The SkyStar ferris wheel on the San Francisco fisherman's wharf
As I was riding a historical street car by the San Francisco fisherman’s wharf recently, I suddenly noticed this view outside its window.
A ferris wheel? In San Francisco? On the waterfront? Yes please!
It turns out this SkyStar wheel started operating in Louisville, Kentucky’s Waterfront Park back in early 2018. But folks in San Francisco are more likely to know it from its spot at the Music Concourse within Golden Gate Park where it arrived on March 15, 2020. Yes exactly as the COVID lock downs were starting in earnest, so it didn’t open until October of that year.
The SkyStar wheel stayed open in Golden Gate Park until until Oct 2023, but somehow I never experienced it there. It opened at Fisherman’s Wharf in November 2023, and riding by it in a historical streetcar put me in the mood to finally give it a go.
A ticket for the SkyStar ferris wheel is $18 for adults, and for that price you get to do multiple loops on the 150-foot (45.7 m) tall wheel. The gondola’s hold up to 6 people, but I got to ride one just with my wife.
no no no, I wasn’t scared
At 150 foot you of course won’t see the entire city, but you get a nice view over the Marina, North Beach, Waterfront and Downtown areas - and of course over the bay itself. I can’t wait for the lights on the Bay Bridge to come back, as that’d be a spectacular sight from here.
Our ride on the ferris wheel lasted 5 loops and took 10-15 minutes. Whether it’s worth the price of admission is up to everyone to decide for themselves, but we enjoyed being (and seeing from) above street level for a bit.
As we made our final walk across the area for the day, it was dusk and the ferris wheel gave us another beautiful sight.
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Want more San Francisco? Here are some of my recent posts about the city:
- Historic street cars in San Francisco on the F line December 15, 2024
- Waymo stuck behind parked church cars August 19, 2024
- Many of the other socials on puf.io
