Swim Alcatraz and more…
World-Class Open Water Swimming
with the Bay’s Most Experienced Team
Swim Alcatraz in 2026
$279 Alcatraz Swims • Small Groups • Professionally Guided
Escape from Alcatraz with the SF Bay’s most experienced swim operator. For $279, you get a small group, pace matched Alcatraz swim with professional oversight and a clear safety plan. Our swims are led by USCG Master Captains using our own modern fleet. We have been swimming in San Francisco Bay for over 20 years and guiding Alcatraz swims professionally since 2017. We do this daily. No one runs more Alcatraz swims than we do.
With 90 plus Alcatraz group swims in 2026 and more than 80 planned for 2027, we offer frequent, professionally run Alcatraz, Golden Gate, Bridge to Bridge 10km, and other swims year round. Solo, private, and custom swims are also available. Some swimmers come alone. Others bring friends or mark a milestone. Either way, it is done right.
Let’s Chat About Your Swim
Every swim starts here.
Share your experience and availability, and we will recommend the best swim for you.
Quick form. Fast response. Clear next steps.
Swimming Is Our Only Business
We Don’t Do This on the Side.
This is what we do. Every day.
Epic Swims, Every Day.
Small-group. Pace-matched. Professionally guided
Since 2017, Pacific Open Water Swim Co. has guided thousands of swimmers across Alcatraz and dozens of other Bay and Tahoe courses. Our swims are led by USCG Master Captains using our own vessels, built and operated specifically for open water swimming. We focus on precision, local knowledge, and doing this the right way, every time.
An eight minute look at how we swim San Francisco Bay and Lake Tahoe. Real conditions. Real swims. No staging.
The only thing better is being out there with us. Turn the volume up.
Dozens of Great SF Swims Available…
Alcatraz Swims
Experience the thrill of Alcatraz with six unforgettable swim routes, each carefully timed to match the Bay’s shifting currents and calm morning waters. From the iconic Alcatraz Escape to scenic routes with sweeping views of San Francisco, every swim delivers a one-of-a-kind adventures.
Other SF Swims
Enjoy San Francisco Bay’s diverse and breathtaking beauty with our super-fun, challenging courses, each offering a unique adventure. Bridge-to-Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, the challenging Angel Island Circumnavigation, incredible night swims, and many, many more.
Marathon Swimming
Swimmers training for the English Channel, Catalina, Lake Tahoe, and other major goals come to us every season. With proven conditions and expert guidance, we’ll help you prepare. We also regularly pilot the 10-mile Round-Trip Angel Island, one of the Bay’s most demanding swims.
Swimmer Reviews
What It’s Like to Swim With Us
Unfiltered feedback from recent swims.
Visiting San Francisco?
Make It a Swim You’ll Never Forget.
If you’re traveling to San Francisco and want to swim Alcatraz, this is the easiest way to do it.
We run more Alcatraz swims than anyone, with over 90 scheduled each year, plus 150 plus swims on other San Francisco Bay routes. Swims run year round, most mornings. If you’re flying in for business or a short stay, we’ll match your travel window with the right Alcatraz or Bay swim based on your pace, experience, and goals.
Whether you’re in town for a few days or just one morning, start with our Arrange a Swim form. It takes a few minutes and helps us recommend the best available Alcatraz swim or alternate course while you’re visiting San Francisco.
All swims are professionally guided by USCG Master Captains using our own boats, with small, pace matched groups. These are real open water swims in San Francisco Bay, not sightseeing tours.
Marathon Swimming
We train marathon swimmers. We pilot marathon swims.
This is not an add on. This is the core of our work.
Our programs are built for serious swimmers, from 2, 4, 6, and 8 plus hour training swims to official 6 hour qualifiers in sub 60°F/15°C water. Training is structured, deliberate, and led by people who have done the swims themselves.
We operate some of San Francisco Bay’s most demanding marathon routes, including Round Trip Angel Island at 10 miles, Four Islands at 14 miles, and the 21-mile Circumnavigation of San Francisco. We have piloted more marathon swims in the Bay than any other operator, including 60+ Round Trip Angel Island completions with a 94%+ success rate.
Since 2017, we have piloted more than 410 marathon swims across San Francisco Bay, Lake Tahoe, and the California coast.
We did not add marathon swimming to our business. We built the business for marathon swimming.
More Iconic Swims
Swim the Golden Gate Bridge, Bridge to Bridge, Angel Island, and beyond
We operate a wide range of San Francisco Bay courses, from flat water training swims and night swims to Prison to Prison, the 21 mile Circumnavigation of San Francisco, offshore routes, and long distance marathon courses. Options are matched to experience, pacing, and conditions.
Whether this is your first open water swim or preparation for a channel crossing, we can place you on the right course.
We are swimmers ourselves and design these courses around real conditions, real pacing, and real outcomes.
There are few city skylines as iconic and beautiful as San Francisco’s.
