Goleta Pier, 1450 feet, wood, built possibly in 1942 or 1943

Goleta Beach Park
5986 Sandspit Rd.
Goleta, CA 93117
countyofsb.org

California's 10th longest over the ocean pier is open 24 hours per day, to the delight of anglers who can fish for free all day and all night on some of California's public piers. This Santa Barbara County pier and 29-acre, half-mile long Goleta Beach Park reports 1.5 million annual visitors who come to sunbathe, play volleyball, eat at the Beachside Restaurant, ride the adjoining bike trails and stroll or fish on Goleta Pier.

Sitting at the edge of the Santa Barbara Airport's runway system and community of Isla Vista at the UC Santa Barbara Campus, the pier has lighting at night, fish-cleaning facilities, a fee-based launch sling for small boats, restrooms, a bait shop and free parking as of posting.

One little park has lots going on with a pier and all the amenities to please the crowds: BBQ picnic areas, playgrounds, volleyball, horseshoes, benches, picnic tables, bike trails and sand wheelchairs.

The current pier was built by the military possibly in 1942 or 1943 for training aviators from a nearby base in water rescues. It was deemed of little use at the end of the war, so a man-made beach/park addition in 1945 created a beach attraction. While the beaches of nearby Santa Barbara stretch several miles, this isolated spot was actually built out of a sand spit with additional sand added to make the area useable. Little thought went into its future, a story of constant erosion (20 feet per year recently!) Expensive to operate, Santa Barbara County reports annually list repairs needed and justification for funding this costly entity. Visitor serving uses are reason enough to keep it going.

In 1949, the Federal Government granted Goleta Beach and Pier to Santa Barbara County. In 1953 the State became the new owner but then leased it back to the County. 

Now more than 75 years old, major reconstruction of the pier first took place in the early 1980s when it also was lengthened from 850 feet to its present 1,450-foot length. A launching crane or hoist was added and a rock revertment was built to protect the Park and restaurant.

While today's pier is used for recreation, previous piers and wharfs in this location had practical applications.

A wharf or pier has been in existence here before the turn of the 20th century, initially used for shipping farm goods and natural resources before a rail system was established. During the mid-to-late 1800s there were many more wharfs along the coast than now exist and they were vital to commerce and growth in California. This location now called Goleta saw its first wharf(900 feet long) built in 1874 by rancher T. Wallace More (or Moore) so he and other ranchers could ship their cattle and produce.

Today Goleta Pier shows little hint of its past, first as a wharf, then as a war time training ground. As guests stand on the pier and gaze out to the Santa Ynez Mountains beyond the towering palms, or notice the Channel Islands offshore, they get a sense that the pier experience—feeling an ocean breeze on your face or watching seagulls fly past—is irreplaceable and timeless.