Recreation Yard, Prison exercise area in Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, United States.

The Recreation Yard is a raised concrete yard at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, northwest of D-Block and beside the Dining Hall. A high wall and fence enclose it, with Guard Tower #3 to the west and a gun gallery mounted on the dining hall wall.

The dirt yard was paved in 1936. In May 1946, inmates planned to seize the yard key, kill tower guards and use hostages as shields to reach the dock, in Alcatraz's most violent escape attempt. In 1970, 400 to 700 Native Americans gathered here during the occupation.

In 1938 the yard fielded eight teams: the Bees, Oaks, Oilers and Seals, named after Minor League clubs, plus the Cardinals, Cubs, Giants and Tigers. Lorenzo Murrietta batted .402 with nine home runs for the Cardinals; Volney Davis pitched for the Oilers.

Inmates were let out on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays for at most five hours; kitchen workers who worked all seven days got short weekday breaks. Badly behaved prisoners could lose their weekend yard access. The basketball markings painted on the concrete are still visible today.

The yard faces the mainland, so inmates could see San Francisco across the bay. Machine Gun Kelly and Basil "The Owl" Banghart were said to be inseparable there, walking the yard together in conversation the whole time.