|
Spot: Huntington Beach, CA
33° 39.33828' N, 118° 0.20525'W
Places to stay
There is overnight camping at Bolsa Chica State Beach – which now has Wi Fi!
From October to May, one of the parking lots transforms into the Sunset Vista RV Park and charges $60 a day for a slot right on the beach. That is steep for camping but still inexpensive compared to the HB area hotels, which are fairly expensive.
There are a zillion hotels in Huntington Beach from low to high, and unless you plan ahead, you will find one by driving around and looking for No Vacancy signs.
But here are a few samples of the range of costs:
The Huntington Beach Hyatt is a place for splurgers, with room rates from $200 to $400 a night. But if you have that kind of money, go to Tavarua and get some real surf.
The Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort is also a good place if you are on an expense account, with rooms from $170 to $370 a night.
The Comfort Suites Huntington Beach is more reasonable, at $60 - $120 a night.
The Oceanview Motel does indeed have “partial” ocean views, for $40 - $110 a night.
Here is some of your Googling and Expediating done for you:
777 Motor Inn, 16240 Pacific Coast Hwy, 714-846-5561
Beach Comfort Motel, 118 11th St., 714-536-4170
Beach Inn, 18112 Beach Blvd., 714-841-6606
Best Western Regency Inn, 19360 Beach Blvd., 714-962-4244
Comfort Suites, 16301 Beach Blvd., 714-841-1812
Edelweiss Inn, 7561 Center Ave., 714-373-4999
Hilton, 21100 Pacific Coast Hwy, 714-960-7873
Holiday Inn, 7667 Center Ave., 714-891-0123
Huntington Suites, 727 Yorktown Ave., 714-969-0450
Huntington Surf Motel, 720 Pacific Coast Hwy, 714-536-2444
Hyatt Resort, 21500 Pacific Coast Hwy, (714)698-1234
Ocean View Motel, 16196 Pacific Coast Hwy, 562-592-2700
Pacific View Motel, 16220 Pacific Coast Hwy, 562-592-4959
Princess Motel, 18382 Beach Blvd., 714-848-8422
Quality Inn, 800 Pacific Coast Hwy, 714-536-7500
Food
Endless places to eat from fast food to sushi. Check out the Huntington Beach Restaurant Association website for a list, or just wander and see what you like.
The Sugar Shack is an HB institution and may or may not be the place Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs were singing about in 1963, and let’s hope that doesn’t go to the damned Supreme Court too.
But for surf-appropriate food, the No Ka Oi Restaurant and Pub is good for healthy Hawaiian kine grinds après surf.
Parking
There are thousands of parking spaces along PCH, in State and County parking lots and in parking structures in town. And even then spaces are hard to find.
According to the official website for the City of Huntington Beach: “Daily parking in the municipal parking lot, between First Street and Beach Blvd., is available at $10 per day weekdays, weekends and 4th of July, rates are $20 per space, cars = $20/ motor homes or oversized vehicles $40. At the Pier Plaza parking lots, located adjacent to the Huntington Beach Pier, the fee is $1.50 per hour, with a $12 daily maximum. A $12 daily flat fee is charged during the spring and summer months. Call (714) 536-5286 for further information.
Annual Municipal Beach parking passes are available January 1 through December 31. Pass holders may park in all beach parking lots from Beach Boulevard to the Pier. The pass is also valid at the off-street metered lots on the ocean side at Goldenwest, the metered lot adjacent to the Warner Fire Station boat ramp, at the meters from Beach Blvd. to the border of Bolsa Chica State Beach, and in the Pier Plaza parking lots.
Access and directions
Off the 405, take Beach Boulevard (Highway 39) all the way to the end, then turn right and look for a parking space.
Because of that extreme population density noted above, the 405 passing through Huntington Beach is always, always congested, so whichever direction you are coming from, it’s best to get on PCH as soon as you can and drive until you see the pier.
Surf Shops
There are at least a dozen surf shops in Huntington Beach – from old school to Back to School - and some of them are as packed together as the houses and the surfers.
Jacks Surfboards is the very model of a modern major surf shop. They have everything you could possibly need and a lot of stuff you don’t need but will want to buy anyway. Jacks is at 300 Pacific Coast Hwy Suite 408, 714-960-2266. That’s the end of Main Street, just across PCH from the Pier. Location, location, location.
Huntington Surf and Sport is just as big as Jacks and right next door at 300 Pacific Coast Hwy Suite 408, 714-960-2266.
Katin Surf Shop is north on PCH in Surfside and one of the oldest names in surfing, going back to the early 60s.
Bob “The Greek” Bolen has been making surfboards in HB since 1959. He has a surf shop and museum on Main Street. Check it out or be square.
Chuck Dent was a surf character from the drug-addled 70s, when Huntington was a “surf ghetto.” You can get a taste of that long gone HB soul at the Chuck Dent Surf Center and decide for yourself if it was better as a surf ghetto, or what it is now.
Sakal Surfboards is an outlet for hand-made boards and other kine stuff at 201 Main St. Suite A, 714-536-0505
Other shops:
311 Boarding Supplies, 1506 Pacific Coast Hwy, 714536-9311
Beachcombers Surf and Sport, 207 Main St., 714-960-0031
Board Riders, 300 Pacific Coast Hwy Suite 408, 714-377-9191
Board Shack, 5942 Edinger Ave Suite 103, 714-377-7804
Huntington Beach Surfing, 8351 Clarkdale Dr., 714-962-3515
Line Up Surfboards, 7272 Saturn Dr. Suite C, 714-842-1648
Michael Surf and Sport, 414 Pacific Coast Hwy, 714-960-0880
On Edge Board Shop, 22311 Brookhurst St., 714-965-9283
Attractions
Even if you don’t like museums, you will love the International Surfing Museum, which has all kinds of surf history. But the best thing you can do in Huntington Beach is wander around and decide for yourself which line of the sand you are on: Is this the best place in the world, or does it need a tsunami.
The website for the Oceanview Motel lists these wonders:
Disneyland
Knotts Berry Farm
Catalina Island
Queen Mary
Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach
Irvine Spectrum Center
Discovery Science Center
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Huntington Beach Pier
Seal Beach Pier
Newport Beach Pier
Laguna Beach Pier
If you or a loved one was born to shop, you can do that until drop at these retail Xanadus:
Fashion Island, Newport Beach
South Coast Plaza
Main Place Mall, Santa Ana
|
