Bolsa Chica State Beach —
Your Complete Guide

Bolsa Chica State Beach is a California state beach in Huntington Beach, running about 3 miles along Pacific Coast Highway between Warner Avenue and Seapoint Street. It is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with the entry gates closing at 9 p.m.. Parking is $15 per vehicle, or $20 on summer weekends and holidays, paid by QR code. It is known for consistent surf, close to 200 fire rings and a beachfront RV campground.

California State Parks runs the beach. It was once called "Tin Can Beach" before it became a state beach in 1960 (history), and today it draws hundreds of thousands of visitors a year to surf, swim, play volleyball, hold family bonfires and watch the sunset. A paved 2.9-mile trail runs the length of the sand and continues to Huntington State Beach, about 8.5 miles in all.

Across the highway is a different place with a different agency: the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, over 1,300 acres of coastal habitat around a saltwater estuary, run by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, with about 4 miles of trails. Dogs are not allowed there, and on the beach they are allowed only on the trail and in the lots (dog rules).

Through the Year

Bolsa Chica is open every day of the year. Summer brings staffed lifeguard towers and $20 weekend parking. Grunion spawn from March through August, peaking from late March to early June; catching them is closed April through June, but watching is allowed. After Labor Day regular $15 parking returns, and the fire rings and bike path stay open all year. State Parks gives average temperatures in the high 70s to 80s in summer and the mid-60s in winter (weather).