There is something very unusual at the end of the Seacliff State Beach Pier. What is it? How did it get there and why?
The park is open daily from 8:00 AM to Sunset. Park entrance fees are $10.00 or a State Park Pass. Free Parking is just outside the gate and a short walk to the visitors center.
The Visitors Center is open 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM daily Memorial Day through Labor Day. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays the rest of the year.
Why is there a ship at the end of the pier? In 1910 a Norwegian civil engineer named Fougner thought of using concrete to build ships. It wasn't until 1917, when wartime steel shortages required the use of cement for construction that Fougner's idea was used. Three concrete ships were built. Two, the Peralta and the Palo Alto, were built at the U.S. Naval Shipyard in Oakland, California while the third, the Faith, was built in a shipyard in Redwood City, California. The Peralta and the Palo Alto were built for wartime use as tankers, however World War One ended before ship construction was finished, so they were never used. The Palo Alto remained docked in Oakland until 1929, when the Cal-Nevada Company bought the ship with the idea of making her into an amusement and fishing ship. Her maiden voyage was made under tow to Seacliff State Beach. Once positioned at the beach, the sea cocks were opened and the Palo Alto settled to the ocean bottom. By the summer of 1930 a pier had been built leading to the ship, the ship was remodeled. A dance floor on the main deck was added, also a cafe in the superstructure was built, as was a fifty-four foot heated swimming pool, and a series of carnival type concessions were placed on the afterdeck. The Cal-Nevada Company went broke after two seasons -- then the Palo Alto was stripped, leaving the ship and the pier to be used only for fishing.
Update, April 2023:
January's storms destroyed the end of the pier and it is now being removed, completely. You need to go in the Vistor Center to see what it used to look like in it's Hey Day.
Logging Requirements - Send me the answers to the following questions: and log away!
1. How many model cars are parked on the pier on the display model in the Visitors Center?
2. What numbers are on the old Ships Lantern hanging in the corner?
3. Year on the Brass Plaque below the lantern?
CONGRATULATIONS TO: ULLII & FLUFFY BUNNIES on their CO-FTF!
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.