Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center, Gift Shop & Ranger Station
(Formerly called the Golden Gate Bridge Pavilion, or Bridge Visitors Pavilion)
This building also serves as the de facto GGNRA Ranger Station for the park areas at this end of the bridge.
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA 94129 (See Map Below)
Phone (415) 426-5220
Golden Gate Bridge Address for your GPS app: The Golden Gate Bridge and the facilities in Strauss Plaza have no street address, just “Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco 94129.” Users trying to add features to Google Maps have confused this area and Vista Point on the Sausalito side of the Golden Gate, and the best search term on your phone will be “Welcome Center Golden Gate Bridge.”
The Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center (which includes the gift shop and part-time Ranger Station) is located in Strauss Plaza, adjacent to the Southeast Parking Lot and South Vista Point. As you can see in the video above it’s also a beautiful bridge view area.
The building contains a gift shop with everything from inexpensive souvenirs to higher priced items like beautifully framed photos. The shop was relocated from the much smaller Round House, just up the hill, which was re-converted into its original function as a cafe when the new Welcome Center was built in 2012.
The Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center also features a Ranger Station and information desk with park rangers right by the front door, as described below. At hours when park rangers are not assigned to this desk volunteer docents are often there to offer help. We all get a little cynical at times about gift shops at popular destinations, but here the public service portion of the building is front and center.
The Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center Information Desk
The Rangers and Docents who staff this desk at the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center have maps and pamphlets and will answer questions about the entire area, not just the Golden Gate Bridge.
Vending Machines, Snack Shop & Cafe
A small building called the The Golden Gate Bridge Cafe (originally called the Bridge Stop when it opened in 2012), located directly across from the Welcome Center, houses vending machines with drinks and snacks. During business hours they also have a small snack shop staffed by pleasant people that sells doughnuts, pastries and hot coffee.
The Round House Cafe (closed by the pandemic as of Summer 2021, but slated for a 2022 reopening as an Equator Coffee Shop) serves fast food and coffee, and is located just up the steps to the right of the Bridge Cafe, adjacent to the Toll Plaza. It opened in 1938, exactly one year after the Bridge was opened to traffic, and is a wonderful example of its original Art Deco design.
