The Powell/Hyde cable car still runs every day from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and drops riders at the bottom of Hyde Street, by Aquatic Park. The pier at the end of that street has been closed to the public since Nov. 4, 2024. The Balclutha, the Eureka, the C.A. Thayer, the Hercules and the Eppleton Hall have been moved. All five are tied up at the Mare Island Coal Sheds, 860 Nimitz Ave. in Vallejo.
This is the third holiday season since the pier closed, and the National Park Service has made clear there will be more. So the holiday season at the bottom of Russian Hill has moved a block or two inland. It now runs through the Maritime Museum at 900 Beach St., Ghirardelli Square at 900 North Point St., and a stretch of Beach Street that was rebuilt this summer. The busiest part of the calendar lands on three nights in a row in early December.
The pier is a years-long rebuild
The National Park Service gave the reason in its planning update, last revised Aug. 15, 2026. Hyde Street Pier is more than 60 years old and "no longer structurally sound enough to safely support the historic ship fleet or the thousands of visitors who visit the pier each year." The same page calls the replacement "a long-term project expected to take several years." It also says no demolition or construction contracts have been awarded and planning is still in progress.
The money is set aside. The pier replacement and the restoration of the Eureka are paid for through the Great American Outdoors Act's Legacy Restoration Fund, which has allocated $102 million to them. The Eureka is getting the most work at Mare Island: hull, decks, electrical and safety systems. The Balclutha and the Eppleton Hall are expected to need only minor work.
If you want to stand on a deck this season, you'll have to drive to Vallejo. The park opens one or more ships at Mare Island on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m., depending on staffing. The NPS planning page has the address and a time-lapse of the Balclutha being towed off Hyde Street Pier on April 16, 2025.
The museum and the square took over
With the pier fenced off, the Maritime Museum at 900 Beach St. is the park's main presence at the foot of the hill. It's open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It closes on Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, and on Christmas Day, Dec. 25.
The museum's holiday-season event is the free monthly chantey sing on the third floor. The NPS park calendar lists one for Saturday, Nov. 7, at 6 p.m., two days after this post goes up. The San Francisco Maritime National Park Association has the December sing on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 6 to 7 p.m.
One block south, Ghirardelli Square opens the season. Its Santa Lights the Square ceremony is Friday, Nov. 27, at 4:45 p.m., the day after Thanksgiving. A 46-foot tree gets lit, and Santa, Elf and the San Francisco Boys Chorus lead a sing-along. Funcheap SF lists the event window as 4:30 to 8 p.m. After the lighting, the square has Santa and Elf back on three Fridays, Dec. 4, 11 and 18, from 4 to 7 p.m.
Those Friday visits help set the season's rhythm. Every December Friday through the 18th has a reason to head downhill, and two of those Fridays line up with other events.
Three nights in a row, Dec. 3 to 5
The first weekend of December has an event at a different spot each night, all within walking distance of Hyde Street:
- Thursday, Dec. 3, 5 to 9 p.m. PIER 39 lights its tree at the Entrance Plaza, with live music, holiday specials and a North Pole visit. That 60-foot tree is a live one, and PIER 39's holiday season runs from Nov. 23 through Jan. 10.
- Friday, Dec. 4, 4 to 8 p.m. The Polk Street Holiday Sip & Stroll covers Polk between California and Broadway, the stretch south of the hill. It has tastings, discounts at participating businesses and free family entertainment that includes carolers. Bay Area Pop Up Events organizes it, and local businesses can sign up for free. The same evening, Santa is at Ghirardelli Square from 4 to 7.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 6 to 7 p.m. The chantey sing at the Maritime Museum, 900 Beach St.
That Friday splits in two directions. The Sip & Stroll runs south along Polk, and Ghirardelli is north at the water, so you'll pick one end of the hill or try both. Both events start at 4. Ghirardelli's Santa hours end an hour before the last pour on Polk, so going north first and finishing on Polk is the order that fits the clock.
