At 1,850 feet in length, the Huntington Beach Pier is one of the longest public piers on the West Coast of the United States, and it is located at the west end of Main Street. Huntington Beach is also known as Surf City, USA, and the pier is the center of the city's prominent beach culture. The Huntington Beach Pier is frequented by sport fishermen as well as surfing spectators.
To make this list, a California beach city needed an ocean pier open to walkers and a published length for that pier, and we ranked the five by length, longest first. We left out the Oceanside Pier and the Santa Cruz Wharf. On April 25, 2024, a major fire broke out at the far end of the Oceanside Pier, and on December 23, 2024, an approximately 150-foot section at the end of the Santa Cruz Wharf collapsed due to high waves.
The Huntington Beach Pier is a popular meeting place for surfers, and the ocean waves there are enhanced by the edge-diffraction of open-ocean swells around Catalina Island, creating consistent surf year-round. Construction of a new 1,856-foot pier began in October 1990, and the pier was completed and re-dedicated on 18 July 1992. The design of the present-day Huntington Beach Pier replicates the architectural form of the 1914 design. The pier slopes gently up toward the seaward end in a straight line which alternates with three octagonal platforms and one rotated square that forms a diamond at the seaward end. Strolling the pier is a popular pastime for both local residents and visitors. The annual U.S. Open of Surfing is held on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier every summer, and it typically lasts one week. The Surfing Walk of Fame and the Surfers' Hall of Fame are both located directly across from the Huntington Beach Pier on Main Street. Huntington Beach also hosts an Annual Pier Swim and Rough Water Swim in which participants swim around the pier.
The Santa Monica Pier has a total length of 1,651.5 feet. The Santa Monica Pier is a large pier at the foot of Colorado Avenue, and it contains a small amusement park, concession stands, and areas for views and fishing. The current Santa Monica Pier is made up of two adjoining piers, and the long, narrow one of the two opened September 9, 1909. The pier contains Pacific Park, a family amusement park with its solar panelled Ferris wheel. On May 25, 1996, the Santa Monica Pier welcomed Pacific Park, the first new attraction since the 1930s. The pier also has an original carousel hippodrome from the 1920s, the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, shops, entertainers, a video arcade, a trapeze school, pubs and restaurants. The Philadelphia Toboggan Company built the Carousel in 1922. The Carousel features 44 hand-carved horses. The west end of the Santa Monica Pier is a popular location for anglers, and the pier has been used as a filming location for many decades.
The Ventura Pier, previously known as the Ventura Wharf and the San Buenaventura Wharf, is a wooden pier on the Pacific Ocean in Ventura, California, and it is the oldest pier in California. The Ventura Pier was first built in 1872 and served for many years as a transportation hub and commercial wharf. The current length of the Ventura Pier is 1,600 feet. Today the Ventura Pier is used for fishing and as a pedestrian walkway. The pier is popular for walking, jogging, and bicycling and has views of the City of Ventura and the Channel Islands National Park, especially Anacapa and Santa Cruz Islands. Species caught from the Ventura Pier include jacksmelt, mackerel, sand sharks, perch, croaker, stingrays, Tom cod, halibut, and crabs. No fishing license is required to fish from the Ventura Pier. Evening views from the Ventura Pier include sunsets and stargazing.
The Newport Pier is in the city of Newport Beach, California. The other ocean pier on the Balboa Peninsula is the Balboa Pier. The Newport Pier is 1,032 feet long, built to a water depth of 25 feet. The original pier was known as McFadden Wharf when it was completed in the summer of 1888 by local landowners James and Robert McFadden. The current pier was reconstructed on the same site in 1940, and it is located at Oceanfront Boulevard and 21st Place and is popular for angling, strolling and dining. At the base of the Newport Pier is the Dory Fishing Fleet, a beachside fishing cooperative founded in 1891.
The Manhattan Beach Pier is 928 feet long and located at the end of Manhattan Beach Boulevard. The Manhattan Beach Pier was completed and dedicated on July 5, 1920, and it is the oldest standing concrete pier on the West Coast. The pier was restored to its 1920s appearance and a dedication ceremony was held in 1992. An octagonal Mediterranean-style building sits at the end of the Manhattan Beach Pier and houses the Roundhouse Aquarium. The Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab and Aquarium is free to the public, and it includes a shark tank and a tide pool touch tank with animals common to Southern California. Surfers usually can be seen below the Manhattan Beach Pier, and the pier is popular with locals, tourists, photographers, and artists and for fishing. The pier is known for barred surfperch fishing. The Manhattan Beach Pier also includes the Volleyball Walk of Fame, featuring plaques dedicated to past winners of the Manhattan Beach Open beach volleyball tournament. Where You LIVE.