Best Fishing Pier Oakland Near Me

4worldlovers: Port View Park, reopened and greatly expanded in 1995 after extensive redesign and reconstruction because of damage suffered during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, offers spectacular views of San Francisco Bay, the San Francisco skyline and Port of Oakland maritime operations at the Seventh Street Terminal.


The park encompasses 4.5 acres of public access with areas for fishing, strolling, picnicking and special events. Port View Park also is the home of the International Maritime Center, a nondenominational chapel and recreational facility for visiting seafarers.

Picnic areas, play area, fishing piers, second-story viewing area and historical display (open 10am-3pm daily and upon request), restrooms, drinking fountain, parking, benches.

As an international gateway, our airport and seaport operations bring economic value to the world. Here at home, we're bringing social and cultural value to the region. Middle Harbor Shoreline Park offers Oakland its first public beach. The views are some of the most magnificent in the area and the park contains an amphitheater for events and performances.

Since World War II, military use has restricted public access to the shoreline of the Middle Harbor. As part of the Port's Vision 2000 seaport program, the public has regained access to the former naval ship basin. Agencies, community representatives and scientists worked together to design the habitat restoration for the more than 150-acre water area of the harbor and the integration of the park with the habitat. Middle Harbor became an ecological reserve of shallow bay and shoreline habitats for many species, such as Dungeness crab, flatfish, anchovy, herring and perch.

Fifteen square blocks of commercial and recreational activities, including opportunities for dining and shopping, strolling, ferry rides, and special events such as the weekly Sunday Farmers Market, the annual Maritime Day and the annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony. At the north end of the main plaza, at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Fishing Pier, is an elevated platform with views of Alameda and the gantry cranes at the Howard Marine Terminal.

When the extension of the terminal is completed in early 1996, the cranes will be only 500 feet from the pier, giving visitors a close-up view of a working marine terminal. President Roosevelt's official yacht, the USS Potomac, is now moored next to the pier and is open to the public. (For details, call (510) 627-1215.) A mini park at the foot of Alice Street marks the south end of this area. The lightship, The Relief, will move in upon completion of the Howard Terminal expansion.

Restaurants, bars, shops, marinas, guest berths, walkways and plazas, picnic areas, grassy play areas, fishing pier with fish-cleaning areas, restrooms, fountain, benches, public telephones, parking.

4worldlovers: What’cha see? That grammatically incorrect greeting was directed at three gentlemen who were intently staring into the water from a small bridge that almost adjoins the Arrowhead Marsh Pier, one of the two piers located in the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline area, this pier and the Doolittle Pier (see separate article).

What had grabbed their attention were three small bat rays that were swimming slowly around the shallow, probably less than two-foot-deep water.

I joined in the ray watching! They were small bat rays, less than (I guess) ten pounds each and they were in no big hurry; sometimes they were gliding along, sometimes just resting on the bottom. I suppose they were searching out food but maybe they were in a group swim fest? Eventually the humans moved on while the ray remained in their watery wonderland.

The sight reminded me of two things: water in this area is often fairly shallow and bat ray are one of the most commonly encountered fish.

Environment. The Arrowhead March Pier, called by some the San Leandro Creek Pier, is located in the northeastern section of the area, adjacent to both Arrowhead Marsh itself and to most of the park facilities.


To the right of the pier, San Leandro Creek and Elmhurst Creek meet and flow into San Leandro Bay. The small creek containing the bat ray sits almost behind and to the left of the pier and that’s where its waters flow into the marsh. Straight out and to the right sits a channel of the bay and to the left is the marshy area.

The pier was constructed in 1983 and is supposedly 175 feet long but I think that is actually the width, not the length. In fact, the pier hardly sticks out over the water. Because of its size and location, anglers are presented an environment that has a mud bottom and somewhat shallow water.

Many piers see their pilings covered with barnacles, mussels and a mélange of small critters living amongst those mussels. Here, given that the pier’s pilings are mainly submerged only during high tides, there’s little growth on the pilings except barnacles. Thus the pier does not really attract inshore fish like perch and striped bass and it’s hit or miss fishery.

