Discover Coastal Wilds Where You Least Expect Them—in Huntington Beach

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3842 Warner Ave

Huntington Beach, CA 92649-4263

Phone: (714) 846-1114

http://www.bolsachica.org Print E-mail

You might not think of Huntington Beach – Surf City USA® — as a place for serenity and solitude. But maybe that’s because many visitors haven’t discovered the pleasant anomaly of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, the largest coastal wetlands restoration project in Southern California.

Enjoy the fruits of this effort on reopened trails that cross the Inner Bolsa Bay to the bluffs and wander the coastal dune system. Here you’ll see the dark shapes of fish move like cloud shadows through still tidal shallows and great flocks of birds rise against a distant high-rise skyline. Though surrounded on three sides by civilization and by PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) on the fourth, these precious wetlands are still home to juvenile fish and flocks of shorebirds, seabirds and migratory birds.

First and foremost, Bolsa Chica is a birder’s paradise, where you might spot (to name just a few) red-throated loons; assortments of grebes, pelicans, and cormorants; and white-faced Ibis, merlin, and osprey. In summer, you might see coyotes and peregrine falcons too.

• » Peruse Local Creativity at the ARTery
• » Tiffy’s Family Restaurant
• » Dana Point
• » Hike the Restored Bolsa Chica Wetlands
• » Bolsa Chica State Beach