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A few weeks ago I was out in California speaking at a convention for travel writers there and made my first visit to Huntington Beach, known as Surf City USA. There are surely others who would like to claim this nickname, but they don’t have the domain name SurfCityUSA.com, do they? Huntington Beach is in Orange Country, south of Los Angeles and near Anaheim. It’s right on the Pacific Coast Highway. Here’s why it’s worth a visit if you’re in the area.
1) This beach at the top. We’re talking about a beach so wide it will take you a whole minute to walk to the surf from the edge of it, with golden sand that glows at sunset. There are fire pits in one section so you can do a bonfire at night. There’s even a mile-long “dog beach” for the pets and volleyball nets always set up.
2) Biking along the beach. This beach is 8.5 miles long and has a path along it the whole way: no buildings are on the beach side. You can actually go further than that if you go on to the neighboring communities. There are bike rental places along the way. The prices are reasonable and the cruiser bikes make you feel like a real beach bum. You can also rent one of these wheeled carts pictured below and four people can go pedaling off together. Prices range from $10-15 an hour or $30 and up for the day. See more at this biking page.
3) The International Surfing Museum. This free museum (and gift shop) highlights the legends of the area, including the Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku who brought the sport from the island to California. Boards, lifestyle, music, and film all come together here.
4) A cool old jail. I never would have stumbled upon this place if Chris Epting hadn’t been guiding a few of us around on our visit. When this area was a big oil drilling area (there are still some active rigs around), it was a tough town. You can see where they locked people up who didn’t keep in line. It’s in an alley behind Longboard Restaurant and Pub. Seeing Chris there was a treat: he’s written several articles for Perceptive Travel on Death Valley, places where famous drinks originated, and where rock stars spent their last night alive.
5) Don the Beachcomber Tiki Bar. How can you not like a Tiki bar? This one’s a classic, named after the first one that opened in Hollywood and filled with all the Polynesian kitsch you would expect. I can testify that the food is good and the rum drinks are strong.
6) Awesome weather. If you don’t have to drive much and can spend most of your time around here instead of commuting a long way to a job, the sunny and temperate weather can make you want to live in California. Too bad that enticing looking Pacific surf is so cold…
Here are nine hotels that will allow you to wake up and walk to the beach.
[Photo credits – I tried an experiment of shooting with just a smart phone and it was a double disaster, so all photos courtesy of the Huntington Beach Visitors Bureau except for the Tiki photo by KCET Departures]
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