A Stroll on the Oceanside Pier in Oceanside, California

The Oceanside Pier, in the northern end of town, is an intriguing place to visit, as most piers are.

Unlike the famous Santa Monica Pier (near Los Angeles) with its carnival rides, restaurants, and a wild collection of residents and tourists whenever you visit, the Oceanside Pier is more conservative.

There are no frills (although there is a restaurant at the end – Ruby’s – which offers great views of the ocean, sunsets, and the coastline in a 50’s-style diner atmosphere) and not much to see except the ocean, folks fishing, seagulls begging for handouts, pelicans diving for dinner, and perhaps marveling at the vastness of the sea. Halfway out the pier are restrooms, a bait and tackle shop and the lifeguard station.

The Oceanside Pier, at 1954 feet, is the longest wooden pier on the West Coast. The current version is the 6th, being built in 1988. The concrete ramp leading to the pier was built in 1925.

Four of the predecessors were at the same location, while the 1st, constructed in 1888, was built at the end of Wisconsin Avenue.

The pier has been a popular fishing spot for decades, and remains so, although I believe the quality of fishing is not as good as in the past.

[photo at right is, believe it or not, a shot of a pelican diving for fish - right in the middle of the photo but hard to see]

A neat thing to note is that there are names carved in all the railings the length of the pier. These represent concerned residents of Oceanside who contributed funds for the building of the current pier…a nice memory.

Hope you enjoy the visual tour.