Pier Thirty-Nine: The Barking Sea Lions of the Bay
Why is it significant?
Walk out onto the wooden decking of Pier Thirty-Nine until a chorus of loud, rhythmic barking fills your ears.
Key Facts
| Place | Pier Thirty-Nine: The Barking Sea Lions of the Bay |
|---|---|
| Address | The Embarcadero & Beach St, San Francisco, CA 94133 |
| Geo Coordinates | 37.80860, -122.40980 |
| Part of Walk | San Francisco By The Bay: Cable Cars, Lombard Curves, and Fisherman's Wharf |
| Generated | Generated |
Walk out onto the wooden decking of Pier Thirty-Nine until a chorus of loud, rhythmic barking fills your ears. Lean over the railing of the K-Docks and watch hundreds of immense, glistening brown California sea lions jousting for space, flipper-slapping each other, and basking lazily under the California sunshine on floating wooden docks.
In January nineteen ninety, just months after the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake rocked the city, a handful of sea lions began hauling out onto the marina's private boat docks. Within months, their numbers swelled to hundreds, completely displacing luxury yachts. Marine biologists advised marina managers to let the sea lions stay, and they became one of the city's most beloved natural wonders.
During winter months, the sea lion colony on the docks can swell to over one thousand animals, feasting on massive schools of anchovies and herring that migrate into the safety of the bay.
Walk to the end of the pier for the most dramatic open-water view of the bay.