The moment you drive over the bright blue Mare Island Causeway Bridge, you know you’re going somewhere unusual.
The former naval shipyard that seems almost abandoned is anything but. By the time you leave, you’ll feel like you’ve been let in on a secret.
Mare Island Naval Shipyard was established in 1854 as the first U.S. naval shipyard on the West Coast. It played a key role in major events, including the Civil War, two world wars, and the Cold War, before abruptly closing in 1996.
Mare Island reopened to the public in 2004, and today, although roughly 1,000 people call it home, its most impressive residents may be the ospreys that nest on the leftover cranes, light poles, and other industrial structures.
9am: Coffee at Quarters Coffee House
Quarters Coffee House is an expansive estate that's offers a gorgeous start to the morning.
(Courtesy of @quarterscoffeehouse)
Arrive early and start at Quarters Coffee House (1015 Walnut Ave.), where you’ll find your caffeine of choice and a daily pastry inside the grand, historic officer’s residence. Snag a cozy nook and relax before a day of exploration on your own or with a guided tour through the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation (held the first and third weeks of the month on Saturdays at 10am and Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 2pm; $15-25 for adults and kids over 13).
10am: Walking Tour of Mare Island
The dry docks on Mare Island
(Nicole Findlay)
Head to St. Peter's Chapel (1181 Walnut Ave.) to start your tour on your own or with the group (if visiting solo, check the Open Chapel dates first to make sure you can go in). With its brown shingles, steep roof, and slender spire, the 1901 structure looks like something out of a storybook. Inside, wooden rafters arch over pews, but the real prize is the Tiffany stained glass. The small space holds 25 original windows created by Louis Comfort Tiffany, son of Tiffany & Co. founder Charles Lewis Tiffany, and installed in the early 1900s. It’s the largest collection in the West—and when the sunlight filters in, it’ll take your breath away.
From the chapel, continue to Alden Park (8th St.). During Mare Island’s early naval years, Captain James Alden encouraged sailors to bring trees and plants back from their voyages. Today, the island has nearly 200 tree species from different continents and climates, many growing in and near Alden Park.
There are also vintage naval weapons here, including a Cold War-era ballistic missile and vintage cannons, along with several monuments. One of the newest honors the Mare Island Original 21ers, a group of Black shipyard workers who filed a racial-discrimination complaint with President Kennedy’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity in 1961. Their efforts helped change employment practices at Mare Island, throughout the Navy, and beyond.
From the park, head to the dry docks along the waterfront. They’re enormous, and it’s hard not to be impressed as you imagine the vessels floating in, the gates closing behind them, and the water pumping out so workers could make repairs below the waterline.
During World War II, Mare Island was considered one of the busiest shipyards in the world. Over its 142 years, workers built more than 500 naval vessels and overhauled thousands more. In 1918, Mare Island built the USS Ward in just 17-and-a-half days, a record that still stands today. Now is a particularly exciting time to visit the waterfront, where five historic ships formerly based at Hyde Street Pier are stationed while the San Francisco pier is under construction.
12pm: Mare Island Brewing Co.’s Coal Shed Brewery
Mare Island Brewing Co. is housed in an 1898 coal shed.
(Courtesy of Mare Island Brewing Co.)
After working up an appetite, stop for lunch at the Mare Island Brewing Co.'s Coal Shed Brewery (850 Nimitz Ave.), an 1898 building that stored the coal used to power Navy steamships. Two old shipyard rowboats hang above the bar, while barrels and picnic tables keep the industrial watering hole comfortable and casually cool. On a nice day, grab a spot in the outdoor beer garden overlooking the Mare Island Strait and enjoy a bite to eat—think shareable fries, salads, burgers, and sandwiches.
When it comes to beer, the brewery leans into Mare Island’s history. Favorites include Saginaw Golden Ale, named for the first ship built at Mare Island, and the Hydraulic Sandwich IPA, an old Yardbird phrase for a liquid lunch. If it’s available, try the Three Pigeons, inspired by the three homing pigeons that always accompanied Navy ships so crews could send messages back while heading out to sea. (Fun fact: The record distance traveled by pigeons returning to Mare Island was 452 miles.)
2pm: Hike the San Pablo Bay Trail
A view of the Mare Island Strait
(Courtesy of @marinislandcompany)
After lunch, hike along the shore on the San Pablo Bay Trail. Birders will especially appreciate this flat, 3.6-mile route, a hotspot on the Pacific Flyway. Keep an eye out for shorebirds like great blue herons and sanderlings, waterfowl like surf scoters and ruddy ducks, and raptors like osprey and peregrine falcons.
For something a little wilder, trek the Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve (Azuar Dr.). The open space on the southern end of Mare Island has more rugged trails that wind through grasslands and along ridgelines, offering spectacular views of San Pablo Bay.
4pm: One Last Drink
A whiskey tasting flight at Redwood Empire
(Courtesy of Redwood Empire)
Before leaving Mare Island, make one more stop for a drink. Vino Godfather Winery (1005 Walnut Ave. Ste. #500) offers an elegant atmosphere in an early-1900s mansion. A flight includes five small-batch wines, but you can also grab a glass or a bottle to share with friends inside the historic building or outside on the grand front porch.
Redwood Empire Whiskey Bar & Tasting Room (1095 Nimitz Ave.) opened in 2025 in a renovated historic shipyard building nearby. Exposed brick, light-filled windows, and black pipes overhead give the industrial space a polished look. Walk in for a dram and a light bite, or better yet, book a tour. John Muir’s quote, “The power of imagination makes us infinite,” which appears on the label of Redwood Empire’s Bourbon Whiskey, is particularly fitting here on Mare Island, a place that’s still reinventing itself more than 150 years after its naval founding.
