vet or retiree worth their salt knows about the Presidio in San Francisco. Less known is the "other" Army base -- Fort Baker -- located at the base of the bridge in Marin County, Sausalito. I visited there only one night for a business meeting, but am hooked. As an Army retiree, I have stayed in many historic buildings on many old Army posts. This is one of the best. It is now under control of the National Park Service, Dept of the Interior, but so much of the original has been retained. The parade field, officer and NCO housing, base chapel, central flagpole -- all in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge. Most of the facilities have been leased to CAVALLO POINT Resorts and they can be rented out for various functions. One of the two old barracks buildings has been renovated into a terrific restaurant and bar. The other barracks is the office, hotel front desk, and a lovely gift shop. The gift shop has a Book of Memories, but you have to ask the clerk about it. Former military and their family members have written some marvelous short memories of their assignments or visits to the original Fort Baker. The residence buildings have been repainted and converted into very nice (not luxury) hotel room accomodations. My room was upstairs in a former senior NCO home. It was one large room, complete with a king-size bed, large desk and office chair, two lounge chairs, ottoman, wall-mounted TV, decent size bathroom, etc. A gas fireplace was a nice touch as well. If you like visiting historic military bases -- this is one you don't want to pass up. If you like to find unique overnight accomodations in the San Francisco area -- this is one you don't want to pass up. If you want a special day trip to see "the city on the hill" from a different vantage point -- this is one you don't want to pass up. ALAN GELL, Lt.Colonel, US Army, Retired read more

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. read more

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Since when is it ILLEGAL to pick up trash from the beach at Ft. Baker???? My partner was approached today by two rangers who stated that this Ft. baker is Nat'l. Park when, in fact, it is part of the NRA. He was threatened with a citation and treated as though he were stealing national treasures. I have been beachcombing and cleaning up Ft.Baker, have spoken with numerous Coast Guard and Rangers and have NEVER been treated as such! They even suggested that he may have been messing with the Coast Guard boats when he was nowhere near them! If this is what is happening within our State Parks, I'd rather see many of them close rather than to employ rangers such as these two.....Gutierrez an d your rude female partner....I hope you read this! Last time I looked, we didn't have gestapo beach cops in the USA. read more

Fort Baker Pier: Early in the morning, when the fog is rolling in, I just lose myself in the perfect view of the bridge and gigantic rocks that sit below it. Every time I go there to fish I think to myself, "Man am I lucky to be alive and see this." The fishing and crabbing here is pretty decent as well. I caught my first sting ray. Man was that fun. Good times. read more

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. read more

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What a great find!!! I loved this place and so did my husband. The views and pictures I was able to take were amazing. The fort was very interesting. Loved it!! read more

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My family's favorite crabbing spot. This place can get crowded during crabbing season so plan your trip accordingly especially if you are going during the weekend and in a large group. The last few times we've visited were successful where we filled up two medium size coolers with crabs. We had a group of 15-20 and 10 nets, and were there for 6-8 hours. There aren't any lights during night time, so make sure you pack flashlights/lamps if you stay overnight. This area is kid friendly but do keep an eye on your little ones since it is a dock and there aren't any fences or enclosure to keep the kiddos from jumping into the sea. Finally, the city view and Golde Gate Bridge is beautiful both at night and day time. read more

Very good place, Clean and relaxing far away from homeless people in the city. Fresh air

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 read more

Great place to go crabbing & fishing. It has an awesome view of the Golden Gate bridge & the city on a clear sunny day. We usually head out here late evenings or early mornings to do some crabbing. Be prepared to dress warm because it gets cold. Bring a chair & your iPod and jus chill while you wait for the helpless crab & fish have their last day in the ocean. read more

Now there is a lot more. The yacht club is happening, and really fun. The lodge is awesome... still biking, kayak launching and fishing friendly. My first kiss with my sweety. read more

I come here all the time to fish with my boyfriend. This place has a nice view of the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as San Francisco and Alcatraz. The people here are very friendly. There are people that come here to watch the sea lion swim by. I've also seen porpoises in the area. So cute! Fort Baker is a great place to go fishing or crabbing or catching eels. Be careful though because your line will get caught in the rocks a lot so bring extra hooks and weights. It gets really windy here so dress warm! read more

