Bolsa Chica State Beach is a public ocean beach in

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

, United States. It is surrounded entirely by the city of Huntington Beach to the north and east, and to the northwest by the Huntington Beach community of Sunset Beach and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

to the west. The beach extends from Warner Avenue in Sunset Beach south to Seapoint Avenue, where the Huntington City Beach begins. The Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve is located across the busy Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) from the beach and is a popular spot for

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...

. The Bolsa Chica Bicycle Path runs along the length of the park through Huntington City Beach. Activities include surfing, sunbathing, water sports and fishing. Tent camping is not allowed at Bolsa Chica State Beach. Fire rings are available. Surf fishing for perch, corbina, California corbina, croaker, cabezon, shovelnose guitar fish and sand shark is available. California grunion is a species that only spawns on sandy southern California beaches. Under state law, these fish may be caught by hand with a fishing permit. Wildlife and bird watching are also popular at this state beach. Lifeguards from the California State Parks Lifeguard Service patrol the beach year-round and lifeguard towers are staffed during the summer.

History

The area that is now Bolsa Chica State Beach was once called "Tin Can Beach" by locals. The property was added to the state park system in 1960. In 1967, a nuclear power and desalination plant was planned on Bolsa Island, a man-made island off the beach. It was supposed to produce more electricity than the

Hoover Dam The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado, Black Canyon of the Colorado River (U.S.), Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. Constructed between 1931 and 1936, d ...

. However, the plans were abandoned by its chairman Jack K. Horton in 1968, as

Southern California Edison Southern California Edison (SCE), the largest subsidiary of Edison International, is the primary electric utility company for much of Southern California. It provides 15 million people with electricity across a service territory of approximate ...

was unable to raise sufficient capital, despite rate hikes and the sale of common stocks.

References

{{Protected areas of California, SP 1960 establishments in California Beaches of Southern California Bike paths in Los Angeles California State Beaches Campgrounds in California Geography of Huntington Beach, California Parks in Orange County, California Protected areas established in 1960 Surfing locations in California Beaches of Orange County, California

History

See also

References