Bolsa Chica State Beach
Huntington Beach, CA
Free beach; $15 day-use parking (lower Oct–Mar)
By Simir Shah
Updated September 13, 2026
★★★★★4.6(1,614 Google reviews)
From our editor — we've been
This was our outlet during Covid — calmer than Huntington Beach and exactly what our family needed. We'd spend entire days here just to get out of the house: sitting in the sand, relaxing, or walking the path along the beach. My girls have thousands of huge shells from here. Our family absolutely loves this place.
💡 Local tip: The state beach lots charge a day-use fee, but they rarely fill up the way Huntington Beach's do — that's probably why parking always feels easy here.
A 3-mile stretch of sand with an 8.5-mile paved beach path for walking, biking, or a stroll — calmer and less crowded than Huntington City Beach just south of it. The state acquired and cleaned up the land in 1961, and today the beach borders the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, one of the largest remaining coastal wetlands in Southern California. More than 200 fire rings line the sand for evening bonfires.
Good for
- Ages 0–2
- Ages 10+
Happening near here
- Museum of Latin American Art — Free SundaysLong Beach · 9 mi · 11am–6pmFree
- Buena Park CultureFestBuena Park · 11 miFree
- Bowers Museum — Free Sundays (Santa Ana residents)Santa Ana · 11 mi · 10am–4pmFree
- Surf City Nights Certified Farmers MarketHuntington Beach · 4 mi · 5pm–9pmFree
Bolsa Chica State Beach, California, USA
Map
Tides today
Next low tide
5:27 AM
2 ft — best for tide pools
Next high tide
12:21 AM
3.8 ft
Predictions from NOAA · Newport Bay Entrance station
What visitors say
- Annmarie verstraeten★★★★★
With over 79,000,000+ views on my Google reviews as a Level 9 expert Google Reviewer, I always aim to give clear and honest feedback. Bolsa Chica State Beach is such a beautiful and well maintained beach area. One thing we constantly noticed during our visit was how much effort goes into keeping the beach clean. It was great seeing staff actively maintaining the area and taking care of the surroundings. The beach itself is stunning with soft sand, beautiful scenery and so many lifeguard towers throughout the coastline. Some areas even have little sand hills which added such a nice natural touch to the landscape. I also appreciated the care and protection given to the wildlife and surrounding environment. Between the ocean views, peaceful atmosphere and well kept beach, this is definitely a wonderful place to spend the day walking, relaxing and enjoying nature.
3 months ago
- Tanya Torres★★★★★
Always loved bolsa chica beach mostly fir the fire pits. Last time we went there were alot of sticks in the sand made it hard to walk, had to leave my sandles on. We did stay to see the beautiful sunset and i loved that. Also i like that we didn't have to pay to get in during the week. Definitely a plus.
2 months ago
Showing 2 of 5 Google reviews · Read them all on Google Maps
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