A week later, on Friday, Dec. 11, the St. Francis Yacht Club holds its Lighted Boat Parade. Aquatic Park has traditionally been one of the viewing areas, along with Marina Green and Crissy Field. Santa is back at Ghirardelli that night too, so Dec. 11 is another Friday with two events at the bottom of the hill.
Beach Street was rebuilt for this
All of this sits on the flat ground at the bottom of the hill, and that ground got a new main route this summer. SFMTA reports that the Beach Street Quick-Build is substantially complete. According to the project update, the work added:
- A two-way separated bikeway on the north side of Beach Street between Van Ness Avenue and Columbus Avenue
- Upgraded crosswalks, advance limit lines, daylighting, a painted safety zone and a new stop sign
- New loading zones, blue zones and parking spaces
- A realigned 19 Polk bus stop in front of Aquatic Park, lined up with the bus shelter
Look at where the bikeway runs. Van Ness to Columbus takes in Aquatic Park, the Maritime Museum's block and the walk east toward the Wharf. That covers most of this season's events at the foot of the hill, so this is the first December you can ride the whole route in a separated lane.
Getting there without a bike works too. The 19 Polk now stops right in front of Aquatic Park, so the bus connects the Sip & Stroll stretch of Polk with the waterfront. The Powell/Hyde cable car runs until 11 p.m. daily, which covers every event on this list.
The walk back up Polk
Some of these evenings will end on Polk Street, and that stretch has new places since summer. Handroll Hawker opened Sept. 29 at 2360 Polk St., near Union. It's a counter-service Australian-style handroll shop with takeout and some seating, according to The San Francisco Standard. On Van Ness, The Infatuation listed Torino at 2360 Van Ness Ave. as a new Russian Hill aperitivo bar pouring wine, Aperol and Hugo spritzes, and classic cocktails.
Further south, at 2139 Polk St., is Lorella, the bakery from Melissa Perello and Melissa Loar. In July, The San Francisco Standard reported it was set to open before the holidays with croissants and sourdough. The bakery's own site gives the opening as late 2026. That puts it in the same holiday weeks as the Sip & Stroll, a few blocks from the event.
The season on one page
| Date | Time | Where | What |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 7 | 6 p.m. | Maritime Museum, 900 Beach St. | Chantey sing |
| Sat. and Sun., weekly | Noon to 4 p.m. | Mare Island Coal Sheds, Vallejo | One or more historic ships open, depending on staffing |
| Mon., Nov. 23 to Jan. 10 | Daily | PIER 39 Entrance Plaza | Holiday season, live 60-foot tree |
| Thu., Nov. 26 | All day | Maritime Museum | Closed for Thanksgiving |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | 4:45 p.m. | Ghirardelli Square, 900 North Point St. | Santa Lights the Square, 46-foot tree |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | 5 to 9 p.m. | PIER 39 Entrance Plaza | Tree lighting |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | 4 to 8 p.m. | Polk St., California to Broadway | Holiday Sip & Stroll |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | 4 to 7 p.m. | Ghirardelli Square | Santa and Elf |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | 6 to 7 p.m. | Maritime Museum | Chantey sing |
| Fri., Dec. 11 | Evening | Waterfront | St. Francis Yacht Club Lighted Boat Parade |
| Fri., Dec. 11 | 4 to 7 p.m. | Ghirardelli Square | Santa and Elf |
| Fri., Dec. 18 | 4 to 7 p.m. | Ghirardelli Square | Santa and Elf |
| Fri., Dec. 25 | All day | Maritime Museum | Closed for Christmas |
Through December, the Maritime Museum keeps its Wednesday-through-Sunday schedule, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and closes only on Christmas Day. That leaves every December weekend open for a stop at the one park building still open at the foot of Hyde Street.
Sasha has lived in the city her whole life and is a cable-car ride away on Nob Hill, so she knows these December weekends from close by. If you're weighing what the rebuilt Beach Street and a pier closed for years mean for a home near the bottom of Hyde Street, Selling San Francisco can walk you through it block by block. Let's Connect.
