Pier 39 - I wished I knew there were Sea Lions here on our last visit!

Pier 39 - Fisherman's Wharf, San Fransisco

After I got off the ferry from the Port of  Oakland  to San Fransisco, I was going to rent a bike to ride around and explore the nearby parks and attractions. Since I was traveling alone most of the time, I needed to be aware of getting back to the hotel before it got dark.

I decided to stay close to the Holiday Inn vicinity  and  explore what Fisherman's Wharf had to offer. The San Fransisco waterfront  is a sizable area and there are many piers numbered from 1 to 41 ( The highest numbered pier I saw was 41, there might be a Pier 43, not sure.)

The Busiest Pier at Fisherman's Wharf -  Pier 39

If you are making plans to meet with friends at the pier, you'd better ask them what is the number of the pier. Because if you don't know the number , you would have a hard time finding the right pier.

A live family performance 

Walking along the Embarcadero Ave from the downtown area where Pier One starts, one can walk all the way to Pier 41 and at each pier, it offers something different. Some Pier offers a market place where visitors can shop while other piers offer restaurants and outdoor dining areas for food and drinks.

The busiest piers have to be Pier 33 - The Alcatraz Landing where tourists board the ferry and visit the Island Alcatraz and  Pier 39.

Pier 39 is a pretty outdoor shopping and  dining area with a boardwalk linking all the shops and retail space along the water. If you are looking for jewellery and decorations made with shells, this is the place; or you can purchase your own clam and pry it open for a real pearl inside its shells for $$14.99-19.99.

There are lots of restaurants where one could dine, have a beer, cool off with an ice cream, satisfy your hunger with delicious chowder and Californian seafood, admire creative art work, listen to some good music form both inside the bars and restaurants or from the street musicians performing at the entrance to Pier 39. Visitors could catch a free live children's performance behind the stage of the carousel. There were a lot of people visiting the day I was there.

A great place to view the San Fransisco Bay

For youngsters needing something more adventurous,  Pier 39 has a carousal and other rides.

For photographers, there is a spacious viewing platform where visitors could have an excellent view of the San Fransisco Bay, the Bay Bridge, the Alcatraz and their surrounding areas.

The most exciting discovery for me

was coming across the Marine Mammal Centre at Pier 39 by chance.

There seemed to be something exciting going on at the dock area as I saw lots of people congregating and leaning against the railing looking at something out on the water.

As I walked closer, I was pleasantly surprised to find a hundred or so sea lions laying on the docks, enjoying the sunshine and sleeping on top of one another and making noises at the same time.

Sea Lions resting/ sleeping on the docks at  Pier 39

It was most interesting watching such a large number of sea lions in their natural habitat interacting with each other in a non captive environment.











The baby sea lions nuzzling against their parents while the older ones jumping into the water for a dip from time to time.

These sea lions have been swimming to and staying on the docks at Pier 39  on their own free will since the early 1990's.

Fisherman's Wharf at Dusk

Pier 39 - A great place for a family outing especially those members who love animals!

Another bonus for visiting Pier 39 - there is no admission charges for watching the sea lions! This is a free attraction for the whole family.


Visitorscan stay here as long as they want watching the sea lions interacting with each other and observing their behaviour.

I wish we knew about this when we were last time.We missed all these great family attractions. Our two sons would have really loved it!


R.T. ,  Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf
San Fransisco, California