The Santa Cruz Wharf

In my book A Very Typical Family, which is set in Santa Cruz, CA, I mention the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf. My characters don’t go out on it in the book, but rest assured they’re strolling along the wharf on a summer evening. I always go when I’m in Santa Cruz.

The wharf is an excellent place for seeing sea lions, getting a bite to eat, browsing for an iconic Santa Cruz shirt, or just walking. The current wharf was built in 1914, which is pretty amazing given the storms that have hit it over the years. Apparently, 6 previous wharfs were built there! An astonishing estimated 1.5 million visitors annual come to the Wharf.

History

The wharf was originally built for shipping potatoes to San Francisco for mining camps in the Sierra Nevada during the Gold Rush. By the 1950s, the Wharf had become a primarily recreational destination. 

According to the local Santa Cruz Wiki, here’s an enjoyably pedantic fact about the terminology of “wharf” as it applies to this one:

“The Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf wasn’t the only wharf in the area when it was built in 1914, but the city really needed a new one, and it was built after a $172,000 bond measure was passed. Any structure that goes out to the sea is a pier. The Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf is called a “wharf” due to an error written in the bond measure. A Wharf goes parallel along the water. The piers in Capitola and Monterey are also mis-named as wharf instead of pier.”

Be sure to trot that one out at the Thanksgiving table.

On October 4, 2014, the community celebrated 100 years of the Santa Cruz Wharf with a festival including a pop-up museum exhibit, historic photo stand, bocce courts, face painting, Mavericks surfboard display, photo booth, Economic Development’s Wharf Master Plan model and the Surfing Preservation Society’s surf shack![4] The festivities ended with fireworks.

What to do on the Wharf

In a nutshell: walk, eat, and shop. Lots of Santa Cruz-local shops are there, including Marini’s candies and Stagnaro Bros fish.

I like to look at sea lions. You can see them over the edge of the wharf, or from three viewing holes at the end.

I took this photo of noisy sea lions having a nap. Often they make cacophonous sounds as they jostle for the best napping spot.

If you’re lucky, you’ll see a pelican up close.

I took this photo of a pelican that did not care for your nonsense.

Or a harbor seal or sea otter, if the water is calm and it’s early.

A little hard to see, but I took this photo of a harbor seal bending her neck backwards in the morning from the wharf.

Good to know:

  • The Wharf changes a parking fee, but if you go and leave before 10 am, it’s free
  • Be careful about eating outside at the end of the Wharf as the seagulls are entitled jerks who will happily try to steal from your plate

More good Santa Cruz stuff: