Santa Monica Pier

Spend a day at this historic pier featuring beautiful views and fun attractions.

Santa Monica Pier is a large pier complete with an amusement park, aquarium, concessions, and more. Pacific Park is a family-friendly carnival-style amusement park that has a carousel and a solar-powered Ferris wheel. There is a classic arcade area with childhood games that will bring feelings of nostalgia. Santa Monica Pier Aquarium stands near the carousel and features interactive activities to introduce visitors to basic concepts of marine environmental studies. Other activities available at the pier include fishing, street performances, restaurants, beach equipment rentals, and even a trapeze school for those wanting to try something new. Santa Monica Pier is open from 6 am - 10 pm daily.

Santa Monica Pier’s two adjoining piers were used for separate purposes. The long Municipal Pier was built primarily to carry sewer pipes beyond the breakwaters and had no amenities. Pleasure Pier was built in 1916 and was adorned with amusement park attractions by amusement park pioneers Charles and Arthur Looff. Pleasure Pier did very well through the ’20s, but during the Great Depression, most of the attractions were closed and sold off. Both piers suffered significant damage during a winter storm in 1983. Since then, there have been extensive repairs to help it become the major attraction it is today.