Most anglers simply cast out into the deepest water they can reach and hope for the best.

The most commonly caught bottom fish are staghorn sculpin (bullheads), kingfish (white croaker), and a variety of perch. Year round can see hoards of small shinerperch that are too small to eat but are good bait for stripers and halibut. Winter to spring months can see the larger pileperch, white seaperch and a mix of whichever perch have entered the bay. The most common perch year round is blackperch (sometimes called buttermouth) while occasionally the larger rubberlip seaperch will make a showing.

Sharays, sharks and rays, are numerically among the most common bottom fish. Bat rays, small babies under 10 pounds in weight up to the big mama bat rays approaching or even exceeding 100 pounds in weight, make these waters home. Personally I release all bat rays, they are neat creatures that are commonly seen in “petting pools” at zoos and aquariums. Both leopard sharks, to nearly five-feet in length, and the smaller brown smoothhound sharks, are also common. Once in a great while another shark species might be encountered but they are more common to piers fronting deeper water.

Two flatfish show up at times. Starry flounder occasionally make an appearance in winter months while California halibut may show up during the May to September months (but don’t hold your breath).

Local anglers tell me they have seen a few white sturgeon landed but I personally haven’t seen any of the diamondbacks at the pier. Nevertheless, you just never know.

Jacksmelt and topsmelt are also common and they are usually caught mid-depth by anglers using a float.

The 50-acre Arrowhead Marsh section of the shoreline park is not only home to this pier but is also a great place to have a picnic, a place to do some bird watching, and a place to explore a marsh, the nursery areas for many of our fish. It is also a great place to simply rest and relax. It’s somewhat of an outdoor oasis in this heavily industrialized section of the East Bay.

4worldlovers:
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park also welcomes you and your vessel to the Aquatic Park Cove. While anchoring in a protected location, the cove offers beautiful views of the Bay and the City.


• Only non-motorized boats and sail/auxiliary boats are allowed in Aquatic Park Cove.


Vessels entering Aquatic Park Cove are instructed to contact the Park’s permit officer on VHF marine radio channel 83A (157.175Mhz) using the call sign “Aquatic Park NPS” followed by transmission of the vessel’s name.

• Overnight anchoring (sunset to sun up) stays shall be by permit only.

• Permits are approved for no more than five consecutive nights at a time. A break of one full week (7) 24 hour consecutive time periods from Aquatic Park Cove is required before re-entering the Cove for overnight stays. Another permit can be submitted for approval after the seven day break. Total overnight stays are limited to 30 per year. Permits are issued by the Aquatic Park Cove Harbormaster. Day use of the Cove does not require a permit.

• There are no permanent fixed moorings available to visiting vessels. Use of the cove requires an adequate anchor and proper gear. All vessels over 40' in length or 8' in draft require park approval prior to entering the Cove.

• The space for visiting non-motorized and sail/auxiliary boats is available on a first come, first serve basis. The Cove offers aquatic opportunities to many park users. Due to the large number of swimmers in the Cove, tenders/dinghies shall be rowed or powered by a small (5hp or less) outboard motor ONLY to provide transport to and from the shore.

• Vessels that are classified as a sailboat may use a small auxiliary motor for safe maneuvering. Sailboat operators must keep a lookout, while underway, to watch for swimmers.

• The National Park Service is not responsible for loss, theft or damage to personal property while visiting Aquatic Park Cove.

4worldlovers: Originating as part of the Estuary Policy Plan, the project is part of a larger regional effort by the City of Oakland to create a distinctive waterfront that improves and sustains the quality of city life socially and ecologically. The project is aligned with other regional improvements included in the Lake Merritt Master Plan and the Central Estuary Plan with funding for the Design Phase provided by the Oakland Trust for Clean Water and Safe Parks (Measure DD)


Estuary Park is located along the Oakland Estuary south of Jack London Square at the mouth of the Lake Merritt Channel. The existing park incorporates the Jack London Aquatic Center, youth and adult rowing programs, a multi-use field for soccer and team sports, a public boat launching ramp, and a group picnic area. The old 'Cash and Carry' property will become part of the park, expanding the total park area.


