Fisherman’s Wharf
About Fisherman’s Wharf
Fisherman’s Wharf runs along the northern waterfront from Pier 39 west to Aquatic Park and Ghirardelli Square. Italian and Sicilian fishermen settled this stretch starting in the late 1800s, and a working commercial fishing fleet still docks at Pier 45. The boats head out before dawn for Dungeness crab, salmon, and sea bass that supply restaurants around the city.
About Fisherman’s Wharf
The waterfront has two layers. Pier 45 and the docks behind it are the working harbor. Jefferson Street, one block south, is the tourist commercial strip: souvenir shops, sit-down seafood restaurants, Madame Tussauds, and the Aquarium of the Bay. Pier 39 anchors the eastern end with shops, restaurants, and the sea lion haul-out. Ghirardelli Square at the western end occupies the former Ghirardelli chocolate factory (the company moved production to San Leandro in 1967) and houses the original Ghirardelli ice cream shop.
The Character
The neighborhood runs on two schedules that barely overlap. The commercial fishing fleet works from before dawn through mid-morning. The tourist attractions open around 10 AM and run until sunset. The same blocks look different at 6 AM than they do at noon.
Sea lions first hauled out on the K-Dock at Pier 39 in January 1990, a few months after the Loma Prieta earthquake. Their numbers shift through the year but they’re typically there year-round. Watching them is free.
Hyde Street Pier is part of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Several historic ships are docked there and open for boarding, including the Balclutha (an 1886 square-rigged ship), the C.A. Thayer (an 1895 three-masted schooner), and the Eureka (an 1890 paddle steam ferry). There’s an admission fee for the ships. The pier itself is free to walk.
How to Move Through Fisherman’s Wharf
Two windows depending on what you want to see.
For the working harbor, arrive at Pier 45 between 5 and 7 AM. The boats are loading and unloading and the streets are quiet. The fish stalls along Jefferson typically open later, around 9 or 10 AM.
For the attractions, arrive before 10 AM to be ahead of the tour buses. One common loop starts at Pier 45, heads east along the waterfront to Pier 39 for the sea lions, then back west to Hyde Street Pier for the historic ships, ending at Ghirardelli Square.
For food, the sidewalk crab stands near Pier 45 sell fresh Dungeness in season. Scoma’s on Pier 47 is a sit-down seafood restaurant that has been operating since 1965 and sources from the dock at the same pier.
Getting There
The Powell-Hyde cable car ends at the turnaround on Beach and Hyde. The F Market streetcar runs vintage cars from the Ferry Building along the Embarcadero to the Wharf. Parking near the waterfront runs roughly $25 to $50 for a day in the lots, and the surface streets get slow by mid-morning. Walking the Embarcadero from the Ferry Building takes about 30 minutes and stays on the waterfront the whole way.
Where to Eat
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Where to Drink
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Things to Do
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Musée Mécanique
Private collection of 300+ antique coin-operated arcade machines at Pier 45, including Laffing Sal, the automaton that originally laughed inside the funhouse at Playland at the Beach (1928-1972). Ed Zelinsky started collecting as a kid; his son Dan runs it now. Free entry; machines run $0.25 to $1.00. Bring quarters.
Cartoon Art Museum
Museum collecting original cartoon, comic, and animation art since 1984, with a permanent collection of about 7,000 pieces (original Charles Schulz pages, animation cels, editorial cartoons, graphic novel artwork). Rotating exhibitions every few months. 781 Beach Street in Fisherman's Wharf; $10 adults, free first Tuesdays; closed Tuesdays.
Aquatic Park Tombstones
San Francisco recycled 19th-century cemetery headstones into the Aquatic Park seawall during construction, and many remain partially exposed underfoot. Names and dates from the 1800s are still legible if you walk slowly and look down. At the foot of Polk Street, free, always accessible.
Big Eye Keane Paintings
Margaret Keane's big-eyed children defined 1960s pop art while her husband Walter took the credit. A 1986 Honolulu courtroom paint-off settled the fraud (she finished in under an hour, he claimed a sore shoulder). Tim Burton's 2014 film "Big Eyes" tells the story. The Keane Eyes Gallery still shows her work in San Francisco.
Fisherman’s Wharf
A working commercial fishing fleet still docks at Pier 45, where Italian and Sicilian fishermen settled in the late 1800s. Dungeness crab season runs roughly November through June. The walk-up stands along Jefferson sell whole crab and chowder in sourdough bowls; Pier 39's sea lions started hauling out on K-Dock in January 1990.
