PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — If you’re planning to take a trip out to the Oregon coast, then you can visit the Port of Garibaldi, which is home to a pier that is about as long as two football fields combined.
Mike Saindon, the general manager of the port, said the pier is about 785 feet. This would make it the longest pier in Oregon, according to the Oregonian/OregonLive.
“It is long because when it was built by the coast guard to service the boathouse and allow them to launch the boats for rescue calls back then,” said Saindon. “It had to be a little farther out in deeper water. So, what it does now is that it’s a unique opportunity for folks to get out and touch the bay.”
He added, “There’s not a lot of spots that you can get out far and really experience the bay itself.”
The pier was first built in the 1930s by the U.S. Coast Guard to serve as a primary boathouse after the agency closed the station in Barview. Through the 1950s, the branch used the pier but then began modernizing its fleet and moved to a more standard boathouse in the Port of Garibaldi, according to Saindon.
What does the pier look like now?
The port says the pier is in good shape but needs some updating. In 2015, the port partnered with the Garibaldi Cultural Heritage Initiative to preserve the history of the Tillamook Bay.
The group describes itself as a nonprofit formed to preserve and rehabilitate the retired Tillamook Bay U.S. Coast Guard Boathouse known as Pier’s End.
Some work has been done on the boathouse, but Garibaldi said they are waiting on grants to upgrade the pier.
He said visiting the pier can be a special experience considering not many of these structures exist in our area today.
“It’s becoming increasingly difficult for organizations and municipalities to preserve history. When we’re faced with so many financial issues and infrastructure issues, there’s a fine balance between expending funds on modernizing infrastructure and preserving history,” noted Saindon. “We need to remember history that there’s a lot of neat stories out there, and it’s where we came from.”
The pier is currently available year-round for people to visit. As for the boathouse, it’s managed by the nonprofit and is open during summer months, including events.