I had the pleasure during a business trip to San Francisco to be able to stay over for the weekend after business had been taken care of.  San Francisco is a beautiful city of much renown but to a rocket-head, there is only one weekend destination to see: SF-88, the historic Nike Missile Site.

Located in the Marin Headlands near Fort Barry, on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge and the beautiful bay that it spans, SF-88 is nestled in the hills facing the ocean where it enjoys a wide-angled view of any unforeseen danger to the city. 

The front gate of SF-88 Nike Missile Site.

The Nike Missile Site was a primary line of defense against foreign agression targeting the United States within our borders.  The star of the show there was the Nike Hercules solid propellant-fueled surface-to-air missile (SAM).

The Nike-Hercules SAM, designation MIM-14, was used by US and allied armed forces for high and medium-altitude strategic air defense. It could also be configured to be used in surface-to-surface situations. The Nike-Hercules system, a follow-up to the Nike-Ajax missile, was developed during the Cold War to destroy enemy bombers and their formations, as well as serve as an anti-ballistic missile system.

A Nike-Hercules sits ready on the pad. You can see a number of these at the site on the launcer like this and underground.

After it became apparent that the greatest overall threat to our national defense was from long-range missiles and not bombers, most Nike-Hercules units were deactivated.

Nike-Hercules missile batteries in the continental United States, with the exception of the ones in Florida and Alaska, were all deactivated by early 1974 with the remaining units deactivated sometime in 1979.

Many former Nike sites still exist around the country, although only a few have been preserved, with this one being maintained as a national park.

The attraction of this site for a rocketry roadtrip is that they have complete Nike-Hercules and Nike-Ajax missiles along with their launcher systems in a native setting for you to snap as many pictures as you want.  This is a must see for scale data freaks. 

To get to the site, go north out of San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge, and take the exit for Alexander Avenue.  Bear to the right and turn left on Bunker Road. 

This is a satellite photograph pieced together from a number of Google Maps images to give you an overall aerial view.

Bunker Road will go back under the interstate and after a short trip through a tunnel under the mountain, you follow its winding path until you reach a fork in the road where it intersects with Field Road.  Within a few thousand feet, you will see the entrance to the site.  When you see a bright red sign with yellow lettering on it that says "Battery A Launching Area", you know you've arrived.

From the front gate, the drive down to the first group of buildings runs along a narrow drive that parallels Field Road.  The first building on your right is the Assembly Building, where the missile main body and guidance sections were serviced from rolling dollies.

Straight ahead of you is the Warhead Building.  Here all the missiles were assembled.  The main body and guidance sections were mated to the warheads, and the sustainer motors were installed.  From there, it was a short trip to the storage magazine beneath the launchers.

Site SF-88L has two storage magazines. Each holds six missiles and serviced four missile launchers. The main part of the storage magazine is 49' long and 60' wide. There is a small control room that is located behind several blast-proof doors where the launcher crew would control the launch of the missiles, as well as control the raising and lowering of the launchers.

The site has been maintained in near-operational condition, so the motorized magazine lifts are still workable, and on the guided tour the tour guide will give you a demonstration of the missiles being moved from the magazine up to the launch area.  You get to go down in the "pit" as it's called and see the elevators in action.

Nike Missile Site SF-88 is open for guided tours from Wednesday to Friday of every week from 12:30 PM till 3:30 PM. Tours start every half hour, with the last tour leaving at 3:00 PM. Or, you can attend an open house of all areas of the site on the first Sunday of each month from 12:30 PM till 3:30 PM.

For those interested, I have included a Google Maps link to Nike Missile Site SF-88 with the longitude and latitude already in place.

BONUS PICTURES: Nike Missile Site SF-88 Slideshow!

Nike Missile Site SF-88
Golden Gate National Park
San Francisco, California
Telephone: (415) 331-1453

Website: http://www.nps.gov/goga/nike-missile-site.htm

DIRECTIONS

If you're coming from the South:
Traveling north on route 101, after crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, take the Alexander Avenue exit, then turn right. Travel approximately 100 yards, through a cut in the mountain, then take the first left. Continue for about 200 yards to a tunnel. See below for directions once you exit the tunnel.

If you're coming from the North:
Traveling south on route 101, take the last exit (Sausalito) before the Golden Gate Bridge. Turn right onto the frontage road then proceed under the freeway approximately 200 yards, through a cut in the mountain, then take the first left. Continue for about 200 yards to a tunnel.

After exiting the tunnel:
Continue west on Bunker Road for approximately 2.5 miles. You will reach a fork in the road. Veer to the left on Field Road. About 150 yards after the fork you will see the Marin Headlands Visitor Center on your right. Site SF-88L will be the first right you come to beyond the Visitor Center parking lot. It's about a quarter mile up the hill to our gate.