Piers in San Diego

California has many historic fishing piers along its shoreline. For locals and tourists alike they are popular spots to rest at the end of the day and watch the sun go down. Sunset shots of California’s piers grace many websites, calendars, and computer desktop backgrounds. San Diego has some of the best piers in the state. Each one has a different look and a vibe all its own. Here are the piers in San Diego.

Ocean Beach Pier

Ocean Beach Pier is a long pier that can fit many people, but on sunny days it still seems crowded. It juts out to the NW from Ocean Beach City Beach and forms a fancy-shaped T at the end. Take some time to walk the entire pier if you make it to the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego.

Pacific Beach Pier (Crystal Pier)

This wooden pier is much shorter than the one in Ocean Beach, but it makes up for it with a classier beach scene and a hotel with cottages right on the pier (Crystal Pier Cottages). Surfers ride the break right next to the pier most of the time.

Scripps Pier

The Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier is great to photograph from Scripps Beach as there are typically few people to ruin your shot. But this pier is not open to the public. The best way to get here is by walking north from La Jolla Shores Beach.

Imperial Beach Pier

Imperial Beach Pier is located south of San Diego in Imperial Beach. It’s the southernmost pier on the US West Coast. Surfing is big in IB and you’ll notice lots of surf-themes and surfboard shapes here. They even have an outdoor surfboard “museum” nearby on Palm Ave. Surfers will probably be riding the waves just offshore from Imperial City Beach when you get here. A restaurant at the end of the pier and others nearby allow you to refuel and stay a while.

Oceanside Pier

Far to the north from San Diego is the pier in Oceanside. It splits the main city beach into Pier View North and Pier View South. If you walk to the end of the pier, you’ll find one of the many Ruby’s Diner Restaurants on or near piers in California. Like the others, this is surfing country so you’ll probably have some action to watch from Oceanside Pier. The Orange County Piers begin north of Camp Pendleton.

Many other piers and docks exist on San Diego Bay, but most are not open to the public or are undesirable to visit as they are industrial spaces. A few small piers can be seen at these locations: