Huntington and Bolsa Chica State Beaches

For me, growing up in the dry inland city of Downey, Huntington was the beach. As a child, it meant sandy family days with coolers full of sandwiches and sand sticking to everything. As a teenager, it meant ditching school, grabbing a board, and praying my parents didn’t find out until the tan lines gave me away. Huntington and its northern neighbor Bolsa Chica are beaches with a pulse—sometimes mellow, sometimes rowdy, but always alive with people who love the Pacific in their own way.

These two state beaches stretch for nearly nine miles along northern Orange County, with Huntington City Beach sandwiched in the middle. It’s one long strand, but each stretch has its own character. Huntington’s broad sands and 200-plus fire pits make it a magnet for summer beach parties that glow long after the sun sets. Bolsa Chica is its quieter sibling—wide sands, dunes, and access to one of the most important wetlands left in Southern California.

This has always been a working-class beach. Before Bolsa Chica was brought under state control in 1961, it was known as Tin Can Beach. The name tells you everything—people came for fun, not for polish. And despite the surf boutiques and pricey condos now rising above the shore, not to mention the city’s crazy politics, Huntington has never quite lost its scrappy edge. You’ll still see oil rigs offshore and territorial surfers staking out their breaks. Somehow, it all fits.

The city itself was born from bold (and slightly outlandish) dreams. In 1901 developers laid out a town called Pacific City and hoped it would rival Atlantic City. One year later, Henry E. Huntington—railroad baron, real estate tycoon, and all-around magnate—bought controlling interest, ran his Pacific Electric red cars to the shore, and named the place after himself. More than a century later, it’s trademarked itself as Surf City USA™—a title that manages to make both locals and rival towns smile, wince, or roll their eyes depending on the day.

The pier is the centerpiece: the 1,800-foot-long Huntington Pier, rebuilt and reinforced since its 1914 debut, remains one of the longest on the West Coast. It’s a place to fish, stroll, or simply watch the surf culture unfold below. On any summer day, it feels like half the city is gathered within shouting distance of the pier—surfers in the water, beach volleyball players on the sand, kids chasing kites, and couples perched against the railings to watch the sunset.