Bolsa Chica State Beach - Huntington Beach, California

Address:Huntington Beach, California

Meaning "little pocket," in Spanish, Bolsa Chica State Beach is literally a little pocketful of fun in the surf and sun. Huntington Beach area's northernmost beach, Bolsa Chica boasts 1-1/2 miles of shoreline, and a 350-acre marine estuary where migrating birds stop over along the Pacific Flyway. As you relax on the sand here on a cloud-free day, it's quite common to see freighters in the distance heading toward the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, along with the mountain peaks of Catalina Island. Visitors can enjoy swimming and surfing at one of the best spots on the Orange County coast. Bolsa Chica is especially suitable for novice surfers, who can take advantage of the surfing classes offered here to improve their skills. If surf fishing is more your thing, you're in for plenty of perch, corbina, croaker, cabezon, and sand sharks. You may also want to try your hand at a popular summertime activity at Bolsa Chica: bare-handed fishing for California grunion, which only spawns on sandy southern California beaches.

Nature is generally abundant here, and wildlife and bird watching are respected beach activities, if you're not into the great volleyball, kite surfing, bodyboarding or windsurfing available here. The wetlands and the Bolsa Chica Interpretive Center, with its hands-on displays about the local wildlife in the protected wetlands area, are especially interesting. Lifeguards are on duty during daylight hours, and if you stay into the evening, there are firepits for beachside bonfires with the family.

Note that there is a flat parking fee charged here at a rate of about $10 per day. While most days here are beautiful in terms of weather, and not over-crowded, the 4th of July, Labor Day, and hot summer weekends bring many more people and the parking lots are usually packed with cars during these times so come early to grab a spot. Feel free to pack your own snacks but, even if you forget, Bolsa Chica has got plenty of concession stands where you can stock up on them.