Ferries of San Francisco Bay


in California has been served by ferries of all types for over 150 years. John Reed established a sailboat ferry service in 1826. Although the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge led to the decline in the importance of most ferries, some are still in use today for both commuters and tourists.

The Creek Route ferries

One of the earliest ferry routes ran between San Francisco and Oakland on what was called the "creek route". The name derived from the Oakland landing site located at the foot of Broadway where Jack London Square is today, fronting on what is today called the Oakland Estuary, an inlet of San Francisco Bay. The estuary, which in the 1800s included what is today's Lake Merritt, was the "creek". In 1851, Captain Thomas Gray, grandfather of the famous dancer Isadora Duncan, began the first regular ferry service to San Francisco from the East Bay.
Service started with the stern-wheel Sacramento River packet General Sutter and the small iron steam ferry Kangaroo. Service was augmented in 1852 by Caleb Cope, the small ferry Hector powered by a steam sawmill engine, and the river packets Jenny Lind and Boston. Boston burned that year and was replaced first by William Brown's San Joaquin River packet Erastus Corning and then by Charles Minturn's river packet Red Jacket. In 1853, Minturn formed the Contra Costa Steam Navigation Company and had the ferry Clinton built expressly for trans-bay service. A second ferry, Contra Costa began operating over the route in 1857. Contra Costa Steam Navigation Company acquired San Antonio Steam Navigation Company with ferries San Antonio and Oakland by merger before being purchased by the San Francisco and Oakland Railroad in 1865.

Railroad ferries (1862–1958)

The first railroad ferries on San Francisco Bay were established by the San Francisco and Oakland Railroad and the San Francisco and Alameda Railroad which were taken over by the Central Pacific Railroad in 1870 to become an integral part of the First Transcontinental Railroad. The earliest railroad ferries ran from Oakland Point and from Alameda Terminal when Alameda was still a peninsula. The ferry pier at Oakland Point was greatly enlarged to form the Oakland Long Wharf. These railroad ferries mostly carried passengers, not trains, although there was some ferrying of freight cars to San Francisco. When the Central Pacific re-routed the Sacramento to Oakland segment of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1876, a ferry across the Carquinez Strait was established, and the world's largest ferryboat, the Solano was built, to serve the crossing. This railroad ferry actually carried whole trains of up to 48 freight cars or 24 passenger cars with their locomotives. These ferries became part of the Southern Pacific Railroad when it assumed many of the facilities of its affiliate, the Central Pacific. These large train ferries were idled when a railway bridge was completed over the Carquinez Strait in November, 1930.
When trains reached Oakland, freight cars were loaded aboard ferries from Long Wharf on Oakland Point beginning in 1870. Freight car ferry loading switched to the Oakland Mole in 1881. After 1890 freight cars were delivered to the San Francisco Belt Railroad ferry slip at the foot of Lombard and East Streets. Belt Railroad tracks were later dual-gauged to also carry cars from the narrow gauge North and South Pacific Coast Railroads.
The Key System transit company established its own ferry service in 1903 between the Ferry Building in San Francisco and its own pier and wharf on the Oakland shoreline, located just south of what is today the eastern approach to the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge.
Ferries began serving north bay rail connections with the Petaluma and Haystack Railroad in 1864. San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad and Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad ferries connected Petaluma River landing locations with San Francisco. North Pacific Coast Railroad ferries connected Sausalito with San Francisco, and SF&NP ferries later sailed from Tiburon. Some of these ferries operated on Northwestern Pacific Railroad schedules from 1907 to 1938.
The Napa Valley Railroad established service in 1865 and connected with ferry boat service in Vallejo, California. Monticello Steamship Company began operating ferries between Vallejo and San Francisco in 1895, and began coordinating with train schedules in 1905. Golden Gate Ferry Company gained control of Monticello in 1927 and, after merging with Southern Pacific, discontinued ferry service to Vallejo in 1937.
Sacramento Northern Railway used a ferry to cross the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers between Mallard and Chipps. Service began in 1912 with the wooden ferry Bridgit carrying six interurban cars. Bridgit burned in 1913 and was replaced by the steel ferry Ramon with the same car capacity.
Santa Fe and Western Pacific both ran passenger ferries connecting their east bay terminals to San Francisco; but both discontinued ferry service in 1933. Southern Pacific maintained a dominant position in Bay ferry service by gaining control of the South Pacific Coast Railroad ferries in 1887, the Northwestern Pacific ferries in 1929, and the Petaluma and Santa Rosa ferries in 1932. After the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1936 and 1937, Southern Pacific passenger ferry service was reduced to three routes: San Francisco to Oakland Pier, San Francisco to Alameda Pier, and Hyde Street to Sausalito. Service to Sausalito was suspended in 1938 by order of the State Railroad Commission, and the last ferry to Alameda ran in 1939. Many of the large passenger ferries were idled until World War II, when they were mobilized by the federal government to transport military personnel around the bay and shipyard workers from San Francisco to Marinship and Richmond Shipyards. The last Southern Pacific ferry ran between Oakland and San Francisco on 29 July 1958.
Richmond-San Rafael Ferry ended with the opening of the namesake bridge in 1956.

