California's longest piers...

[Ken Jones]

The question in regard to the length of California's piers is one that has come up fairly often and there is a lot of misinformation out there. Here's the lengths —

Pier Length Comments

1. San Mateo Pier 4,135 feet Part of the old San Mateo Bridge — now closed
2. Berkeley Pier 3,000 feet An old pier originally used by cars to reach the Berkeley-San Francisco Ferry— now closed
3. Santa Cruz Wharf 2,745 feet Large old commercial wharf; shops, restaurants and fishing
4. Santa Monica Pier 2,000 feet Much of the shore end is over beach instead of water; used mainly for recreation
5. Ravenswood Pier 2,000 feet West end of old Dumbarton Bridge — now closed
6. Dumbarton Pier 2,000 feet East end of old Dumbarton Bridge
7. Ocean Beach Pier 1,971 feet Supposedly the longest concrete pier in the world
8. Ventura Pier 1,958 feet Supposedly the longest wooden pier in California
9. Stearns Wharf 1,950 feet Large commercial wharf; shops, restaurants and fishing
10. Oceanside Pier 1,942 feet Some sources say 1,950 feet
11. Seal Beach Pier 1,865 feet End section under reconstruction
12. San Francisco Muni 1,850 feet Could use some help (repair)
13. Huntington Beach Pier 1,830 feet
14. Avila Pier 1,685 feet Closed for indefinite time, may need to be totally rebuilt
15. Monterey Wharf #2 1,636 feet Large commercial wharf—Used by commercial fishing boats at the end, recreational anglers inshore.

(With pictures) — http://kenjonesfishing.com/2018/10/californias-longest-piers/

 

[sea++]

I had no idea about the San Mateo Pier-- probably because it was closed before I moved into the area-- but that's wild how long it was and given California's litigious climate, I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did considering its proximity to the bridge.

Most of these I've never been to outside SF Muni, Santa Monica, and Santa Cruz, though I've fond memories of my first time ocean fishing as a kid with my family at the Avila Pier during a summer trip to the coast.