Alcatraz Recreation Yard

Visitors walking across the concrete recreation yard with steep wide stairs.

Kelvin Lim

Quick Facts

Amenities

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Scenic View/Photo Spot

The recreation yard is an outdoor area on the west side of D-Block next to the Dining Hall surrounded by a high wall and fence facing the mainland. Here, inmates were afforded a chance to relax, play games like baseball and exercise. Still, even in this welcome respite from the cellblock, the inmates were closely guarded. The yard was surrounded by a catwalk along the exterior walls where armed guards would watch the men at play, so 'relaxation' in this case, was a relative term.