Auto ferries

Although earlier ferries had carried teams and wagons, Melrose was launched in 1909 as the first San Francisco Bay ferry built with an unobstructed lower deck specifically intended for automobiles, and an upper deck for passengers. Southern Pacific ferries Melrose and Thoroughfare were designated to carry automobiles to and from San Francisco on the original Creek Route in 1911. Southern Pacific built new facilities to shift auto routing to the Oakland Pier in 1921 and purchased three new Six Minute ferries. In 1922, Golden Gate Ferry Company began transporting automobiles between Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco and Sausalito Ferry Terminal in Marin County. Southern Pacific purchased three more auto ferries with a ferry route linking San Francisco with a Richmond, California connection to the Lincoln Highway in 1925. Golden Gate established another route between Hyde Street and Berkeley Pier in 1927. Southern Pacific built six diesel-electric ferries and gained control of Golden Gate's Golden-prefix ferries to form the subsidiary Southern Pacific-Golden Gate Company in 1929. Another auto ferry pier operated at the foot of Broadway. Southern Pacific-Golden Gate auto ferries ceased operation shortly after the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge opened. A few of the larger ferries were purchased by the Richmond-San Rafael Ferry Company to shuttle automobiles between Richmond and San Rafael, but most were sold for use in Puget Sound. The surviving auto ferries were idled when the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge opened in 1956.

Air ferries

In 1914, a short-lived seaplane ferry ran between San Francisco and Oakland. From 1930 to 1933, a more successful transbay seaplane ferry was operated by Air Ferries Ltd. It ran from Pier 5 on the San Francisco waterfront to a shoreline barge docked at the foot of Franklin Street along the Oakland Estuary. It also operated between San Francisco and Vallejo. A fatal accident in 1933 put an end to the service.
During the 1960s, SFO Helicopter transported passengers to and from the San Francisco and Oakland airports from various locales around the bay including the San Francisco waterfront and the Berkeley Marina.

Rebirth of ferries

With the building of the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge in the 1930s, the ferries went into a period of rapid decline. But as the car traffic grew, the demand for ferries returned.
From 1958 to 1964 there was no known commuter ferry service to San Francisco. Instead companies offer ferry rides to tourists. The Red and White offered sight seeing cruises to the tourists of the Golden Gate Bridge.
There was a Tiburon to Angel Island Ferry that started in 1959 by the McDonogh family. So the ferries continued, but only in places where the bridges did not go.
In 1964 the Red and White fleet started ferry service from Tiburon.
Ferry service from Sausalito to San Francisco resumed in August 1970 with the Golden Gate Ferry.
Ferry service to Alcatraz was added in October 1973.
Larkspur ferry begins service in December 1976.
Ferry services from Vallejo to SF was resumed by Vallejo Transit in June 1986.
Ferry service from Alameda and Oakland resumed immediately after the 1989 earthquake when the original Bay Bridge was damaged.
Harbor Bay Isle ferry service began in 1992.
In 1999 the California Legislature established the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority.
In 2007 Vallejo and Alameda ferry service consolidated under the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority.
Ferry service from San Mateo County to San Francisco resumed in 2012.
Ferries ran from northern San Jose to San Francisco in 1853 but this service has not been restarted, due to excessive silt around Alviso.

