Alameda

Alameda feels like a small town that happens to sit in the middle of the Bay Area. Its main island lies just across the Oakland estuary, reached by tunnels and drawbridges. About 78,000 people live in the city, many on quiet streets lined with Victorian houses. At the west end, the runways of a former naval air station look straight across the water at the San Francisco skyline.

For a Palo Alto resident it is a full day out: an aircraft carrier that recovered the Apollo 11 astronauts, the warmest bay beach in the region, a giant monthly antiques market and ferries that make it easy to add San Francisco. This guide covers getting there, the history, the main sights and how to plan the day.

Where Alameda is and how far

The city is built on a small group of islands in the East Bay. Alameda Island, the main one, is separated from Oakland by the estuary and a tidal canal. Bay Farm Island, to the south, sits beside Oakland's airport and is joined to the mainland by land. Coast Guard Island, a small base, lies between them. Much of Alameda Point, Bay Farm and the South Shore is built on bay fill.

From downtown Palo Alto, Alameda is about 35 miles by road. Outside rush hour the drive takes 40 to 50 minutes.

Getting there from Palo Alto

By car

Take Highway 101 north, cross the San Mateo Bridge on Highway 92 and head north on Interstate 880. Exit toward the Oakland airport and follow the roads onto Bay Farm Island, then cross the Bay Farm Island Bridge to the main island. Or stay on Interstate 880 and use the tubes from downtown Oakland or the drawbridges from Fruitvale. Bridge tolls are charged only westbound: $8.50 in 2026, $9.00 with FasTrak from January 1, 2027.

By Caltrain and ferry

Alameda has no BART station. The most enjoyable car-free route is Caltrain to San Francisco, then a walk or Muni ride to the Ferry Building. San Francisco Bay Ferry runs to Alameda's Seaplane Lagoon terminal at Alameda Point and to the Main Street terminal on its Oakland and Alameda route. Fares rose on all regular routes on July 1, 2026. Check the San Francisco Bay Ferry website for schedules. Our Caltrain guide covers the first leg.

By BART and bus

Ride Caltrain to Millbrae and BART to downtown Oakland or Fruitvale, then take an AC Transit bus onto the island. Allow about two hours from Palo Alto.

From oak woods to an island city

Alameda was once a low peninsula of marsh and oak forest. Ohlone people lived here for more than 3,000 years and left shell mounds, some as tall as 14 feet. Spanish colonists called the area Encinal, a grove of evergreen oaks. It became part of Rancho San Antonio, granted to Luis Maria Peralta in 1820.

The town was founded on June 6, 1853. Voters picked the name Alameda, Spanish for a tree-lined avenue or grove. It incorporated on April 19, 1854. On September 6, 1869, the first train of the transcontinental railroad to reach the shores of San Francisco Bay arrived at the Alameda Terminal. Our railroad history page tells the Peninsula side of the story. Work began in 1874 on a tidal canal through the marsh between Alameda and Oakland. When it was finished in 1902, Alameda became an island.

In 1917 a private amusement park called Neptune Beach opened at what is now Crab Cove. Known as the Coney Island of the West, it drew huge crowds in the 1920s and 1930s and is said to be where the popsicle was first sold to the public, in 1923. It closed in 1939. In the 1930s Pan American Airways based its China Clipper flying boats here; the departure site of the first transpacific China Clipper flight is California Historical Landmark No. 968.

During World War II, Naval Air Station Alameda and the Alameda Works Shipyard brought thousands of workers. The air station closed in 1997 and its land became Alameda Point. Alameda was named a Coast Guard City in 2006.

USS Hornet Sea, Air and Space Museum

The USS Hornet, an Essex-class carrier completed in 1943, is moored at Alameda Point. It fought with the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific, was modernized for jets and anti-submarine work and served off Vietnam. In July 1969 its crew recovered the Apollo 11 astronauts after the first moon landing. In November 1969 it picked up the Apollo 12 crew. The ship was decommissioned in 1970. It is a National Historic Landmark and a California Historical Landmark and opened as a museum in 1998.

Visitors walk the hangar deck, flight deck and parts of the island, with aircraft on display. An Apollo command module from a 1966 uncrewed test flight, recovered by the Hornet itself, is on board. Ladders between decks are steep. Check the museum's website for hours, or book USS Hornet tickets ahead.

Alameda Point and the Antiques Faire

The former naval air station is now a mix of homes, offices, breweries and distilleries in old hangars and warehouses, with wide-open views of San Francisco across Seaplane Lagoon. On the first Sunday of every month it hosts the Alameda Point Antiques Faire, a sprawling antiques and vintage market. The next dates are December 6 in 2026 and January 3 in 2027. Online tickets cover only the early admission times; the box office sells all tickets for cash only. Children under 12 get in free with an adult, parking is free and pets are not allowed because the site borders a wildlife sanctuary. Our guide to vintage and consignment shopping covers Palo Alto's own.

Crown Memorial State Beach and Crab Cove

Crown Memorial State Beach runs about 2.5 miles along Alameda's south shore. The state owns it and the East Bay Regional Park District operates it. The beach eroded badly by the 1980s. A 2013 project pumped about 82,600 cubic yards of sand back onto shore. The water is calmer and a little warmer than the ocean. Families wade and swim in summer. In fall and winter it is a good place to watch grebes, ducks and loons.

At the north end, the Crab Cove Visitor Center has exhibits on bay wildlife and Alameda's history, with an 800-gallon aquarium. Naturalists run weekend programs. The Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary at the east end has been closed for restoration; check the park district for access. See our guides to beaches near Palo Alto and birdwatching.

Park Street, Webster Street and the houses

Alameda has two old main streets. Park Street, the historic commercial district, grew up around a train station in the 1860s and is now lined with restaurants, cafes, bookstores and shops. Webster Street, on the west end, has more casual places. Between them, the side streets are full of Victorian and early 1900s houses that make for a fine slow walk or bike ride. The island is flat, compact and easy to cycle.

Why a Palo Alto resident might go

1. Space and naval history. The Hornet is one of the best museum ships on the West Coast.
2. A bay beach day. Crown Beach is calmer and warmer than the coast.
3. Antiques. Collectors plan whole Sundays around the monthly faire.
4. A ferry loop. Ride the ferry to San Francisco and Caltrain home, or pair Alameda with an Oakland day trip.

Frequently asked questions