Welcome to Part 2 of my roadtrip to some of the dog-friendly beaches of Orange County. In Part 1, we visited Laguna Beach and Corona del Mar before checking into our hotel in Newport Beach. It was an amazing day full of sight seeing, wave dodging and rolling in the sand. I slept like a puppy.
The next morning we drove to the Balboa Peninsula, a 3-mile long strip of land that protects Newport Beach Harbor from the Pacific. Heading west along mostly residential Balboa Bl. for a couple of miles brought us to our first destination: the parking lot at Balboa Beach.
The beach is wide, clean, and stretches for miles. On a typical summer weekend it will be packed with swimmers, surfers, and sun bathers; but go early on a nice spring morning and you just might have the place all to yourself.
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| Balboa Beach & Balboa Pier |
The highlight of this beach for many humans is the Balboa Pier. I hear its nice, but dogs aren't allowed so I can't say for sure. :/
(The humans will have to visit in shifts. If they do, the dog is well within its rights to guilt them into bringing back a snack.)
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| If I can't walk on it, I'll hang out under it. |
At the beach end of the pier are fire pits, restrooms, water fountains, and Peninsula Park. The park has nice grass, picnic benches, BBQ pits, a playground, a gazebo, and a giant American flag surrounded by plaques engraved with the Bill of Rights. I think the country needs a 'poop bags at the park' amendment because there aren't any here.
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| Peninsula Park |
After a quick roll in the grass, the pack took a 5 minute walk down Main St. to Balboa Village, a waterfront recreation area with shops, restaurants, and the historic Balboa Pavilion. The pavilion, once the southern terminus of the legendary Red Car, is the launching point for the Catalina Island ferry and commercial fishing ships.
Next to the pavilion is the Balboa Fun Zone, a tiny amusement park with a rides, arcades, and carnival food.
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Balboa Fun Zone
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All that stuff is great for the humans, but the most fun thing for a dog to do around here is take the dog-friendly harbor boat tour. I'd never been on a real boat before!
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| My previous boating experience was aboard an inflatable raft. |
Our tour took us slowly past the expensive homes Newport Beach Harbor is so well known for and we heard stories about some of the people who live in them.
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| Boating is alright! The pack should do more of this. |
And, of course, we saw boats; lots and lots of boats. Over 9,000 of them call this harbor home and they come in all shapes and sizes.
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| That O.C. canine is chillin' while the human does all the work. Nicely done. |
After exploring the inner harbor, we rode to the end of the jetty and saw a buoy full of sea lions. Our guide said that sea lions are called the "dogs of the sea". I don't know about that. They may bark louder than I do and nap like champions, but they're named after a cat. No self-respecting dog would ever be named after a cat.
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| Did you know that sea lions evolved from canines? |
When our tour was over we grabbed a cool drink and returned to the car. It was time to visit the "crown biscuit" of Orange County's beaches!
Huntington Dog Beach is over a mile of canine nirvana just off the PCH in the city Huntington Beach. There is metered parking on the bluff overlooking the beach alongside a narrow park. The park has water fountains, restrooms, poop bag dispensers, trash cans, a paved walkway, and plenty of benches to enjoy the view from.
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| Another park right next to the beach. Kudos again for the O.C. |
From there it's a short walk down to a beautiful, wide beach with perfect sand. This beach has a special place in many canine hearts because it's OK to be off leash! After spending the whole roadtrip tethered to the pack, it sure was nice to roam free and make some canine friends.
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| If you want to see happy dogs, this is the place to be. |
After a couple of hours of splashing and an intense game of chase with some of my new pals, it was time to head back to the car for a cookie and a quick nap; the perfect ending to my roadtrip.
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| Dirty, wet and smelly is the only way to go through life. |
Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach share a special space along the Southern California coast. I'm so grateful that the residents of those cities think it's important to share some of the world's finest beaches with their canine friends. I wish more cities would do the same (I'm barking at you L.A.).
Every place I visited on this trip is less than two hours away from anywhere in L.A. County, so tell your pack it's time to hit the road!
Until next blog...I'll see you at the beach!
Chloe Canine-Angeleno
Some of the information I've shared in this blog was found at the following sources:
Visit Newport Beach
City of Newport Beach
WhoZoo
All photographs were taken by my Pack Leader, Jim Gross
Everything else was discovered by getting my paws dirty and the extensive use of my nose.
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