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Brannan Island State Recreation Area is located in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This area northeast of San Francisco Bay has countless islands and marshes with many wildlife habitats and many opportunities for recreation-including boating, windsurfing, and swimming. One of the outstanding water-oriented recreation areas in the world, the area offers great fishing, which includes striped bass, sturgeon, catfish, bluegill, perch, and bullhead. Little Frank's Tract, a protected wetland marsh, is home to beaver, muskrat, river otter, mink, and 76 species of birds.

In the middle of San Francisco Bay sits Angel Island State Park, offering spectacular views of the San Francisco skyline, the Marin Headlands and Mount Tamalpais. The island is also alive with history. Three thousand years ago the island was a fishing and hunting site for Coastal Miwok Indians. It was later a haven for Spanish explorer Juan de Ayala, a cattle ranch, and a U.S. Army post. From 1910 to 1940, the island processed thousands of immigrants. During World War II, Japanese and German POWs were held on the island, which was also used as a jumping-off point for American soldiers returning from the Pacific. In the '50s and '60s, the island was home to a Nike missile base. Today, there are two active Coast Guard stations - at Point Blunt and Point Stuart - on the island. Angel Island became a State Park in 1958.

Once the site of a thriving fishing village on San Pablo Bay, China Camp State Park is not only the historic remains of the village, but also 1,640 acres of natural watershed along the shores of San Francisco Bay. The park features extensive inter-tidal, salt marsh, meadow and oak habitats that are home to a variety of wildlife, including deer, squirrels and numerous birds. Visitors not only enjoy wildlife-watching, but also hiking, swimming, boating and windsurfing. The park has some of the best weather in the San Francisco Bay Area, with an average of more than 200 fog-free days per year.