Located at the end of Garnet Ave in Pacific Beach, CA, Crystal Pier is a long wooden pier which debut in 1927. The pier’s main attraction, Crystal Pier Hotel, features 29 blue and white cottages built in the 1930s. The cottages extend to about the half way point of the pier. Patrons can park their cars next to their cottages and listen to the rumble of the waves below them. For those who don’t want to be directly over the water, some of the cottages are directly over the beach near the entrance. For hotel reservations, go to www.crystalpier.com.
Although there’s a hotel on the pier, Crystal Pier is open to a public during daylight hours for sightseeing and fishing.
At the pier’s entrance is the historic “Crystal Pier” sign, as well as the famous Pacific Beach Boardwalk, which stretches for 3 1/2 miles along the beach from North Pacific Beach to South Mission Beach. Also at the entrance is a palisade park on the north side with stairway leading down to the beach. This is a center of activity with shops, restaurants and hotels nearby.