Ferries today

Golden Gate Ferry, a division of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, operates modern high speed ferryboats between the Ferry Building in San Francisco and landings at Sausalito, Tiburon, and Larkspur in Marin County.
Other commuter ferries are all owned by the Water Emergency Transit Authority under the name San Francisco Bay Ferry. The agency unifies several previously separate services which run from the city of Alameda and Jack London Square in Oakland, Bay Farm Island/Alameda and Vallejo to the Ferry Building in San Francisco. South San Francisco service was added in 2012, and a Richmond route commenced in 2019.
The largest ferry system on San Francisco Bay is owned by the primarily tourist-based Blue & Gold Fleet. Red & White Fleet, the original concessionaire for Alcatraz excursions, currently operates sightseeing cruises.
Concessions for parks within San Francisco are awarded based on the jurisdiction in which the landings are located. Alcatraz Cruises runs from Pier 33 to Alcatraz Island under oversight from the National Park Service. Ferry services to Angel Island are provided from Tiburon by the Angel Island–Tiburon Ferry as well as from Pier 41 by Blue & Gold Fleet.

Annual ridership

Historic ferryboats on San Francisco Bay

Present

NameOperatorIn ServiceRetiredGross TonsLength Horse- powerNotes
AlamedaSF&A / CPRR / SP18661898813193350side-wheel passenger ferry
AlamedaSP1914194323022732500side-wheel passenger ferry; sold to USN as YHB-25 after wartime shipyard service
AlviraDavie18891916469144200stern-wheel passenger ferry
AmadorCPRR / SP18691904985199300side-wheel passenger ferry
AntelopeSF&NP18711888581202side-wheel passenger ferry built 1848
Bay CitySPC / SP187819291283230800side-wheel passenger ferry
BerkeleySP1898195819452611450passenger ferry
BostonGray18521852
BridgitSacramento Northern Railway19121913186interurban car ferry
Caleb CopeGray18521852
CalistogaMonticello / GG / SP1907193926802982600built as Florida; rebuilt as auto ferry in 1927; sold to USN as YFB-21
CapitalCPRR / SP187618961989277900side-wheel passenger ferry: Steamboat built in 1866 by John Gunder North for the California Steam Navigation Company; on the Sacramento - San Francisco run until 1876.
CazaderoNS / NWP1903194116822571600converted to barge in 1941
City of Long Beach
City of SacramentoMonticello / GG / SP1918194130162975900auto ferry; sold to Puget Sound Navigation; requisitioned for wartime shipyard service to Richmond yard 2
ClaremontKey
ClintonContra Costa / NPC18531877194128125side-wheel passenger ferry; sunk in collision in 1877; built by Domingo Marcucci
Contra CostaContra Costa / SF&A / NPC18571882449170150side-wheel passenger ferry, built by John G. North
Contra CostaSP19141930Carquinez Strait train ferry
El CapitanCPRR / SP18681925982194250side-wheel passenger ferry
El PasoSP / Richmond-San Rafael1924195619532341400auto ferry transferred from SP service in 1938
EncinalSP1888193020142451000side-wheel passenger ferry
Erastus CorningBrown18521852
EurekaNWP / SP1923195724202771500Steam engine side-paddle ferry; Vessel originally built in 1890 as the railway ferry Ukiah with capacity for 10 freight cars; conversion to a passenger ferry began in 1922 & was completed in 1923; after being converted to passenger use, "Ukiah" was renamed "Eureka"; preserved at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Feather RiverWP1913193315782182500built as Edward T. Jeffery; sold to SP as Sierra Nevada in 1933
FresnoSP1927194024682431800diesel auto ferry
Garden CitySPC / SP187919291080208625side-wheel passenger ferry
United States Army19221947539144military personnel ferry
General FrisbieMonticello19011927passenger ferry
General SutterGray18511852
GoldP&SR19031920334140200stern-wheel passenger & freight ferry built in 1883; burned 8 November 1920
GoldP&SR / NWP19211935317155150stern-wheel passenger & freight ferry built as Fort Bragg in 1899
Golden AgeGG / SP192819377792271200diesel auto ferry
Golden BearGG / SP192719377792271200diesel auto ferry
Golden CoastGG / SP190319376161751200auto ferry built as Yerba Buena; then Harry E. Speas
Golden DawnKey /GG / SP190519376121802000former Key System passenger ferry San Francisco rebuilt as auto ferry
Golden EraKey / GG / SP190819376731942000former Key System passenger ferry Fernwood rebuilt as auto ferry
Golden GateGG / SP192219375982071300diesel auto ferry
Golden PoppyGG / SP192719377792271200diesel auto ferry
Golden ShoreGG / SP192719377792271200diesel auto ferry
Golden StateGG / SP192619377802271200diesel auto ferry
