Looking for a place to step back in time in the Bay Area? Head to Crockett and Port Costa, two East Bay towns that are havens for artists and day trippers seeking funky surroundings.
Both are located on the Carquinez Strait and are full of century-old buildings. Weekends are the busiest time here, with shops and restaurants in full swing. A mid-week visit to Port Costa, in contrast, can feel like walking in a ghost town.
Crockett, the larger of the two towns with over 3,000 people, is just off Interstate 80 in the shadow of the Carquinez Bridge. Port Costa, with a population of 190, is a five-minute drive to the east.
Crockett’s major landmark is the C&H Sugar refinery, which has been operating since 1906 and processes over 10% of the cane sugar in the U.S. The factory is not open to the public, but visitors can learn more by visiting the Crockett Museum, located in the former railroad station at 900 Loring Ave.
Norma Black, president of the Crockett Chamber of Commerce and a local resident, has seen inside the factory.
“It’s dark and hot. It’s very old. It’s huge,” she said.
In one part of the factory, where packaged sugar is stored, “it looks like canyon of sugar because it’s so high,” she said.
Another landmark in town is The Dead Fish, a seafood restaurant that offers fine views of the Carquinez Strait.
(Larry Sokoloff/Bay City News)
Crockett’s hilly downtown is compact and easy to tour.
Start at the Visitor Center located at 628 Second Ave. and pick up a packet of C&H Sugar, covered with images of town landmarks.
Check out unique businesses like Messuhya at 325 Rolph Ave., a brightly painted store which bills itself as a community art space, thrift store and social lounge. Stroll into the Vintage Cat Museum, a collection of cat memorabilia inside an antique store at 720 Second Ave. Also nearby is Toot’s Tavern, a dive bar operating since 1901.
The Epperson Gallery at 1400 Pomona St. has several ongoing exhibitions, including artwork by figurative painter Guillermo Navarette and ceramic sculptor Emil Yanos in an exhibit called “Of People & Earth,” on display through Sunday, Nov. 8.
Crockett seems like a big city in contrast to Port Costa, which was built in the 1880s as a wheat shipping port. The wharfs and docks are long gone, but the two and three-story buildings that line Canyon Lake Drive are still preserved today.
Park near the water in Port Costa and sit at a table outside the Warehouse Café, one of the few businesses in town open every day. The cafe is housed in an old granary from 1886 and includes a bar and restaurant with live music. Inside there’s an eclectic display of items like a taxidermy polar bear. On weekends, the Warehouse is a top destination for motorcyclists.
Other nearby businesses include the Bull Valley Roadhouse bar and restaurant, Theatre of Dreams gift store, a gemstone store called Crystal Garden, and the Compulsive Peddler antique shop.
Getting to Port Costa involves a drive on country roads, but the town isn’t cut off from the Bay Area. Boats cruise by on the Carquinez Strait and the Capitol Corridor train that connects Sacramento and San Jose glides past the town at the water’s edge.
Port Costa and Crockett are about 30 miles by car from San Francisco.