San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

Visited: June 2014

Nearby city: San Francisco, CA

The elongated peninsula and large bay in the middle of the California coast is one of the greatest natural harbors in the world. The City of San Francisco (known as Yerba Buena until 1847) has long been one of the most important trading ports in the Pacific. 

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park celebrates this history of the seafaring city. San Francisco is a great city to visit. Easily the most beautiful urban center in the country. There are so many great things for tourists to do here (Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Ghiradelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, etc.) but make sure to spend some time at this NPS site.

It consists of a fun museum, and a fleet of six historic ships along a pier for you to tour and explore. Make your first stop at the informative museum. You can learn all about the history of the port and maritime industry of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Now head down to the pier.

There are six boats that you can tour (by yourself or with a Ranger) along the pier. The first is C.A. Thayer, a schooner built in 1895. It was used to haul lumber.

Next up is the side wheel paddle steamboat, the Eureka, built in 1890. It served as a ferry between San Francisco and Tiburon, to the North in Marin County. We couldn't go on the boat due to restoration work, but it was moored along the pier. It is the largest existing wooden ship in the world.

There is also Eppleton Hall, a paddlewheel tugboat built in 1914. 

Next up is the 1907 steam tug, the Hercules.

kitchen

engine

The highlight of the Park, is a beautiful square rigged sailing ship, the Balclutha, built in 1886.

There's also great views of the Bay and the harbor.

The Golden Gate Bridge and the almost always present fog

the pier of the National Historic Site

the Balclutha

There is a sixth ship, but there was restoration work being done on the boat at the time of our visit and it was not moored along the pier. It is a scow schooner called Alma, built in 1891.

San Francisco Maritime National Historic Site is a great site to complement any stay in the Bay Area. More info here: https://www.nps.gov/safr/index.htm