Golden WayKey / GG / SP1907193711381892000former Key System passenger ferry Claremont rebuilt as auto ferry
Golden WestGG / SP192319375942141300diesel auto ferry
Grace BartonWhitney1890191619410060stern-wheel passenger ferry
HaywardKey1945requisitioned for wartime shipyard service
HectorGray18521852
James M. DonahueSF&NP / NWP18751921730228side-wheel passenger ferry
Jenny LindGray1850185361 Wrecked by an explosion in April 13, 1853.
KangarooGray18511852
KlamathSP / Richmond-San Rafael1924195619522341300auto ferry transferred from SP service in 1938
LagunitasNS / NWP19031921767280400stern-wheel freight car ferry
Las PlumasWP1957diesel railcar ferry
Lake TahoeSP1927194024682431800diesel auto ferry
LouiseSF&O / CPRR18701877368148125side-wheel passenger ferry
Mare IslandBerkeley18701877338124125side-wheel passenger ferry
MarinSF&NP / NWP1909193410197passenger ferry built as Requa and renamed after repairing fire damage in 1911
MelroseSP1909193126622731340side-wheel auto ferry
MendocinoNWP1927193924672431800diesel auto ferry
Napa ValleyMonticello / GG / SP1910194021852312600auto ferry
NewarkSPC / SP1877192317832681200side-wheel passenger ferry rebuilt as Sacramento in 1923
New OrleansSP1924193819522341400auto ferry sold as Russian River in 1938
OaklandSan Antonio / Contra Costa / SF&O / CPRR18591874418200side-wheel passenger ferry
OaklandCPRR / SP187519401672265200side-wheel passenger ferry built as a side-wheel steamboat Chrysopolis in 1860, by John G. North; rebuilt as a double ended ferry-boat in 1875 by Patrick Henry Tiernan; destroyed by fire in 1940.
Ocean WaveSanta Fe19011933
Peralta18571857
PeraltaKey19261933passenger ferry; burned 6 May 1933
PetalumaP&SR18841914264135250stern-wheel passenger & freight ferry built as Resolute in 1884; burned 22 March 1914
PetalumaP&SR / NWP19141935448148250stern-wheel passenger & freight ferry built in 1914 using the engine of the burned ferry Petaluma
PiedmontSP188319401854257257side-wheel passenger ferry
RamonSacramento Northern19131954600interurban car ferry
RangerChipman & Aughinbaugh1853185429passenger ferry destroyed by boiler explosion 8 January 1854
Red JacketMinturn18521857
Redwood EmpireNWP1927193924702431800diesel auto ferry
RosalieDavie1893318137350passenger ferry
Russian RiverRichmond-San Rafael1938195619522341400former auto ferry New Orleans purchased in 1938
SacramentoSP1923195422542681400side-wheel passenger ferry rebuilt from Newark in 1923
San AntonioSan Antonio / Contra Costa / SF&O18581871659side-wheel passenger ferry
San JoseKey
San LeandroKey / SP1923195816532251325passenger ferry requisitioned for wartime shipyard service and then to United States Army
San MateoSP1922194017822171400auto ferry
San PabloSanta Fe190019331535passenger ferry
San PedroSanta Fe191119331720passenger ferry; became USN YFB-46
San RafaelNPC18771901692220side-wheel passenger ferry sunk in collision in 1901
Santa ClaraSP1915194522822732500side-wheel passenger ferry requisitioned for wartime shipyard service to Marinship
Santa RosaNWP1927193924652431800diesel auto ferry
SaucelitoNPC18771884692220side-wheel passenger ferry burned at San Quentin in 1884
SausalitoNPC / NS / NWP1894193217662561200side-wheel freight car and passenger ferry
SehomeMonticello19091918passenger ferry built as stern-wheel Mountain Queen in 1877; rebuilt with side-wheel propulsion in 1889; rebuilt with propeller in 1914; sunk in collision with General Frisbie
ShastaSP1922194017822171400auto ferry
Sierra NevadaSP / Richmond-San Rafael1933195615782182500formerly WP passenger ferry Feather River purchased 1933; requisitioned for wartime shipyard service to Richmond yard 1; converted to auto ferry when sold by SP in 1947
SolanoCPRR / SP18791930484Carquinez Strait train ferry
Sophie MacLaneSF&A18581864242148side-wheel passenger ferry
StocktonSP1927194024672431800diesel auto ferry
TamalpaisNPC18571900365150side-wheel passenger ferry built as Petaluma of Saucelito
TamalpaisNPC / NS / NWP1901194116312451800side-wheel passenger ferry; sold to USN in 1941 as floating barracks at Mare Island
TelephoneWP19121913
ThoroughfareCPRR / SP187119091012248400side-wheel freight car ferry
ThoroughfareSP1912193526042731300side-wheel auto ferry
TiburonSF&NP / NWP188419251248240side-wheel passenger ferry
TransitCPRR / SP187519341566314500side-wheel freight car ferry
WashoeSF&O / CPRR18641878580250side-wheel passenger ferry
Yerba BuenaKeyrequisitioned for wartime shipyard service to Richmond yard 3 and then to United States Army
YosemiteSP1923193917822171400auto ferry

