1 of ma FAVORITE HANGOUT SPOTS IN THE OC!!!! I used to WALK from 15th to BALBOA PIER, a HALF AN HOUR WALK about 3km!! I walked normally at night from 21:00-22:30! Very good exercise! Then about the pier, I know lots of visitors might say it's dirty & stinky from the sea or toilets, but that's natural for a beach because I was at sunset Beach, Solana Beach, San Clemente Pier Beach they are all like that. Then Catalina Express is just across the street from the pier! The only bad part is PARKING! This is why I used to take Bus ROUTE 71 here!! However bus doesn't go to the Balboa Pier anymore; only Route 43 go to Newport Pier that's it read more

We mistakenly parked near the Newport Beach Pier, thinking it was the Balboa Pier. The two piers are about 2 miles from each other and the Balboa Pier houses the original Ruby's Diner. We took this mistake as an opportunity to take a nice walk along the bike path to the Balboa Pier, which is shared with pedestrians. There is a paid parking lot adjacent to the Balboa Pier. Parking can be a bit pricey in the lot and with the metered parking. We paid about $10 for three hours at a metered spot. We noticed during our walk, that you can park for free on some of the side streets. We enjoyed our walk on the pier with beautiful views and and a spacious beach. We had lunch at Ruby's and then headed to the Balboa Fun Zone which is just a short walk. Our walk back was just as nice along the beautiful homes adjacent to the water. read more

See all

A great beach to chill and enjoy the ocean. Waves are usual on the small side, so it's a great area to go swimming and boogie boarding. There's a ton of free residential parking all along Balboa Blvd. And I love walking to the Balboa fun zone after taking a dip. There's lots of stores, restaurants, bars, and ice cream shops. read more

Balboa Pier - Beaches Near Me - Newport Beach, California

See all

What a nice pier situated in the Balboa Peninsula. Lots of parking with a park to host your kid's parties or any party you want to host in a quite tranquil environment. There is a pier that has a Ruby's Diner for to go orders or sit in with a fantastic view of the serene waters. We were lucky enough to witness a great sunset when everyone else in the East and Midwest are all bracing for a really bad winter storm. read more

What can I say about Balboa Pier? I just love it! Not too crowded, good scenery, you can see overview of coastline from Newport Beach to Corona Del Mar, there are public restrooms and parking nearby, also Ruby's restaurant on the pier. Walking across you can also enjoy Newport Beach historic Catalina cruise terminal with boutique shops, restaurants and arcades room, plenty of places to rent bikes and scooters, from there you can also take ferry to Balboa island . Parking is pretty straight forward right next to the pier. I really enjoy walking or jogging out the wedge from the pier its a good half hour walk one way. I like coming out here early or evening for runs and walk along the beach . Palm trees all over that's plus for beaches . read more

See all

The Pier: There are lifeguards on site. Public bathroom as well. The beach is clean. There are market, restaurants, retail shops close by. Walking distance just a few minutes. The Parking: Large parking lot right next to the pier. Short walk to the beach... Nice! Metered parking $3.5 per hour. read more

See all

The Balboa Pier is famous for one thing: It's the original location for Ruby Tuesday's Restaurant at the end of the Pier. And you will not have trouble walking to Ruby's because the Balboa Pier is the shortest pier in the world. And the parking lots are a parking nightmare on summer weekend months. I ride my beach cruiser past here all the time. I love watching people wait a hour for someone to leave a space next to the beach when they can just drop off everyone and park on the street 2 blocks away immediately and walk it back and get the beach day going. But you know how most people are--they see a long line of cars and figure--I better get on the line--no room for independent thinking? And as you can see from my photo--if you plan on taking an outdoor shower here--better get there early before the line starts. Perfect place to shower with 20 people all hunched together under the communal fresh water spouts. Fun! My concern was--some of those people may not have a home shower to go to... read more

See all

Beautiful and peaceful sea, the perfect place for a summer vacation. It is a very quiet place, as there is no cafe right on the beach, and it is a good place for taking a walk or playing in the water. However, the coast is short and the sea looks deep, so be careful when playing in the water. There are many cafes and restaurants around the pier, and there are cruises where you can rent a boat or watch whales. A great place to enjoy your summer vacation without going far read more

