Alcatraz Island Closes October 26 to November 18 for Ferry Dock Repairs

Alcatraz Island will close to visitors starting Monday, October 26, 2026, while crews replace pilings that hold the island’s ferry dock in place, the National Park Service announced on September 28. The work is expected to be finished by November 18. If you have Alcatraz tickets for a date inside that window, Alcatraz City Cruises will contact you about a refund or a new date.

What is closing, and for how long

Every visit to Alcatraz starts with a ferry from Alcatraz Landing at Pier 33 and ends at the island’s floating dock, so when the dock is out of service, the island is closed. According to the National Park Service news release, the closure begins October 26 and repairs are expected to be completed by November 18, 2026. The park service says weather or other factors could shift that timeline, and it will post updates on the Golden Gate National Recreation Area website and on Alcatraz City Cruises’ website.

The release does not give a specific first day of tours after the work ends, so if you are planning a trip for the week of November 16, check both sites before you book.

If you already have tickets

The park service says visitors with reservations on affected departures will be notified “as soon as possible” and offered a refund, along with the option to move their Alcatraz tour to another date or to book a San Francisco Bay Discovery Cruise on selected dates during the closure. Alcatraz City Cruises handles those changes through its contact page.

Why the dock needs work

This is the third closure tied to the dock this year. The park service says a January 14 closure lasted nine days after one of the five pilings supporting the dock failed. Inspectors found two of the five pilings needed repair. In April the island closed again for six days while Alcatraz City Cruises strengthened the three pilings that were still sound, which let ferries run at fuller capacity through the summer.

The fall closure is the final phase: pile driving to fully replace the two remaining pilings. The timing is set by regulation. The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission restricts pile driving in the bay after November 30, so the work has to happen before then. Once it is done, the park service expects the floating dock system to have a useful life of 20 to 30 years. KALW reports that crews will use a pile-driving barge for the job.

Alcatraz City Cruises, the park concessioner that runs the ferries, is paying for and doing the work. Under its concession agreement the company covers dock inspection and repair costs, and the park service says no tax dollars or federal funding are being used. The company makes more than 3,200 ferry trips a year carrying about 1.5 million visitors to the island, per the release.

Dates that fall outside the closure

Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Monday, October 12, comes two weeks before the closure starts, and Thanksgiving, November 26, comes after the expected completion date. Those are the two mornings each year when the International Indian Treaty Council has traditionally held its sunrise gatherings on the island, with early ferries from Pier 33. Neither date is mentioned in the park service’s closure notice.

Planning around it

If your trip lands between October 26 and mid-November, the park service says Alcatraz City Cruises will run its San Francisco Bay Discovery Cruise on selected dates during the closure. Alcatraz is still in view from the shore at Pier 39, Aquatic Park and the Municipal Pier. Our Alcatraz Island guide covers what a normal visit involves, and our first-timer’s guide to San Francisco attractions has other options along the waterfront. Nearby at Fisherman’s Wharf, the outdoor ice rink at 80 Jefferson St. opens November 4.

Sources: National Park Service, Golden Gate National Recreation Area (news release and Q&A, September 28, 2026); KALW (September 29); SFist (September 29).

Photo: Craig Baker, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.