Fleet Week Returns to the Bay: A Quick Guide to Getting There

The annual Fleet Week celebration is here. More than 1 million people are expected to flock to San Francisco this weekend to see Navy ships and the aerial spectacle of stunt pilots, parachutists and jets.

On Saturday and Sunday, the air shows will run from noon to 4 p.m., with the Navy’s Blue Angels making their grand entrance at 3 p.m. The show will be visible all along the waterfront from the Ferry Building to the Golden Gate Bridge. (See a list of Fleet Week events happening this weekend here.)

In addition, the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival will be drawing its own crowds to Golden Gate Park, making getting around the city this weekend tough. To prepare for the numbers, transit agencies are ramping up ferry, bus, BART and Caltrain services.

San Francisco Bay Ferry will operate expanded schedules from Alameda, Oakland and Vallejo to the San Francisco Ferry Building.

Caltrain will increase its services before and after the events on Saturday and Sunday.

BART will also reportedly run expanded train services and “special event” trains.

And Muni will provide extra services to the North Beach, Russian Hill and Treasure Island neighborhoods, starting Friday.

If you do plan on driving, keep in mind that Jefferson Street between Hyde Street and the westerly terminus will be closed from 6 a.m. on Friday until 6 p.m. on Sunday, meaning public transit might be a wise choice.