San Francisco 49ers training camp location, history and fun facts

The 49ers have moved around a bit during their history when it comes to training camp.

For most casual fans, any given team's training camp is just a blip on the calendar that doesn't amount to too much. All that counts are the regular-season games.

However, for the die-hard fans, training camp is the unofficial opening of the upcoming season. It's a ramp-up to those games, the two-plus weeks of practices that lead to the excitement witnessed by millions any given Sunday.

The San Francisco 49ers have held a training camp of one kind or another since their inception way back in 1946 when they were indoctrinated into the now-defunct AAFL.

But fans might be surprised to find out the Niners have held their training camps in a number of different areas over the years, some locales within the Bay Area and others pretty far away.

History of 49ers training camp locations

Menlo College (1946-1956)

Similar to how seeing the 49ers play at Kezar Stadium seems like lifetimes ago, the thought of their training camp being at Menlo College in the town of Atherton, California, carries the same kind of weight.

Menlo, a small school on the Peninsula about 30 minutes south of San Francisco proper, isn't exactly known for churning out NFL players. But it did host the Niners for camp over the first 11 years of their existence.

Interestingly enough, San Francisco briefly rostered a Menlo College alumnus, wide receiver Nate Jackson, back in 2002.

St. Mary's College (1955-1967)

In 1955, the team moved across the bay to nearby Moraga, California, to hold training camp at St. Mary's College, known better now for its NCAA Men's Basketball teams rather than football programs.

For 13 years, the 49ers stayed in the East Bay as part of their preparation for the regular season.

University of California, Santa Barbara (1968-1975)

Known more affectionately by locals as UCSB, the Southern California school that's still a major part of the state's UC program played host to Niners camp from 1968 through 1975.

The warm weather and coastal environment must have done some good, since San Francisco thrice made it into the playoffs to kick off the 1970s.

San Jose State University (1976-1978)

Perhaps being so far removed from Northern California was a drawback during the 1970s, or it was just simpler and probably cheaper to hold training camp at nearby San Jose State, whose ancient Spartan Stadium played host beginning in 1976.

Despite serving as the 49ers' hosts for late summer for only three seasons (and those were some pretty bad years), this marked the first venue in Santa Clara County where the team would hold camp.

It wouldn't be the last.

Santa Clara University (1979-1980)

Staying within the county for the next two years, the Niners would uproot briefly and head over to Santa Clara University (Go Broncos! Sincerely, this SCU alumnus).

Of note, this was the first year under legendary head coach Bill Walsh, who earlier that spring, had drafted two less-heralded players, wide receiver Dwight Clark, and a lanky mid-tier quarterback by the name of Joe Montana.

SCU has long since abandoned its college football program, although it's important to note one of the greatest tight ends in franchise history, Brent Jones, also attended this Jesuit school with a rich history.

One has to wonder if any of those San Francisco squads visited SCU's favorite watering hole, The Hut, nearby.

Sierra College (1981-1997)

While 1979 was special in 49ers history, the 1981 season marked the first Super Bowl championship year for the franchise.

So, perhaps, moving to Sierra Community College in Rocklin, a suburb of Sacramento, California, must have been a good decision.

At the time, Rocklin was a sparsely populated town about 30 minutes northeast of downtown Sacramento with little to offer. But many of the players enjoyed partaking in the local community college's facilities and nearby amenities.

"It's better than San Jose or Santa Clara by a long shot," running back Paul Hofer said. "The fields are perfect, the rooms in the dorms are nice, there are saunas and swimming pools. The heat? Well it's definitely hot."

Apparently, there even used to be fishing competitions at a nearby fountain there.

Yes, it does get hot in the greater Sacramento Valley. But those great Niners teams of the 1980s and 1990s seemed to thrive there, winning all five of the franchise's Super Bowls during this span.

University of the Pacific (1998-2002)

Opting to move south while staying in the Central Valley, Stockton, California, became home to San Francisco's training camp sessions from 1998 through 2002.

At the noted University of the Pacific, which has also produced some quality NCAA Men's Basketball teams, some additional great 49ers teams managed to prepare for their upcoming seasons amid the oft-scorching heat before moving back to the Bay Area in 2003.

San Francisco 49ers Training Facility (2003-2013)

More or less, the Niners have stayed put in Santa Clara ever since 2003, going back for training camp at what was then called the San Francisco 49ers Training Facility, not too far from SCU.

Despite still playing at Candlestick Park in South San Francisco, this facility was nevertheless located approximately 45 minutes drive time to the south, and it would be the official headquarters of the team, which remains the case to this day.

When the 49ers struggled to get a new stadium built in San Francisco proper, the logical conclusion ended up being to build it right on the site of where the Niners held their practices.

SAP Performance Facility

In 2014, the 49ers debuted a brand-new Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, which was located right adjacent to their previous camp facilities, ones that are still in use today but have been renamed the SAP Performance Facility.

If you were to stand outside the eastern concourses of Levi's Stadium, you'd see the practice fields right there.

There's certainly a lot of convenience to having training camp located next door to San Francisco's home stadium, even if the team hasn't been in San Francisco for over a decade now. Players no longer have to travel different lengths to get from camp and then to games, while fans attending training camp know exactly where to go.

Until Levi's Stadium becomes no more, it doesn't seem likely the 49ers will move training camp anywhere else anytime soon.