Have an inescapable experience on a trip to Alcatraz Island when you begin your adventure by hopping on a ferry at PIER 33 in San Francisco, CA to take the short ride to one of the most notorious prisons in the world. Because of its isolation from the outside world from the cold, strong, hazardous currents of the waters of San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz Island was deemed the perfect spot to contain criminals and was used to detain Civil War captives as early as 1861.

Alcatraz became a federal prison in August 1934 and during the nearly three decades it was in use, this island jail held such notable criminals as Al Capone, Robert Franklin Stroud (the Birdman of Alcatraz) and George "Machine Gun" Kelly. Deemed appropriate for the worst of the inmates from all over the country, Alcatraz Island was considered the last stop for many dangerous and ruthless criminals in America.

Choice Hotels® has an assortment of locations in and around San Francisco, CA. Take a trip to this famous American “Rock” and make your hotel reservations on ChoiceHotels.com.