So here we are at the Santa Monica pier, first among equals in the fine list of piers that I’ve been visiting along the Pacific Coast. It’s not just a pier. It’s a major entertainment zone with a shopping area and an amusement park highlighted by the famous Santa Monica Pier Carousel.

The pier area is a tourist attraction by itself. Of course, everything in California happens on a jumbo scale, and the crush of people attracted to the pier is just incredible. Open 24/7, 365 days a year, with free admission and $7 per day parking right on the pier deck and additional parking available on the beach front.  

With multiple attractions competing for your attention, it’s a bit difficult to look upon it as just another pier with a clear view of the ocean, a nice walk and some fishing. The restaurants, the shopping, the people, the giant ferris wheel in Pacific Park, the beach parties, the drivein movies, the twilight dance series concerts - And heck, even a pier acquarium. It’s a non-stop assault on the senses. But I’ll try to ignore the rest of it and just focus on the pier, since we’re basically on a pier tour.

The Santa Monica pier, or piers (Municipal and Newcomb) has a full length of 2000 feet, and extends about 1000 feet into the water. The first 1000 feet features all the tourist and amusement attractions and the second half a full range of amneties and facilities for anglers and visitors, with restrooms, benches, a bait & tackle shop and fish-cleaning stations. The Mariasol restaurant, with Mexican cuisine, stands at the end of the pier, with additional snack shops midway across the pier.

If you really want to see the full experience, you need to turn up at the Santa Monica Pier in the late evening, and if possible, on a thursday, when the twilight dance series concerts featuring popular performers draws huge crowds in excess of 10,000. Don’t forget to stop in at Rusty’s Surf Ranch, with live music and multiple private parties gradually mingling into one big bash as the night wears on. Sumptous seafood, hot California cuisine, and a flood of beer, all priced just right, make it an eminently unforgettable experience.

Web links:- History, Webcam, Google map 
Santa Monica  - Attractions, hotels
Santa Monica Pier - Ocean Ave & Colorado Avenue,  Santa Monica, CA 90401. 

Posted on February 17th, 2008 by PLing
Filed under: Beaches, California