Treasure Island
Treasure Island offers spectacular views that have made it a favorite of Hollywood location scouts.
Treasure Island is a flat, entirely man-made island in San Francisco Bay that provides a vantage point for viewing the city skyline across the water. Its spectacular views have attracted Hollywood film crews, making the location a favorite of scouts looking to capture bay imagery.
Treasure Island Access and Historical Remnants
Built for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition and taken over by the US Navy in 1942 as a troop deployment staging area, Treasure Island held a Naval Base until the land was returned to the city in 1997. Vehicular access runs via the eastbound off-ramp to Yerba Buena Island, which reopened on May 7, 2023 after nearly twenty years of closure tied to the new Bay Bridge and SFCTA Southgate Road project. Photographers should plan around the fact that the island sinks deeper into the Bay each year, and the grounds still hold remnants of the WWII-era stockades and psychiatric ward that figured in early changes to military policy on gay service members.
Best Photo Spots
This guide lists 1 street photography spot on Treasure Island: Avenue B.
Avenue B on Treasure Island
Photographs of This Location
Practical Information
37.82217° N, 122.36932° W; Eastbound I-80 off-ramp; Far-right lane, past the tunnel, lower deck
free
9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Session Tips
- Photographers can capture the entire San Francisco cityscape from a single viewpoint on Treasure Island.
Getting There
Access & Transit
- Parking
- Free parking is available in front of Building One just inside the main gate.
- Public transit
- bus