See all

This is definitely one of my favorite places to come visit when in Newport Beach. Balboa Pier less busy and has more parking available than Newport Beach Pier. And it's always nice to walk to the end of the pier and grab a nice treat at Rubys. read more

See all

My date was researching things to do in Orange County and somehow Balboa Island/Balboa Pier came up on his search so we decided to do a day by the beach. If you like a quiet intimate beach experience, Balboa Pier is the place to go. We actually parked over on Balboa Island with free street parking, took the ferry over, and walked over to Balboa Pier. It was a lot chillier as you walk down the pier, so you might want to bring a light jacket even if the day seems sunny. I like that this area is much less crowded than Newport Beach nearby or the other beaches around here. The pier itself had a good amount of benches to sit at and hang out, telescopes, fisher-people, and a Ruby's at the end of the pier if you are feeling hungry. It was so empty on the day of our visit we would hear the waves crashing and the seagulls' calls. Very relaxing and low key romantic. Will definitely come back the next time I want to visit the beach, but want to avoid the crowds. read more

Balboa Pier - view from the balboa pier - Beaches Near Me - Newport Beach, California

THE GOOD: Beautiful pier with Ruby's Diner at the end, over the water. Very short walk from the parking lot to the beach. The ParkMobile app makes paying for parking a breeze! THE BAD: The smell. My goodness THE SMELL! You can smell the sulfur as soon as you hit the parking lot. This is a nature issue (rotting algae), not a cleanliness issue, but annoying nevertheless. PARKING IS INSANE. It's VERY rare to find a spot without circling for what seems like forever. BIRD POOP. All in the sand on the shore. Bird poop and feathers. Watch your step! SUMMARY: Plan to spend quite a while looking for parking. The entire beach smells like sulfur, but the view is AMAZING!!! Dine at Ruby's Diner located at the end of the pier. Beautiful sand, but not exactly the cleanest near the shore (bird droppings, feathers, kelp, etc.). Even with all the cons, this is still a great beach that I would definitely recommend. It's beautiful! Bring your sweetie and watch the sunset on the pier. read more

Balboa Pier - Standing at the shore facing the parking lot - Beaches Near Me - Newport Beach, California

What's not to like. It's a pier with fun activities for all! Visitors come afar to visit and have some fun. Lots to do so pick your poison. Can get very busy during the summer so for you locals, walk around during the off season for a more quaint experience. read more

There is enough parking except on beach day afternoons... a wonderful walk close to many restaurants.

This pier and beach area is really, really nice. Clean on the beach, pier, and in the area. Would highly recommend coming here to hang out. There was plenty to do, see, and eat for the day. There's also some construction in the area which looks like they'll be adding more amenities to the beach and pier area. I spent about 3 hours here but could've easily made it and all day thing or an entire weekend. read more

See all

8am-6pm parking at the beach for 1.15 an hour. I imagine if you're local it's peaceful for getting outside. It's relaxing, pretty clean, and walk friendly. The peninsula is small enough you can walk from the pier to the other side that spots Balboa island (but it's not much of a view on that end aside from the harbor boats). Doesn't seem like there's much to do and feels a little touristy further down the street but there's some good photo opps. read more

This pier is down the road from Newport Pier. The have a Ruby's at the end. There's a small park next to the parking lot. Like Newport Pier, the restrooms are disgusting. Parking is better here than Newport Pier. I like going across the street to the Balboa Fun Zone. read more

Great spot to hangout at the beach. There's lots of restaurants for pizza, tacos, and even Thai food. Great pier to walk along. Under the pier is a great place for photos too. read more

Balboa Pier - Balboa - Beaches Near Me - Newport Beach, California

One of my all time most favorite piers. Our spot to begin and end our bike rides, plus our spot to sit and watch the sunset in the evenings or just watch and listen to the waves crash in the glistening sunshine. Not to jinx it, but parking for Balboa Pier is so much better than the parking at the Newport Pier. However, it can still get very crowded. Parking is free after 6pm in off-peak, otherwise it is a small fee to park. Pay at the kiosk with credit/debit card. The pier tends to have quite a bit of people fishing most of the time. There are benches and lookouts as you walk out to the end and back. The actual pier itself is not too long, but you can make a nice stroll out of it if you stop to capture what Southern California is famous for; surfing, waves, palm trees, views of snowcapped mountains, sunbathers, birds, fish, and occasional marine life. Leave our oceans and beaches cleaner than you found them. God provided a breathtaking Earth, be kind to her. Cheers! read more