Relocated ferries

Several ferries that had seen service on San Francisco Bay were relocated after the bay bridges were built. Yosemite was sold to the Argentina-Uruguayan Navigation Touring Company, renamed Argentina, and served a route crossing the Rio de la Plata. Seventeen were purchased by the Puget Sound Navigation Company:
Golden West was promptly resold to San Diego and renamed North Island for service between San Diego and Coronado. Golden Bear was salvaged for parts after being damaged when a towline parted off the Oregon coast on 15 November 1937. The others went on to serve in the waters of northwestern Washington and southwestern British Columbia. After serving seven years as Elwha, Golden Shore was sold to San Diego in 1944 and renamed Silver Strand on the San Diego-Coronado route. The City of Sacramento operated on the Seattle-Bremerton route in the 1940s, then on the Horseshoe Bay-Nanaimo route from 1952 to 1963 as the MV Kahloke, and finally on the Horseshoe Bay-Langdale route from 1964 to 1976 as the MV Langdale Queen. The Peralta, rebuilt as the MV Kalakala, operated on various Puget Sound crossings and on the Seattle-Victoria-Port Angeles route. The City of Long Beach, renamed the City of Angeles, operated out of Port Angeles and the Stockton, which became the Klickitat, operated on the Keystone-Port Townsend route until 2007. Mendocino and Redwood Empire were retired in 2003 and scrapped in 2009. Santa Rosa was renamed Enetai, returned to San Francisco Bay in 1968, and is preserved at Pier 3.