About this pier
Officially the Rev. Herschell Harkins Memorial Pacifica Pier, this L-shaped structure was built in 1973 and extends roughly 1,140 feet from the bluffs above Sharp Park Beach. It was named for Rev. Herschell Harkins, a locally beloved Sharp Park minister associated with the Little Brown Church — not, as sometimes claimed, specifically as a waterfront-access campaigner. The pier's original primary purpose was practical infrastructure: it carried Pacifica's sewer outfall (a roughly 28-inch pipe taking treated wastewater about a quarter-mile offshore), with fishing and recreation as a secondary benefit. After a new treatment facility opened in 2004, that outfall role became obsolete and the pier's identity shifted fully to recreation. Pacifica sits in San Mateo County; ocean waters here fall under California's San Francisco groundfish management area.
The pier closed on June 4, 2026 after city engineers found cracking, separation, and displacement in the concrete walkway near the abutment. This is not a short storm closure with a posted reopen date — officials have given no timeline, a 2023 assessment had already estimated roughly $19 million in needed structural repairs, and the café at the pier entrance was demolished in mid-June 2026 over structural safety concerns. Treat the closure as serious and possibly long-term.
What you can catch
When open, the pier has been known for perch, greenling, and rockfish near the pilings, plus halibut, strong seasonal salmon runs, and Dungeness crab when seasons and gear rules allow. Those notes are historical while the pier remains closed.
License and regulations
When this pier is open and listed as a public pier, anglers fishing from it are generally exempt from needing a California sport fishing license. Size limits, bag limits, seasons, and the two-rod public-pier gear limit (CCR Title 14, Section 28.65(b)) still apply. Because the pier is currently closed, the first question is access — not catch rules. Confirm status on CDFW's public pier list and City of Pacifica notices before planning a trip around this spot. San Francisco groundfish management area rules would apply to bottomfish if and when fishing resumes.
Tips for fishing here
Do not attempt to fish or walk onto the closed pier. For San Mateo County shore fishing while it is shut, use other currently open public piers or licensed beach access. When the pier was open, shrimp or anchovy near the pilings produced perch and greenling, and the outer L-end offered better shots at salmon and deeper-water bottomfish.
Before you go
Assume Pacifica Municipal Pier is closed until the city and CDFW say otherwise — there is no reliable reopen date as of mid-2026. Pacifica's beaches and coastal trails remain worth visiting; buy a sport license if you fish the beach or other non-public-pier shoreline nearby.