A Bridge to the Sandspit

Look across the bay. Can you see the tiny remnants of a wooden trestle bridge that once connected the place where you are standing to the sandspit?

The Navy built the bridge in 1942 as part of its efforts to create a functional Navy base in Morro Bay harbor. The harbor was rebuilt as a Navy Section Base to support small deepwater "mosquito" patrol boats, with a safer entrance, better docks, and a more usable staging area.

Exactly why the Navy built the bridge is a mystery.

The trestle bridge was a handy asset when the Section Base was converted to an Amphibious Training Base in early 1944. It allowed soldiers and small vehicles to cross easily to the sandspit for training, and was used by the Coast Guard for nighttime beach patrols.

Photographs show that the bridge was originally a sturdy flat surface, but was too low to allow boats into the south bay. Probably within a year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers modified the bridge to allow small boats - possibly landing craft - to pass under.

The Navy permitted civilians to use the bridge beginning in 1943. Local residents recall crossing the bridge in a pickup after the war ended to go clamming - the pickup allowed them to carry more clams.

After the war, the new safer harbor built by the military attracted commercial fishing boats in large numbers. These bigger boats could not pass under the trestle bridge, so it was taken down to allow access to the southern portion of the Embarcadero.

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Explore the Hidden History of Morro Bay

The Hidden History Project tells stories of Morro Bay's past, often revealing truths that are right in front of your eyes if we only knew what to look for.

Discover additional interpretive panels with descriptive Hidden History stories of Morro Bay at various locations throughout the city. . This historical marker was erected by Historical Society of Morro Bay and Morro Bay In Bloom. It is in Morro Bay in San Luis Obispo County California