Treasure Island sits in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, close enough to see the city skyline, Alcatraz, and the Bay Bridge from its waterfront, and on clear days, the Golden Gate Bridge too. Few places offer that view without ever leaving downtown behind.
Most visitors never make the stop, and neither do many longtime Bay Area residents. That’s starting to change.
Built for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, Treasure Island, San Francisco, spent the decades after as a naval base, closed to the public. Its waterfront parks, historic buildings, restaurants, wineries, and breweries have reopened, alongside newer additions like Gold Bar Distillery’s hands-on cocktail class inside the island’s Art Deco Administration Building. It’s a way into one of San Francisco’s least-visited corners.
Book the Whiskey Cocktail Class
Step behind the bar at Gold Bar’s 1930s Art Deco distillery on Treasure Island and make three full-size cocktails yourself, no experience required.
1 hour 20 minutes, rated Easy, no cocktail experience needed
Craft three full-size cocktails: an Old Fashioned, a Whiskey Sour, and a Paper Plane
Taste locally crafted whiskey with an expert mixologist guiding every step
Ages 21+, just a 6-minute scenic ferry ride from the SF Ferry Building
Why Treasure Island, San Francisco, Is Worth Rediscovering
Treasure Island San Francisco pairs Bay Area scenery with a history most visitors don’t expect. People come for the panoramic skyline views and the waterfront paths. They stay for the restaurants, wineries, breweries, and events that have opened here in recent years, and for something rarer: the chance to see San Francisco at a slower pace than the city itself usually allows.
You can spend an afternoon photographing the skyline, walking the waterfront, catching a live event in Building One, or sitting through Gold Bar Distillery’s hands-on cocktail class, which has drawn more than 700 five-star reviews and a Forbes feature since it opened. Each is a different way to step away from downtown’s crowds.
The history behind it is just as layered
Treasure Island was built in the late 1930s for the Golden Gate International Exposition, marking the completion of the Bay Bridge and San Francisco’s vision of its own future. Millions of visitors walked through its gardens and exhibit halls before the fair closed and history changed course.
When the United States entered World War II, the Navy took over. Treasure Island remained a military installation, largely closed to the public, for decades. It played a quiet role in American military history while dropping off the map for everyday visitors.
That chapter is ending. The waterfront is open again. So are the island’s historic buildings and the businesses now operating inside them. Many visitors still know Treasure Island only as the island under the Bay Bridge. By the end of an afternoon, most leave with a different picture of it.
Related read: Must See Art Museums in San Francisco
Inside the Historic Administration Building
From the outside, the Administration Building is a low white Art Deco structure from the 1930s, easy to underestimate until you’re through the doors.
The lobby’s east wall carries a 251-foot mural, painted in 1976 by artist Lowell Nesbitt to mark the American Bicentennial. It traces Navy and Marine Corps history in the Pacific back to 1813 across eleven separate scenes, originally installed for a Navy-Marine Corps museum that closed in 1997. Visitors still stop mid-conversation to take it in.
Turn right toward Gold Bar Distillery and the atmosphere shifts. Gold Bar occupies the far end of the lobby, copper stills rising through greenery and gold-accented bottles lit from below. Low jazz plays under the clink of ice against glass. The room feels like a 1930s lounge that happens to make whiskey.
Almost everything about the class traces back to this building: the stories the instructors tell, the Art Deco details around the bar. Even the light through the windows feels like part of it.
Experiencing Treasure Island Through Gold Bar
Treasure Island rewards a full afternoon more than a quick stop. A waterfront walk, an hour or two inside the Administration Building, lunch with a Bay view, all of it adds up. Gold Bar Distillery sits at the center of that afternoon, where the island’s history and architecture are hardest to separate from each other.
Gold Bar built its tasting room around the building’s Art Deco bones instead of just moving into the space. The cocktail classes work the same way: local history and basic bartending technique, wrapped around spirits that Forbes has called award-winning.
The instructors use the cocktails to tell the island’s story. Recipes come second. Guests learn what happened here while mixing drinks inside a building that watched most of it happen.
For a lot of visitors, this class is the moment the island clicks. They arrive treating Treasure Island as a stop on the way somewhere else. They leave planning to come back on their own.