The project will develop detailed design and environmental review for a park renovation and expansion project for the undeveloped areas of the park, generally west and south of the Jack London Aquatic Center. The project will be implemented in phases as funding for implementation becomes available. Initial planning for the project will indicate areas that require additional study and environmental review as part of future project(s). The project began in 2018 with an intensive community engagement process; then went on hold from January 2019 until March of 2021, when the City restarted the project with a new design team, building on the community input received in 2018.


Please contact the City's project manager to be added to the mailing list: creed2@oaklandca.gov.

4worldlovers: Located along Oakland’s waterfront at the foot of the eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, this regional shoreline provides spectacular vistas of the San Francisco Bay and city skylines. This 22.47-acre park is named in honor of Judge John Sutter, a former East Bay Regional Park District Director and visionary, who in 1967 proposed a park at this site for public recreation and access. He was the president and a founding member of Citizens for Regional Recreation and Parks.


The Day-use parking lot has ADA parking, ADA-accessible restrooms, and a drinking fountain.


The trail to the Observation Pier is ADA-accessible and there are ADA-accessible restrooms located at the entrance to the Pier. ADA-accessible picnic tables with benches are also located on the Observation Pier.

The renovated Bridge Yard Building, previously known as the Interurban Electric Railway Bridge Yard Shop (IERBYS) Building, is a 24,000-square-foot, 1930s-era industrial building that serves as the recreational anchor for the park, with interpretive and recreational programming, concessionaires (food/dining, equipment rental, etc.), and event space.

The Bridge Yard building and its facilities are available for rent.

For additional information on reserving the Bridge Yard Building for an event:

This park is rich in the transportation history of the East Bay. The historic electric railway Key System operated on a trestle between 1903 and 1958, and carried passengers to a ferry terminal to go across the bay between the East Bay and San Francisco. A substation at the site provided electrical power to the trains which carried 36.4 million passengers in 1945. The historic Bridge Yard Building, previously known as the Interurban Electric Railway Bridge Yard Shop Building, was a maintenance facility for the trains. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) recently restored this 1930s-era building and leased it to the Park District in 2017 for incorporation into the shoreline park.

In 1941, the Oakland Army Base was established at the site as a transportation port and distribution terminal for the Department of the Army. For almost 60 years, the base served as a crucial point of embarkation for the entry and return of supplies, equipment, and thousands of soldiers to World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Operations Desert Shield, and Desert Storm. The base was decommissioned and closed in 1999.

This iconic building serves as an activity hub and venue for events and conferences, including public events. A nearby day-use parking area provides direct and easy access to the pedestrian/bike path to the Bay Bridge, and to the observation pier. » TheBridgeYard.com

Caltrans built a viewing platform using existing foundations from the old Bay Bridge. The pier provides public waterfront access with unique views of the bay and the bridge, as well as Port of Oakland shipping and industrial activities.

This popular trail opened to pedestrians and cyclists in October 2016 and was named in honor of the late East Bay Bicycle Coalition founder and Bay Bridge Trail advocate. The trail extends over four miles from Emeryville to Yerba Buena Island.

A consortium of nine local, regional, and state agencies collaborated to develop this new shoreline park. It includes the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA), San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), California Transportation Commission (CTC), City of Oakland, East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), Port of Oakland, and East Bay Regional Park District.

Caltrans, East Bay Regional Park District Sign Lease for Historic, Newly-Restored Bridge Yard Building - Dec. 15, 2017

ABC7 News - “Over It: Public Piers Replace Old Bay Bridge Pilings”, July 25, 2018

StreetsblogSF - “Turning the Remnants of the Old Bay Bridge into a Beautiful Park”, May 18, 2018

KQED - “Caltrans Gets Green Light, and $52 Million, to Turn Bay Bridge Piers into Parks”, March 27, 2018

Mercury News - “Old Bay Bridge Piers to be Reused as Public Boardwalk, Vista points”, January 25, 2018