Balboa Pier - Balboa Pier, Newport Beach - Beaches Near Me - Newport Beach, California

Stopped by the Balboa Pier on the way home after checking out the 1000 Steps Beach. I ended up parking on the street and walked 0.20 miles to the pier. There's also a parking lot at the pier but you need to pay at the machine. Plenty of people fishing on the pier, playing volleyball, chilling at the beach and walking around. A great place to get some nice photos! read more

See all

A quaint pier that is not as crowded as some other SoCal piers, with some great views for a nice stroll or relaxing afternoon. Nothing too fancy, just a simple pier leading out to the ocean that gives you unfettered and beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean, plus plenty of coastline whichever way you turn. There's a Ruby's Diner at the end of the pier, for those of you who may feel hungry during your time at the end of the pier. Parking can be a bit pricey, so finding parking in the surrounding streets with no time limits is definitely worth the walk. read more

See all

This hidden gem is a wonderful respite from the business that is of Newport pier. We arrived here as the sun was setting, fishing gear in hand. We had a couple of first timers in our group so I was eager to show them the treasures of the Pacific Ocean which is, the copious amounts of fish. Unbeknown to us, over yonder we're huge sand berms because as we later found out, there was a full moon tonight which exerted a gravitational tidal pull leading to high tide... this very aspect probably also brought the fish in. When you come to SoCal pier fishing, you already know what you're going to get, pacific mackerel. Sure there is occasional stingrays, sculpin, squid and the occasional shark but most of the time. It's pacific mackerel. The pier is often full of fishermen butttt everyone is so nice here if you are polite. No overcasting over here as they installed wires on top. Just ask people for bait if you want. Mackerels are cannibals. They'll eat their own. We caught numerous amount of fish and so were really excited because of the first timers here. The Ruby's at the end of the pier gives the pier a breeze of French fries. Nothing else can compare. read more

Balboa Pier - Pacific mackerel - Beaches Near Me - Newport Beach, California

See all

Crowded, very difficult in finding parking. We spent 90 min to find parking. The good thing was the parking lot to the water is really close walk. Pay machine for parking spot is everywhere and pretty easy to do. We need our last 4 VIN or our license plate. The waves were pretty strong with strong rip tide, and the sand filled with shells/ broken shells, making it not that compatible for little kids to hang out here. My 5 yrs old daughter was screaming once and cried because she felt a strong rip tide and got pulled further to the water. We found HUGE sizes of sandcrabs!!!! Huge huge! Like the size of mini frogs!!! So that was fun! The crowd are slightly better demographic than Santa Monica's beach, less ice cream/ board sellers, with mostly family/ organization hanging out. read more

See all

This was such a great find. We were at Huntington Beach pier the last time and it was way too big and too busy for us. Not to mention, a lot of homeless and unsavories hanging around. We actually saw some lady drop her pants and start peeing in the middle of the beach at HB. No bueno. Balboa Pier is neither too busy or too empty. It's just right. The best part is the paid parking lot is steps away from the sand, so you can easily keep an eye out for any break ins. Like most SoCal beaches we've been to, this one is the greatest for swimming due to the shore breaks. But it's nice to lounge and hang out and just listen to the waves and watch the sunset like how we did. Great great find and highly recommend this area over the HB area. read more

Beautiful space and location to everything walking distance. You're steps away from the beach and bike path if you choose to rent bikes. We will definitely return. read more

Great spot to relaxed, chill but parking is pricey if your planning to stay longer... They charged by the hour and it's 24/7

I've been coming here for many years, so here's my opinion for this beach. My family & I always come to Balboa due to the fact that this place has bon fire pits, which are nice but you need to come super early to reserve one (first come, first serve)... arrive around 6am if you really want a pit. For parking, there's a spot right across from the pier called, Balboa Municipal Lot, I recommend coming at least 9am at the latest for weekends or earlier. The lot is pretty full until after the sun sets which is after 6pm or 7pm. Overall, this is a pretty clean beach for the most part, very crowded on the weekends but there are lifeguards on duty. read more

See all

Great spot to enjoy the water and sunset. Clean and family friendly. Would recommend and will visit again.

