previous < California piers > next
 

 

Stearns Wharf is an icon for Santa Barbara, California, a beautiful beach city on the borderline of  Southern California and Central Coast California.

 

Considered one of the northernmost beaches in the Southern California region, Santa Barbara was voted as one of the top 10 beaches in the United States by a recent survey. Estimates of its traffic annual stand around 5 million, give or take a few thousand people, so when visiting Santa Barbara, be sure to stroll along this wooden planked structure where cars that drive by make a thump, thump sound.

 

Stearns Wharf is the gateway to State Street, the primary road that contains the heart of the shopping district with access beginning on the north part of the city at a Highway 101 exit, then ending at the base of the wharf where a lovely dolphin fountain welcomes guests gracefully.  It's a site befitting this fun, nature-loving city that's home celebrities and regular folks.

 

In fact, we always like to book one of the hotels along waterfront on Cabrillo Street overlooking the Santa Barbara beaches and Stearns Wharf. Harbor View is an excellent choice for such vacations.

 

 

 

First built in 1872, the wharf ranked as the longest deep-water pier between Los Angeles and San Francisco. During that era, bragging rights were crucial in pier size and water depth for getting ships to stop at your location to help promote trade to your town.  John P. Stearns worked in the lumber industry and built the wharf for this very reason. With a useful wharf, ships could stop and access the supplies of lumber to be delivered elsewhere. This was the era in which train tracks were still be installed and would one day impact the local port trade both in Santa Barbara and up the coast a short distance in Casmalia.

When the railroad finally reached Santa Barbara in 1877, Stearns added an additional spur to the wharf, and later in 1923 that was abandoned as it was no longer of use.  A railroad logging car on the spur commemorates the wharf's history.

 

Stearns Wharf has been rebuilt after several times after fires have damaged the structure. The most recent event occurred in 1998 and the damaged area was rebuilt while the rest of the wharf remained open.

 

In its illustrious past, the wharf held many distinctions, not unlike other piers up and down the California coast. From rum runners of the prohibition to gamblers on floating casinos and then to military units standing guard over the coast during World War II (Santa Barbara was the only location where enemy fire actually hit land at the beach near Baraca Resort), Stearns Wharf could tell many great stories if it could talk. During World War II the Harbor Restaurant was built on the wharf. Opened in 1941, it is still in business today. There are shops, restaurants and great fishing off Stearns Wharf. You can drive your car on the wharf but you must pay for parking which is sometimes limited. The wharf offers fantastic views, great meals, a maritime museum and a bit of souvenir shopping for those seeking good, old-fashioned fun. stearnswharf.org/