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Santa Ana River County Beach Photo - The photos above show Santa Ana River
County Beach in Newport Beach. It is located on the northernmost
area of land and sand, just south of Huntington State Beach.
This Orange County beach sits and
the end of the Santa Ana River, a tributary that runs through most of Orange
County over 30 miles inland. You can gain a better perspective on this river
from the aerial photo taken.
Passing under a bridge on Pacific Coast Highway
that offers vehicle traffic at 50 miles per hour, and a bicycle/pedestrian
separated walking path, the river flows into the sea near the intersection of
Newport Beach streets - Summit and Seashore Drive. Along Seashore Drive are
multi-million dollar houses and residences that enjoy spectacular views of the
Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island over 20 miles west.
The beach, itself, is a
popular surfing spot. We saw other things going on here as well. Families like
to picnic at the beach, and a motorized paraglider was packing up his equipment
just as we arrived. His wife (shown above) removed the wind sock that was used
for his landing at this beach.
Also seen here are dogs.
Unless the rules have changed from our past information derived from the Newport
Beach City web site, dogs are permitted from 5:01 p.m. to 8:59 a.m. (city.newport-beach.ca.us).
There were several sets of dogs at this location so we can't really be sure if
they were slipping them in, hoping no one would notice, or if the regulations
have been altered.
Parking is a mix of limited free spaces and small parking lots with meters (25
cents for 15 minutes or $1/hour--takes quarters). I parked on the street in
front the beautiful West Newport Park, a small kids playground with swings and
slides, located in a plot of land between Pacific Coast Highway and houses along
the beach.
I met up with a surfer and
asked if he was local. The 20-something blonde with shoulder-length curls said
the surfing was fine, and asked me not to pass the information around. Indeed,
it was one of the emptiest surfing spots. But since I've read about the surfing
here before, I am not betraying a trust by saying it is a mellow location for
relaxed surfing. Just a few blocks south, there were a few
surfers catching sets at
Seashore and Grant. The most sparsely situated beach on the north end of town,
you'll find it a great place to relax without a lot of hassle and hiking.
For tourists, the portion of
beach is located across the street from this beach is an affordable hotel, Best
Western Newport Beach Hotel.
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