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Bay Model Visitors Center
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District
2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA 94965 Phone: 415-332-3871
Neighborhood: Marinship. Website is here. Free parking in lot.
Insiders Tip: Although the address for the Bay Model Visitors Center is on Bridgeway, the building itself is actually located on Marinship Way, which splits off of Bridgeway and runs down a small hill to the building. The satellite photo at the bottom of this page shows the huge complex (including the new solar panels on the roof!), and the map below shows how Bridgeway and Marinship Way intersect.
Insiders Tip: The street that leads to the building has very little in the way of signs, and the facility just looks like an industrial building with a series of rounded roof areas until you reach the corner by the driveway. The entrance to the Bay Model faces the Bay and is shown in the photo at the top of this page. Once you get to the main parking lot you’ll see that side of the building.
Insiders Tip: The street in front of the Bay Model allows you to drive into the parking lot from either direction on Marinship Way, but you can only exit the Bay Model by turning south (turn left and go through the narrow parking lot as you drive between the buildings to exit the main parking area). If you’re going north after leaving here the street only takes you one block out of your way, and it’s easy to get back on Bridgeway.
The Bay Model: Saviors of the Bay
Click here to read how the Army Corps of Engineers created the Bay Model in the 1950s to save us from a real estate development scheme worthy of a Bond Villain! Without the Bay Model untold environmental damage might have irreparably harmed San Francisco Bay’s complex ecosystem.
Great Rainy Day Spot with the Kids!
When it’s raining the Bay Model is a sprawling place to visit that’s both dry and fascinating for kids. It’s not a place where kids get a chance to run, but they’ll do a lot of walking as they look at the multi-acre working model of San Francisco Bay.
Bay Model Hours
Current hours of operation are:
Tuesday – Saturday: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Closed Sunday, Monday and Holidays
Holidays
The Bay Model is closed on the following Holidays (and since specific days vary by year we recommend you call ahead if visiting close to a holiday to see when they will be open):
Memorial Day
June 18 – In honor of Juneteenth Holiday
4th of July
Columbus Day
Veteran’s Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Eve (Some years — call ahead to see if they’ll be open)
Christmas Day
New Year’s Eve (Some years — call ahead to see if they’ll be open)
New Year’s Day
Bay Model Admission Costs
Admission is free but there’s a donation box is in the lobby (and that donation is well deserved, since they’re teaching people to preserve the Bay we all depend upon).
Another reason to donate: See this link for how the Bay Model and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers helped save San Francisco Bay from a man-made disaster in the 1950’s!
A Fascinating Super-Sized Simulator
There’s a little-known reason “Why the Bay Model should win an international award for saving San Francisco Bay!” The facility was originally built in unused government buildings to evaluate different options for real estate development, new land creation by filling in shallow portions of the Bay, and different transportation and water storage ideas. Some of those ideas werwe downright irresponsible (OK, they were crazy) but it took the creation of the Bay Model to prove it.
The Bay Model and the Bay Model Visitor Center is a research and education facility built and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Inside is one of the most fascinating scientific tools you’ll ever see: a working hydraulic model of San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta Systems.
The Bay Model allows scientists, educators and visitors the chance to view the complete bay-delta system not just in 3D on a screen, but in three dimensions in real life, complete with real water and “real” tides and currents. It’s over two acres in size, a structure so immense you can’t comprehend it until you see it. The building that houses it would be larger than a full city block in many cities. Special walkways allow you to walk around in the middle of the model, not just at the edges.
What makes the model special is that its pipes and hydraulics make it a real simulation of the water environment of San Francisco Bay and the Delta. There are no glowing Disney-style cityscapes, just a highly accurate physical model that can be used to simulate the effects of everything from oil spills to upstream dams, and fromwater diversions to floods caused by global warming.
They have a regular cycle of special events and presentations. Tours are available for groups with advanced reservations, and can be tailored to the technical sophistication of the group. The Corps of Engineers also makes the Visitor Center available to scientific and educational groups for meetings and seminars under a set of written guidelines. For more information on group events call (415) 332-3871.
Insiders Tip: Because they’re part of the Army Corps of Engineers and are set up as a teaching institution the staff members at the Bay Model absolutely LOVE to answer questions. Ask them on site or call before you come and they’ll be great at responding, and it’s all free. If your kids are especially curious about the Bay this makes a visit here even more fun and fulfilling for everyone because of their great staff.
Below: An Army Corps of Engineers brochure for the Bay Model from 1958, shortly after it opened. (Click to enlarge).