Bridge to Bridge finish, 10 km from the Golden Gate Bridge to Bay Bridge. . Typical completion time, 90 to 120 minutes. There’s nothing like swimming with a favorable current!
Kara and Nate’s Alcatraz Adventure on YouTube
Watch Kara and Nate complete their first Alcatraz swim. The swim was guided by our team, with a structured training plan and optional angel swimmers supporting two fit but novice open water swimmers.
The video has been viewed more than 4.2 million times and briefly trended in YouTube’s Top 10. The tone is more dramatic than we would normally choose, but it shows what is possible with proper preparation, pacing, and professional support.
A useful watch for anyone considering their first Alcatraz swim.
Thinking About a Swim?
Exploring Options? Let’s Talk.
You don’t need to have everything figured out to start. Whether you’re planning ahead, checking readiness, or narrowing down options, this is where it begins.
Tell us a bit about your experience, pace, and goals. We’ll explain what’s realistic, how the process works, and which swims make sense for you. Straight answers from people who do this every day.
1400th Alcatraz swim by Stevie Ray - 26 years in the making.
It was marked by Stevie giving thanks and remembering those who swam over the years and are no longer with us - Bob Roper, Andy Fields, John Hathaway, Dianna Shuster, Chris Bruno, Wayne Black, Trudy Molino, Rosemary McNally, Pedro, Darren Connelly, Jeff Cooperman, Elizabeth Glass, Pat Cuneen, Aaron Burby. JC… they were on the water with us and smiling on a life being well lived - with friends, family, and being grateful.
Stevie and his fellow swim criminals (Kristine Buckley 1212 Alcatraz swims, Gary Emich 1,000+), Paul Saab, Sarah Roberts, Carol Merryfield, Susan Blue, Miriam Hiser, Lisa Serebin, Laura Hovden, Suzanne Greva, and Sean Johnson joined in the milestone swim.
#swimalcatraz #alcatrazswim #coldwaterswimming #openwaterswimming #sfbayarea
Well done, Stevie! What an achievement. 🫶🏼 Another fine day out with the ASS’ in some toasty February water. 55.9°F, currently +3.9° higher than the 24-year average. 🙌🏼
22 Seconds of ASS’?
55.9°F water, +3.9°F over 24-yr average. 🤔
A Bay Bridge to Golden Gate Bridge swim - 6.2 miles in 1:37 for a winning Friday! The outgoing tide gave quite a ride! Swimmers in for the 24-hour relay swim took the opportunity for a warm-up the day before. A fun way to start an epic weekend! #openwaterswimming #coldwaterswimming #bridgetobridgeswim
Make it a good day! The sun is out and we’re having unusually warm water temps for early February. Let’s get out for a swim! #openwaterswimming #coldwaterswimming #sfbayarea
Good morning 🌞 55°F water temps and sunny. Do something cool today! #sfbayarea #openwaterswimming #coldwaterswimming
Throwback Thursday, again, 2019.
This is a long play, old school cut. Two minutes. No rush. Let it run.
This was the first time we ever attempted this 10 km San Francisco marathon course. We misread the current, about six and a half years ago now, and Suzanne Heim Bowen paid for it in the water. She stayed with it and finished the full 10 km in 4 hours and 12 minutes. The time shown in the video is incorrect.
Two years later she came back. Same course. Sharper read. Clean execution. Pure SHB style.
2 hours and 48 minutes.
That time still stands as the record for this cross current 10 km swim, observed and ratified by Bradley Robinson of the Northern California Open Water Swimming Association.
Watch this because it is honest. Early mistakes. Real conditions. A swimmer who understood the assignment and came back to do it right.
This course is available to swim this season. It is a serious but doable first marathon swim for the right swimmer, and a beautiful one.
Clinics and Coaching
A Full Service Swimming Operation
Our stroke clinics and private coaching are led by full time, certified professionals who are also experienced channel and marathon swimmers. These are not part time instructors or hobbyists. Coaches here have done the swims and understand what preparation actually requires.
Coaching ranges from focused stroke and skills clinics to private sessions, structured marathon training, and longer form education. Programs are practical, individualized, and built around real conditions, not pool only assumptions.
If you are refining technique, building endurance, or preparing for a specific swim, we provide clear guidance, realistic planning, and consistent support.
Real time instruction focused on efficiency, form, and open water specific skills.
Open Water Swimming, Done Right
Built by swimmers. Run every day.
Founded in 2017, Pacific Open Water Swim Co. operates professionally escorted open water swims in San Francisco Bay and Lake Tahoe. We have supported more than 410 marathon swims and over one thousand small group swims, including Alcatraz, Bridge to Bridge, and long distance Bay courses.
All swims are led by USCG licensed Master Captains and supported by trained crew. Operations are designed specifically for open water swimming in high traffic, high consequence environments.
One of our Axopar 28 escort vessels, purpose built and custom configured for open water swimming. Finnish designed hull, modern marine electronics, and low emission engines. Fast, stable, and set up specifically for safe, professional swimmer support in San Francisco Bay.