Fort Baker is such an amazing hidden gem of San Francisco! I HIGHLY recommend coming here, whether you're a visitor of California or if you're born and raised here wanting to do some touristy things. There is plenty of parking if you're okay with walking a little, and some parking on the side right near the view. The view of the Golden Gate Bridge is absolutely stunning and it is definitely worth taking a picture of! Highly recommended on a beautiful sunny day! read more

This place is a hidden gem. Great view of the city and romantic place. Got lucky the day I was there, sunny and clear... I always saw this place from the Golden Gate vista point. If you want to find a place for quiet time or just a great view of SF, this is the place! read more

Beautiful at night if you want to view the golden gate bridge. Bring a camera and take photos. I see alot of people crabbing here and fishing. There is alot of seals so its a tug game if they decides to eat your bait. It does get very cold at so I highly recommend a jacket. read more

Best spot for viewing the Golden Gate Bridge! Also, the road that leads to FB is a great spot for a picnic.

A MUST! Actually my favorite part of the San Fran trip. Great view, free parking, great photo spot. Definitely take a short break and take a moment to look out onto the city from here! read more

This hiddem gem has spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Angel Island, Alcatraz, and the city skyline across the bay. It's free and not crowded. Plus you can explore the old gun emplacements. Didn't see any bathrooms, but port-a-pottys were nearby. read more

Fort Baker - Parks Near Me - Sausalito, California

I walked and walked until I had blisters to get to Fort Baker. Yes, you can get there by car, horse, goat, etc., but the 4 miles trek was a Sunday morning hangover cure I dreamed up. I kept pushing myself further and further until I reached Fort Baker and it was worth it! Sweeping views of the SF Bay, an overlook, a jetty, the GGB in its magnificence. I sat on the overlook for about 20 minutes, just watching ships and seagulls. Best hangover cure yet. read more

Gorgeous spot to stop and take a picture of the bridge and the city if your headed back to the city from Marin.

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. read more

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.

I was stationed at Fort Baker for a number of years in the 1990s when it was an active combat training division and it was a gorgeous place to serve. Since our mission was to provide training exercises, both in the field and computerized, our commanding generals were death on any soldier who was unable to keep up with a combat soldier that we were training. However, our primary mission was, in the event of a major war, to take in some 10,000 draftees, turn them into an infantry division which would be shipped where they were most needed. Once, it was the summer that the movie Forest Gump was so popular, on a Saturday we were practicing for a change of command ceremony that would take place on Sunday. Part of the DNC included a soldier trotting across the field to bring the general's flag to the podium where the old/new commanding generals [CG] and guests would be sitting while hundreds of soldiers in columns and rows stood facing the podium. As the soldier was doing his practice running with the flag one of the female soldiers shouted out, "Run Forest run!", a line [from the movie script] which had us all breaking out in laughter. It was a grand moment of levity in what had otherwise been a rather hot and boring day as hundreds of soldiers sat about with little or nothing to do in between practices. Another of the "hurry up and wait" parts of military life. TD-E means Training Division - Exercise and sometimes the exercise included running up the side of a steep hill wearing full field gear, some 90 Lb's. It would have weighed more but we weren't carrying ammunition for our M-16s. DNC means Drill and Ceremony. On the post there was a manual-two-lane bowling-alley which required people known as "pin monkeys" to pick up and reset the pins. 91st TD-E Headquarters and Headquarters Company Simeon Hovey Former SFC Yes it's a gorgeous spot to visit, just please keep in mind that untold gallons of sweat were once poured out there. read more

Actually went here because friends were having a get together for their kids at the Discovery Museum and it was good to see the kids loving the Discovery Museum. read more

Great views, few people. The tour buses generally do not come here. The night view of the Golden Gate is wonderful.

