San Jose Parks by Radius

National Park Service

Alcatraz Island
Alcatraz Island, one of San Francisco Bay's most popular destinations, is home to the infamous federal prison, and the first and oldest lighthouse on the West Coast. The island features many natural features as well - gardens, tide pools, bird colonies, and bay views beyond compare

Channel Islands National Park
Comprised of five in a chain of eight southern California islands near Los Angeles, Channel Islands National Park is home to a wide variety of nationally and internationally significant natural and cultural resources. The park consists of 249,354 acres, half of which are under the ocean. Over 2,000 species of plants and animals can be found within the park.

Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park has more than 3.3 million acres of spectacular desert scenery, interesting and rare desert wildlife, complex geology, undisturbed wilderness, and sites of historical and cultural interest.

Devils Postpile National Monument
The Devils Postpile formation, a rare sight in the geologic world, ranks as one of the worlds finest examples of columnar basalt. Its columns tower 60-feet high and display an unusual symmetry. Another wonder is just downstream from the Postpile at Rainbow Falls. When the sun is overhead, a bright rainbow highlights the spectacular Falls.

Eugene ONeill National Historic Site
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill, the only Nobel Prize winning playwright from the United States and the architect of modern American theater, lived at Tao House in the hills above Danville from 1937 to 1944.

Fort Point National Historic Site
Fort Point was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1853 and 1861 to prevent entrance of a hostile fleet into San Francisco Bay. The fort was occupied throughout the Civil War, but the advent of faster, more powerful rifled cannon made brick forts such as Fort Point obsolete.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area
One of the largest urban national parks in the world., the total park area is 75,398 acres of land and water. Approximately 28 miles of coastline lie within its boundaries. Golden Gate NRA comprises Alcatraz, Marin Headlands, Fort Funston, Fort Mason, as well as Muir Woods National Monument, Fort Point National Historic Site, and the Presidio of San Francisco.

Greenbelt Park
Greenbelt Park is a refuge for native plants and animals just twelve miles from Washington, D.C.

John Muir National Historic Site
The Site preserves the 14 room mansion where the naturalist John Muir lived from 1890 to his death in 1914. Muir accomplished many things: he battled to prevent Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley from being dammed, served as the first president and one of the founders of the Sierra Club and played a prominent role in the creation of several national parks. Muir's work laid the foundations for the creation of the National Park Service in 1916.

Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lassen Volcanic became a national park in 1916 because of its significance as an active volcanic landscape. All four types of volcanoes in the world are found in the park. Over 150 miles of trails and a culturally significant scenic highway provide access to volcanic wonders.

Manzanar National Historic Site

Muir Woods National Monument
Many northern California coastal valleys were covered with coast redwood trees similar to those now found in Muir Woods National Monument. The forest along Redwood Creek in today's Muir Woods was spared from logging because it was hard to get to. Redwood Creek contains one of the San Francisco Bay Area's last uncut stands of old-growth redwood.

Pinnacles National Monument
Rising out of the chaparral-covered Gabilan Mountains, are the spectacular remains of an ancient volcano. Massive monoliths, spires, sheer-walled canyons and talus passages define millions of years of erosion, faulting and tectonic plate movement.

Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes National Seashore contains unique elements of biological and historical interest in a spectacularly scenic panorama of thunderous ocean breakers, open grasslands, bushy hillsides and forested ridges.

Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial
Port Chicago Naval Magazine honors the courage and commitment of the Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, Merchant Mariners, and working civilians killed and injured in the largest homeland disaster during World War II. 320 men, over 200 of which were African-Americans, were instantly killed when a loaded munition ship blew up during loading operations.

Presidio of San Francisco
The Presidio served as a military post under the flags of Spain, Mexico, and the United States. As a U.S. Army post, the Presidio protected commerce and trade, and played a logistical role in every major U.S. military conflict over the last 150 years. On October 1, 1994, the Presidio became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Redwood National and State Parks
Redwood National and State Parks are home to some of the world's tallest trees: old-growth coast redwoods. The parks' mosaic of habitats include prairie/oak woodlands, mighty rivers and streams, and 37 miles of pristine Pacific coastline.

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
This park includes the fleet of national historic landmark vessels at Hyde Street Pier, a maritime museum, and a maritime library.

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Located in a Mediterranean ecosystem, the Santa Monica Mountains contain a wide variety of plants and wildlife. The mountains also have an interesting and diverse cultural history which begins with the Chumash and Gabrielino/Tongva peoples and continues today in "L.A.'s backyard."

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park
These two adjoining parks protect immense mountains, deep canyons, huge trees, and stunningly diverse habitats. Sequoia and Kings Canyon share miles of boundary and are managed as one park.

Washington Monument
George Washington was unanimously elected the first President of the United States. Washington defined the Presidency and helped develop the relationships among the three branches of government. His leadership and service to the republic have been distinguished through the naming of the federal capital, universities, streets, counties, and a state; but none have captured the imagination of the people world-wide like the Washington Monument.

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
The Whiskeytown Unit, with its mountainous back country and large, man-made reservoir, offers many summer activities such as hiking and boating, as well as historical remains of the California Gold Rush.

Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park harbors a grand collection of waterfalls, meadows, and forests that include groves of giant sequoias, the world's largest living things.