Many families planning a visit to Alcatraz worry about bringing children to a former penitentiary - they often ask us if it is appropriate for them. Our answer is a definite yes!
We recommend visiting Alcatraz to families with kids ages 6+ who can walk up 1/4 mile of steep paths and still handle the mechanics of a one-hour audio tour.
Children under 12 years old are not allowed on the Behind the Scenes Tour ONLY. You can bring kids on any of the Day Tours and Night Tours, and you do not have to get a ticket for children under 5 years old.
Alcatraz Island has a story so intriguing that it draws in over 1.5 million visitors each year. But are the Alcatraz day and night tours worth your valuable time and money? In short, the answer is yes. But you are not here for the short answer.
The prison was able to hold more than 330 convicts in cells that were 10 feet by 4.5 feet (3 meters by 1.5 meters). However, it was rare if more than 260 prisoners occupied the island at one time. Alcatraz was considered to be the most inescapable prison in the United States. A few inmates did escape the island.
Clarence Victor Carnes (January 14, 1927 – October 3, 1988), known as The Choctaw Kid, was a Choctaw man best known as the youngest inmate incarcerated at Alcatraz and for his participation in the bloody escape attempt known as the "Battle of Alcatraz".
Alvin Karpis
Legend says he was captured by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover himself and sentenced to life imprisonment at Alcatraz for ten murders, six kidnappings, and a robbery.
Think about horror movies for a second. Watching a horror movie at night is way more frightening than watching it during the day. Similar here. Alcatraz is scary at night, but not so scary in the daylight hours.
Some of the key challenges include: Rough and choppy water. Cold water temperatures which can be 10 degrees or lower than in other parts of the East Bay. Swimming across the current.
Swimming from Alcatraz is one of the most famous, desirable, and enjoyable open water swims (wild swim) in the entire world. Despite lore that swimming from Alcatraz is dangerous, for experienced swimmers with proper support, swimming from Alcatraz can be safe and fun.
(Alcatraz opened as a national recreation area in 1973, a decade after it transferred its last inmate.) Fewer than 600 people can stay overnight each year. Only nonprofits are allowed the privilege, and spots are given out via lottery. Typically Alcatraz hosts young scout troops.
Temperatures on Alcatraz Island seldom rise above 75°F (24°C) or fall below 38°F (3°C). It almost never snows on the Island, but winters can be wet and cold. Afternoon winds are common during every season.
SAN FRANCISCO (INSIDE EDITION) – In the 29 years Alcatraz served as a federal prison, about 100 children lived there with their families.
Final thoughts: Yes, Alcatraz is totally manageable with a baby! So enjoy and explore! Take your time, and it will be a fun time for everyone! Don't forget to get a little something in the gift shop!
First, it's worth noting that the maker of Stranger Things, Netflix, has rated it TV-14. That means they don't think it's appropriate for anyone under 14 to watch it. Of course, not all 14-year-olds are the same. At 14 years old, I watched things much more gruesome (I became a wimp later in life).
The Common Sense experts say the show is fine for kids 13+, while both parents and kids agree the show is appropriate for ages 12+.
Here's the catch, though: No one knows what happened to the escapees. When pieces of the raft and paddles washed up near the island, many assumed that the men were dead. Alcatraz officials have suggested they drowned or died of hypothermia.
The waters between North Beach and Alcatraz are not shark infested, as urban legends would have you believe. Most sharks can't live in the bay's fresh water, as their fatty livers aren't functionally flotational without salination.
Three men escaped from notorious Alcatraz Island penitentiary in 1962 and have never been apprehended.
You can stay on Alcatraz Island as long as you like if you choose the Day Tour. Allow at least 2 1/2 – 3 hours for sailing to the Island, exploring the island and returning to Pier 33 Alcatraz Landing. The trip over to Alcatraz Island is 12-15 minutes each way and is factored into the suggested time of 2 ½ – 3 hours.
Punishment at Alcatraz was extreme. At the dungeon, prisoners were chained up standing in total darkness, often with no food and regular beatings. These punishments often lasted for as long as 14 days and by 1942, the dungeon was found to be unnecessarily cruel and closed.
Are there bathrooms on Alcatraz? There are bathrooms on most of the ferries on the way over and back. There are also restrooms in two locations on the island. One is right near the ferry terminal.
Frank Lucas Bolt. Little has been documented about Alcatraz's LGBTQ+ prisoners, but gay men did play a role in the infamous prison. In fact, it was a queer man, Frank Lucas Bolt, who served as the prison's first official inmate.
How many people died while at Alcatraz? There were eight people murdered by inmates on Alcatraz. Five men committed suicide, and fifteen died from natural illnesses. The Island also boasted it's own morgue but no autopsies were performed there.
In 1959 he was transferred to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Missouri, where he would die that year. Although Alcatraz may have closed as a prison many decades ago, there are still former Alcatraz inmates alive today - including convited murderer and Irish American mafia boss James "Whitey" Bulger.