Harbor,  Landscape,  Marina,  Nature,  Outdoors,  Pier,  Port,  Scenery,  Water,  Waterfront
Credit Visit Newport Beach

Visit Newport Beach

Balboa Peninsula


Four miles long but less than a half-mile wide, the Balboa Peninsula has a white-sand beach on its ocean side and countless stylish homes, including the 1926 Lovell Beach House. It’s just inland from the paved beachfront recreational path, across from a small playground. Hotels, restaurants and bars cluster around the peninsula’s two famous piers: Newport Pier near the western end and Balboa Pier at the eastern end. The two-mile oceanfront strip between them teems with beachgoers; people-watching is great.

Near Newport Pier, several shops rent umbrellas, beach chairs, volleyballs and other necessities. For swimming, families will find a more relaxed atmosphere and calmer waves at 10th St and 18th St. The latter beach, also known as Mothers Beach, has a lifeguard, restrooms and a shower.

At the very tip of Balboa Peninsula, by the West Jetty, the Wedge is a bodysurfing, bodyboarding and knee-boarding spot for experts; newcomers should head a few blocks west. Park on Channel Rd or E Ocean Blvd and walk through tiny West Jetty View Park.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Discovery Cube's Ocean Quest

0.43 MILES

In the Balboa Fun Zone, this newly refurbished museum was recently taken over by Santa Ana's Discovery Cube and runs educational programs for local…

2. Balboa Fun Zone

0.44 MILES

On the harbor side of Balboa Peninsula, the Fun Zone has delighted locals and visitors since 1936. There’s a small Ferris wheel (where Ryan and Marissa…

3. Balboa Pavilion

0.52 MILES

Nearby the Balboa Fun Zone, the landmark 1906 Balboa Pavilion is beautifully illuminated at night. You can get boat rentals and catch ferries to Catalina…

4. Lovell Beach House

0.6 MILES

For a striking architectural specimen, stroll past the 1926 Lovell House, designed by seminal modernist architect Rudolf Schindler, a student of Frank…

5. Mothers Beach

1.03 MILES

This calm beach, known as Mothers Beach for its kid-friendly currents, has a lifeguard, restrooms and a shower.

6. Balboa Island

1.07 MILES

In the middle of the harbor sits the island that time forgot. Its streets are still largely lined with tightly clustered cottages built in the 1920s and …

7. The Wedge

1.63 MILES

At the end of the Balboa Peninsula, the Wedge is famous for its perfectly hollow waves that can swell up to 30ft high. The waves are shore-breakers that…

8. Lookout Point

1.81 MILES

Locals enjoy impromptu, though not quite legal, cocktail parties at Lookout Point, perched above the beach with views of Pirate's Cove and the Balboa…