Huntington Beach Guide And Information

Huntington Beach is a city in Southern California, built up around the seaside--meaning there's plenty of beach scenery and activity.  The Pacific Ocean borders it on the west side, while the Seal Beach makes up the northern border.  It's especially known for the eight and a half mile stretch of beach, along with its excellent surfing and mild climate. 

Some of Huntington Beach's notable features are Huntington Beach Pier, its huge beaches, beautiful sunsets, supreme surfing, and the jogging and bike paths that have been set up close to the ocean itself.  There are also an abundance of affordable yet attractive resorts and beach sports.  For an unusual entertainment experience, you'll want to check out Huntington Beach's Main Street night life.  It tends to e old-fashioned, simple, and yet a bit on the funky side. 

Main Street is an excellent place to dine and shop.  There are literally hundreds  of shops that carry unique Southern California mementos of your trip.

If you're the type who enjoys special events, there seems to always be something scheduled in and around Huntington Beach.  Some of the interesting annual events include the U.S. Open of Surfing, regular BMX competitions, skateboarding competitions, the annual Paintball World Series, an Independence Day Parade on July 4, an annual "Duck-a-Thon," and the Main Street Halloween celebration. 

As mentioned, one of the most popular aspects of beach life at Huntington Beach is its superb surfing experiences, as it has what are considered California's -- and indeed, the United States' -- best surf breaks.  There are four separate facing beaches at Huntington Beach:  Northwest, Southwest, West and South.  The Northwest is comprised of Bolsa Chica, the Southwest is comprised of everything to the north of the pier, the West is comprised of "Dog Beach," and the South is comprised of everything to the south of the pier. 

Bolsa Chica is operated by California's Parks Department and the Bolsa Chica Lifeguards.  This beach is quite narrow, with coarse sand.  Bolsa Chica has better surfing with Northwest - West swells during the winter.  In the summer, the beach gains some South-Southwest swells at a steep angle.

Almost as popular as the Bolsa Chica area at Huntington Beach is Dog Beach, which also has great surfing.  Incidentally, it gets the name "Dog Beach" because visitors are allowed to have dogs near the cliff area.  The surf here is even bigger than that at Bolsa Chica in the winter time--and it's often better, as well.  In the summer, though, the South-Southwest swells tend to slide by, and break poorly.

Gaining in popularity at Huntington Beach is a sport known as kite surfing.  Kite-surfers use a power kite to pull them through the water as they ride a small surfboard (similar to a wakeboard).  Those who just want to watch can often see kite surfers in action at the pier's northwest end.

So if you're a beach-lover who is looking for the ultimate surfing experience, thousands of people who also love the sport would recommend you check out Huntington Beach.