• View of the Golden Gate Bridge, taken from the Marin Headlands, looking across the bay back towards San Francisco, seen in the distance.

    Golden Gate

    National Recreation Area California

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  • Tunnel to Marin Headlands Closed

    The tunnel on Bunker Road from Alexander Avenue in Sausalito towards the Marin Headlands is closed for construction. Please follow the detour signs to Conzelman Road (just above the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge) to go up over the hill. More »

  • Muir Beach (but not nearby Muir Woods) parking lot closed June-November 2013

    Muir Beach parking lot will be closed from June-November 2013 due to construction. Restrooms or nearby parking will not be available at Muir Beach during this period. Pacific Way is closed except to residents. Check back for updates or call (415)561-3054 More »

  • CAUTION: Post Storm Damage to Coastal Trail

    The Presidio Coastal Trail segment just north of the Pacific Overlook and adjacent to Lincoln Blvd remains CLOSED indefinitely. We have posted signage to alert bicyclists and hikers and with information for safe trail alternatives. More »

Fort Cronkhite

image of Fort Cronkhite

PARC, NPS

Fort Cronkhite, a former World War II military post located in the Marin Headlands, is the park's best preserved example of a World War II "mobilization post". Starting in 1939, the U.S. Army built hundreds of similar wood-frame, temporary military posts around the country for the wartime training and housing of soldiers. By some estimates, more than 100,000 of these buildings were constructed between 1940 and 1945.

The buildings at Fort Cronkhite, completed in 1941, are typical of thousands of wartime barracks, mess halls, supply buildings once constructed from coast to coast. Fort Cronkhite originally housed hundreds of Coast Artillery soldiers assigned to the army's sprawling Harbor Defenses of San Francisco. Their mission was to protect San Francisco Bay against enemy attack and during World War II, the soldiers manned gun batteries, radar sites, and other fortifications on the high ridges overlooking the fort.

 
photo of soldiers in front of a truck at Fort Cronkhite

To learn more about Fort Cronkhite history, download the Fort Cronkhite History Walk: A World War II Army Post that Helped Defend San Francisco (PDF file, 3.6 MB)

 
photo of Battery Townsley
Learn more about Battery Townsley, Fort Cronkhite's secret weapon.
 
soldier with bayonette in front of barracks
Learn about army life for Fort Cronkhite soldiers.
 
photo of construction of a wood-frame army building
Learn about the country's rapid World War II mobilization effort.
 
 
  • National Registry Travel Itinerary National Registry Travel Itinerary

    Learn more about World War II in the San Francisco Bay Area. Read More

  • San Francisco Seacoast Defenses San Francisco Seacoast Defenses

    Learn how San Francisco Bay has been defended for over 200 years. Read More

  • Marin Headlands Visitor Center Marin Headlands Visitor Center

    Learn about the resources and programs at the Marin Headlands Read More

Did You Know?

Lake Baikal tectonic travel decal with freshwater seal

Lake Baikal in Siberia first formed 25 million years ago, when a tectonic rift zone developed beneath the lake. Tectonic forces still are trying to tear apart Siberia.