The Cocktail Class Experience
The class starts before anyone pours a drink. Guests introduce themselves around the bar and run through the basics of making a good cocktail, no experience required. Each drink gets demonstrated step by step, so people leave able to shake and stir the same recipes at home.
Stories about the island’s history and the spirits themselves fill the gaps between pours. History does most of the work a straight mixology lesson wouldn’t.
One moment repeats in almost every class. Someone admits, quietly, that they don’t really drink whiskey or gin.
Then they taste the cocktail they made.
A pause, then usually a smile: “I didn’t think I’d like whiskey or gin this much.” Instructors hear some version of that line constantly.
By the final toast, ninety minutes has changed the room. Strangers are comparing cocktails and taking photos. Some are already swapping recommendations for the rest of their San Francisco trip.
What sticks afterward tends to be oddly specific. Someone remembers the mural by the front doors. Most people remember making something themselves, standing next to someone who was a stranger an hour earlier.
Every instructor runs the class differently. Some lead with history, others with technique or plain storytelling, but the room ends up in the same place either way: people leave talking about Treasure Island as much as the drinks they made.
Travel Dudes partners with local operators to help you book experiences mentioned in this article.
Book the Whiskey Cocktail Class
Step behind the bar at Gold Bar’s 1930s Art Deco distillery on Treasure Island and make three full-size cocktails yourself, no experience required.
1 hour 20 minutes, rated Easy, no cocktail experience needed
Craft three full-size cocktails: an Old Fashioned, a Whiskey Sour, and a Paper Plane
Taste locally crafted whiskey with an expert mixologist guiding every step
Ages 21+, just a 6-minute scenic ferry ride from the SF Ferry Building
Planning Your Treasure Island Afternoon
Plan on five or six hours if you want the island, not just the class.
Walk the waterfront first. The paths along Avenue of the Palms and through Cityside Park line up the same views from the intro, the skyline, Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge, sometimes the Golden Gate, just from different angles. With extra time and a short climb, Yerba Buena Island next door has Panorama Park, which opened in 2024 with 360-degree bay views and Hiroshi Sugimoto’s sculpture “Point of Infinity.”
Eat before your class. Gold Bar runs a full food menu inside Building One. Mersea, a short walk away, does casual waterfront dining if you’d rather eat somewhere else first.
Don’t rush off after class either. Finish your drink and keep talking if the conversation’s still going. Or just stand outside and watch the light change over the Bay. Watching the Bay Bridge lights come on against the skyline is worth staying for.
Most places get remembered for one thing. Treasure Island tends to stick with people for how the pieces fit: the views, the history, the food, the conversation that started with strangers at a bar. That’s the part that stays with you after you’ve driven back across the Bay Bridge.
Practical Information
Getting There
Treasure Island is easily reached from downtown San Francisco by car, rideshare, Muni, or the Treasure Island Ferry. Gold Bar Distillery is located inside the historic Administration Building, just a short walk from the island’s waterfront parks and viewpoints.
Timing
Cocktail classes run approximately 80 to 90 minutes and are offered throughout the week. Whiskey, gin, and seasonal experiences are available on different days, so it’s worth checking the schedule before booking.
What to Bring
Comfortable shoes are helpful if you plan to explore the waterfront or hike to Panorama Park, and it’s always a good idea to bring a light jacket. Even on warm afternoons, the breeze coming off the Bay can make Treasure Island feel noticeably cooler than downtown San Francisco.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the cocktail class suitable for beginners?
Absolutely. The class is designed for all experience levels, whether you’ve never picked up a cocktail shaker before or already enjoy mixing drinks at home. Instructors guide guests through each cocktail step by step, making the experience approachable and fun.
What if I don’t drink whiskey or gin?
Many guests arrive convinced they don’t enjoy one spirit or the other, only to discover that a well-balanced cocktail completely changes their perspective. Non-alcoholic mocktail options are also available, allowing non-drinking guests to participate in every hands-on part of the experience.
Is Treasure Island worth visiting if I’m only in San Francisco for a few days?
Definitely. If you’re spending several days exploring San Francisco, Treasure Island offers a different perspective on the city. Between its waterfront views, fascinating history, and unique experiences like Gold Bar’s cocktail class, it’s an easy and memorable addition to almost any itinerary.
