Alcatraz Island sits roughly 1.25–1.5 miles from the San Francisco shoreline, depending on the exact points you measure between.

Quick Scoop

  • Most official and tourism sources describe Alcatraz as about 1.25 miles (≈2.0 km) off San Francisco.
  • Others round it to about 1.5 miles from the city’s coast, which is the figure many visitor guides use.
  • In practical terms, that’s a short 15-minute ferry ride from Pier 33 near Fisherman’s Wharf.

So if you’re wondering “how far is Alcatraz from land?” , the realistic answer you’ll see in guides and trivia is: around 1.25–1.5 miles from the San Francisco shore.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.