Great place to launch a kayak. You have great paddling destinations be it Angel Island, Alcatraz, Poin Bonita, Rodeo Beach, or beyond. Afterwards stop by the Yacht Club for a burger and beer. Life it good here. read more

not gonna lie, it has some of the most amazing views of the city/bay/alcatraz/angel island/east bay/tiburon/GG bridge (all from one spot) in the bay area. also going on: eel grass beds used by migrating dungeness crabs, harbor seals, an endangered butterfly in coastal grasslands, coyotes, bobcats, herons, deer, etc. weeds and poison oak (my bane) a 'secret' biking route under the bridge to avoid alexander ave traffic/tourist bike herds that pops out on the west side of the bridge lots of construction going on right now (slated to be completed by summer of 08, i think) to restore historic buildings and replace 60s-era housing on the periphery with compact/higher-density housing. a microclimate created by the surrounding hills that consistently means warmer weather/no fog even if surrounding areas are fogged in. ...and awesome natural resources staff that customize/lead volunteer groups in habitat restoration work. it's totally underutilized (except by stroller-ramming, SUV-parked-in-road, look-at-my-fuck-trophies, i'm priveleged types and a juxtaposition of great people/nannies), but that's part of what makes it so great. it's like real 'wilderness' close to the city, and only about 8 miles biking from UCSF. read more

Been walking to Fort Baker for 4 years now...Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure... LOVE the place! Firefighters ALWAYS there to greet and encourage us Walkers!! Kudos! read more

Greens... water... view of the city... the bay... fairly empty... AWESOME!! Love coming here on warm day to enjoy my day without the hustle and bustle of the busy city life. Lay down on a grass, soak up the sun, and take my happy natural dose of happiness... the sunshine and the warmth! Can't get any better than that! Promise! and if you have kids, you can take them to The Discovery Bay Museum, which is pretty cool for children under the age of 6, but you now what? I took my goddaughter there and she is 8, she had a blast! SO, why not?! read more

Looking for a place to kill some time, we found this cool place. It's right under the Golden Gate Bridge, view was spectacular. A nice little walk . We chatted with some people fishing for crabs. An unexpected adventure. read more

Beautiful spot! HUGE open area of soft-soft grass (the old parade grounds) with a great view of the City and the Bay. It is also shielded from the fog, so it stays warmer longer. Adjacent to the Discovery Bay Museum and a high-end hotel/spa (I'll need to stay there for a night to review as well). Great open spot to chill with your kid or your significant other. read more

Talk about a hidden gem. Great views of the GG Bridge and the city skyline. If your an outdoor enthusiast stop by the pier for some fish and crabs. The discovery museum is suppose to be great for kids, haven't been there but plan to take the kiddies. I would suggest checking the weather prior to heading out. Mother Nature definitely can sneak up on you out here.. read more

I was actually stationed at Ft Baker in 1972 while in the Army . I worked in the telecom center. I visited with my children about 25 years ago, couldn't believe how it had changed. It is a beautiful area and I feel fortunate to have worked there. Would love to have a reunion there with the people I worked with. read more

I agree with all posts listed, this is a great spot! Crowds are not bad, views are terrific and parking is very easy. We stopped at Children's Museum too, wonderful place for little ones to explore and have fun. Best of all, plenty of benches for parents and grandparents to rest on. Should have taken more pictures read more

We stopped by real quick just to get a few shots of the golden gate bridge. There is a nice spot here that gives a really nice view! There are also some nice forrest areas that would be good for portraits like family or engagement. Definitely stop by to check it out if you're into photography or looking for a location to shoot at. read more

Beautiful little spot with great views. You can have a drink out on one of their front porches of the restaurant. Did not eat there, and the menu seemed a bit too exotic for our taste. They have overnight lodging, but the price is horribly expensive. read more

Lived at Ft. Baker as a child when my father was stationed at the Presidio. Lived at 605 B Murray Circle. Best memories of my life. Was in 5th & 6th grade at the time. Numerous kids on the block, late-night games up and down the block. Old 2-lane bowling alley that you had to set the pins by hand was a favorite hangout. COULD... NOT... GET... into trouble. Would love to come and visit now that it is a resort. read more