Marin County piers

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Don’t tell San Francisco, but Coronado Ferry Landing in San Diego may have the most jaw-dropping city views in the state, including a snazzy skyline, Navy craft, the Coronado Bay Bridge and the traffic (sailboats to freighters) in the channel. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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All aboard for spectacular views of the bay. Board a craft at Coronado Ferry Landing for the 15-minute cruise across the bay to downtown San Diego. Prepare to be dazzled. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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Just after sunset, surfers return to shore on the southern side of the Oceanside Pier. At 1,954 feet, it’s the longest wooden pier along the West Coast. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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The Oceanside Pier provides a perfect vantage point for watching waves -- in this case, huge ones -- crash into the beach. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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Trim cottages line both sides of Crystal Pier in San Diego County. Each of the 21 lodgings comes with a small, private deck that looks out on the water and provides some privacy. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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From the San Clemente Pier, the view of land trumps the view out to sea. Cliffs showcase buildings and homes that riff on classic Spanish Colonial design. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A surfer rides a wave near the wooden San Clemente Pier at sunset. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Sunset at the Manhattan Beach Pier -- early morning or late afternoon, it’s a photo op waiting just for you. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

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Pier 39 is the biggest outdoor, multistory shopping mall sitting on/masquerading as a pier in California. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

June 29, 2012 2:01 PM PT

Marin County piers

Fort Baker Pier

Overview: This 358-foot-long, l-shaped asphalt structure is homely, but nobody notices because of the staggering visuals.

Background: A pier was first built here in 1937, and it has since been rehabbed several times. The Fort Baker complex is part of the Golden Gate Recreation Area, though the Army continues to have an active presence on the grounds.

Notable views: From the pier’s wide end, this may be the most spectacular view inside San Francisco Bay. The San Francisco skyline, Alcatraz, Angel Island and the Marin headlands are on display, albeit from a distance. But the clincher is the Golden Gate Bridge, which seems to zoom overhead like some massive 3-D effect. It’s well worth experiencing on even a raw day when the fog rolls in. It is breezy on this exposed point that extends over the bay, but the chill in the air is quickly forgotten.

Parking: Free

Directions: From either side of U.S. 101, take the Alexander Avenue exit, which is the closest exit to the Golden Gate Bridge entrance on the Marin side. Follow Alexander as it descends to the coast, and turn left onto Bunker Road and follow the signs to the pier.

More: https://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/fort-baker.htm

Elephant Rock Pier

Overview: The cutest pier in the state. This 75-foot span, made of slatted metal, extends slightly from the Tiburon shore to encircle a good-sized rock that is indeed elephant-shaped. Locals fish from it, but it makes for a quirky five-minute walk. You may get wet; the occasional small wave splashes over the steel framework.

Notable views: Angel Island is to the left, much of the San Francisco skyline is straight ahead and the Golden Gate Bridge is visible in the distance to the right.

Parking: Two-hour free parking in the lot across Paradise Drive at Mar West Street.

Directions: From U.S. 101 take the Tiburon Boulevard exit and head east for 4 miles. Drive through the roundabout. Keep an eye out for the Caprice Restaurant, which is at the foot of the pier.

Paradise Beach Park Pier

Overview: This T-shaped pier is 300 feet long and has an almost 200-foot-wide span at its end. The pier is at the foot of a green hillside with some paved pathways from the parking lot above. With the seemingly manicured grounds and a small rock beach, the 19-acre park comes close to living up to its name.

Notable views: The pier is on the northern side of the Tiburon peninsula, so the views here aren’t of San Francisco but of the San Leandro Bridge to the left.

Parking: In a lot near the top of the hill. $8 all-day usage fee.

Directions: Exit Highway 101 at Highway 131/Tiburon Boulevard. Take Tiburon Boulevard to Trestle Glen Boulevard and turn left to Paradise Drive. Turn right for the short drive to the park entrance. ¿

McNear Beach Fishing Pier

Overview: This 190-foot concrete pier was partly destroyed by a storm in 2008 but has since been rebuilt. It sits in a large park named after former property owner John McNear, who donated 52 acres of this location.

Notable views: Mostly just water views of San Pablo Bay and the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

Parking: $8 fee to enter the grounds, with parking in the beach lot.

Directions: Exit Highway 1 at Point San Pedro Road and drive east about eight miles.

Lawson’s Landing

Overview: There is a decrepit wood pier here, but it’s perhaps the least notable thing about Lawson’s Landing, a private fishing and boating resort and campground at the mouth of Tomales Bay. It has a semi-hippie, semi-redneck, semi-last chance and semi-anything-goes vibe.

Background: Owned and operated by the Lawson family since 1926.

Parking: Free upon paid $8 day-use admission; if you visit for half an hour or less it’s $1. The balance will be refunded if you present a time-stamped admission receipt.

Directions: Take Highway 1 into Tomales. Take the first left on Dillon Beach Road 4 miles to Dillon Beach. Lawson’s Landing is at the end of the county road south of Dillon Beach.

More: https://www.lawsonslanding.com

-- Christopher Smith

Marin County piers

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