Long Beach - are there any beaches in Long Beach? (Huntington Beach: restaurants, shops)

[robertpasa]

I've been thinking of taking the Blue Line down to the southernmost station in Long Beach. What are the main attractions there, and are there any sandy beaches?

I recently took a 704 bus from Union Station to Santa Monica. It took well over and hour each way, but it was worth it. Fantastic beach, tons of restaurants.

[BRinSM]

the blue line will take you to downtown long beach, but the nearest beach is probably about .5 mile south from there. the beaches in LB aren't great (nothing like Santa Monica) but there are lots of sights to see including the queen mary and the aquarium. LB also has a number of tourist oriented bus lines that will get you to the more popular locations without having to walk for miles. i forget which line it is, but one of the buses will take you to belmont shore, which is a cool little commercial area on 2nd street in the eastern portion of LB.

[s0nginmyheart]

the "beach" in Long Beach isn't much of a beach in my opinion. Most people head down to Huntington Beach which is like a 10-15 drive away and much better.

At The Pike there are many restaurants to check out. Belmont Shores is a more walkable area with shops and restaurants. I'd also maybe suggest Naples and a gondola ride?

[Bruin5]

Sometimes it acts like a real beach- that's a big sometimes:


YouTube - We Love Long Beach Surf - jan. 19, 2010

[californio sur]

All the jetties don't allow decent waves and being close to the port, the water quality isn't very good in my opinion. Seal Beach is much better.

Pretty beaches but no waves in Long Beach:

[Bruin5]

Another Option would be Sunset Beach, just south of Seal, You have a nice beach-town kind of vibe and there's some free parking around there if you know where to look. Those guys surfing in Long Beach probably took like 500 hep. B shots before going in. The circulation of water in the area is horrible due to the breakwater. Hopefully one day they'll tear a portion of it down.

[NaplesRes]

Originally Posted by Bruin5

Another Option would be Sunset Beach, just south of Seal, You have a nice beach-town kind of vibe and there's some free parking around there if you know where to look. Those guys surfing in Long Beach probably took like 500 hep. B shots before going in. The circulation of water in the area is horrible due to the breakwater. Hopefully one day they'll tear a portion of it down.

The water is clean east of the pier though I can't tell exactly where those guys are in the picture. I do know that the reason there were waves was because of a storm and no beach is clean after it rains.

On the breakwater, the city just approved a $4M study to figure out how to alter the breakwater and LA River. So it would seem that within the next 5 years or so the beaches in downtown Long Beach are going to see some improvement both in terms of water quality and wave action.

[allenk893]

I don't think they would name it "Long Beach" if there wasn't any beach to begin with.

[californio sur]

Originally Posted by allenk893

I don't think they would name it "Long Beach" if there wasn't any beach to begin with.

There's plenty of sand and a shoreline but no waves to speak of. Plus the LA river empties into the ocean in Long Beach and the port of LA is there. Not a very pleasant place to swim. Also there are oil derricks right near the shore. Ugh!

[PittNewbie]

I love Long Beach the best dog beach in the world. Lots of bike paths along the coast and along the two rivers ( LA and San Gabriel) . The beaches and nice and sandy fulll of palm trees but the water quality is poor , just rinse off afterwards and try not to drink it.