When I was a little kid, I didn't know there were two piers in Newport Beach. I thought Balboa Pier and Newport Beach Pier were the same pier! I know you don't think that nine-year-old-kid confusion-conflation is worth an exclamation point, but you're reading my review, so you'll have to deal with it. My review, my rules! I love Southern California piers. Most of them look pretty similar, but each one has its own story, and each one has been destroyed by massive storms and subsequently rebuilt (often many times). I think the 1998 El Niño damaged Balbora Pier pretty severely, but then that storm may have damaged most SoCal piers. Anyway, this pier is home to the first Ruby's, and while I don't necessarily recommend any Ruby's, if you're going to go to one, the one at the end of this pier might be worth a visit, if only because it's pretty different from most other locations. There's fishing, and the pier is open till midnight. That's right; while most parks close around sunset or a few hours afterward, an Orange County pier is open until midnight. They even close the gates at midnight. (I've seen them being closed.) I always worry that someone is going to throw a body off the pier under cover of darkness, but that would be a stupid thing to do, because it would wash up on shore almost right away. The view at sunset is worth five stars. Most Orange County beaches have beautiful sunsets because the southwest-facing beaches mean you're not only looking at the sun setting over the ocean but also along the beach. Sunsets from Newport Beach Pier and Balboa Pier are both pretty epic, but I'll give the beautiful-sunset nod to Balboa Pier because it's slightly more north-south than its cousin to the west, which is almost at a 45-degree angle. There's always too much fishing going on here, which is why I've removed a star. Those smells and all the crowding. Yuck! I always feel like the concrete is going to crack, but I'm sure it's safer with a concrete floor than it would be with wooden beams. When it's low tide, you can often see a bunch of gorgeous starfish on the pilings. The pier also has four little lookouts complete with eight total benches with backs, but unfortunately, the fishers often snag these benches. You're already smelling up the place with your fishing; do you really need to take up bench space as well? Oh well. It's a short walk from Balboa Pier to Peninsula Park, the Fun Zone, and the Balboa Island Ferry, so if you're enjoying any of those things, mosey on over to the pier! read more

See all

This is such a nice beach!! There are a ton of adorable beach houses along which are cool to look at. The beach is mostly flat and it is a great place to walk/bike along the sidewalk. There are tons of restaurants and food spots with a beach view as well the pier was very nice and we saw many sailboats. I would definitely come back! It has volleyball nets too and there are a lot of people here, but it is so big that it doesn't seem too crowded. read more

See all

Great beach, restrooms are close to the parking lot, you pay hourly and for two hours we pay $5.25 which was pretty decent. Plenty of space to park. This one it's better than Huntington Beach in my own opinion, you can walk around it and there's several places and bunch of ice cream places! read more

Balboa Pier - Beaches Near Me - Newport Beach, California

Only gave it a four star because there is always traffic here. Very quant area. Lovely shops.

I wish the city of Newport Beach would do something about the homeless that have tents under the Pier. As a female who likes to run along this area in the evening.. it's a bit disconcerting. That aside, I do love the Balboa Pier... and especially the fact that there is Ruby's on the end -- much more appealing than the Newport Pier. I have fond memories of this Pier -- coming here is a kid growing up, and dining on the top of Ruby's. Great views of Catalina Island, and a nice place to watch the sun set. 2017: 81/100 read more

Nice, sprawling beach with a pier to walk around, fish off of, and sight see. There are restrooms and rinsing stations available as well. Family friendly with beautiful views in both directions. There is a paid parking lot next to the pier with ample parking spaces, but be prepared to do some circling on weekends and holidays. read more

Balboa Pier - Beaches Near Me - Newport Beach, California

See all

I really liked this pier. It was one of the cleaner ones I've been on and the view was very nice. There are tons of benches along the way and fishing spots. There is even a great restaurant on the end! There is also plenty of parking around and park at the entrance. If you are around the Balboa peninsula area it is definitely a must see for everyone! read more

See all

Not a lot to do here and the "restaurant" at the end is a matter of fact burger joint. Nothing wrong with that but it's not going to be a big draw. Think ballpark hot dog and cheeseburgers on the pier. It does have a killer view so there is that. The pier is short but sweet with gorgeous sweeping views of the Pacific coast at Newport and Balboa Island. Parking was paid by meter by the hour but was easy to complete at one of the parking machines after we showed up and easily found a spot in the middle of the morning on Saturday last week. Plenty of fisherman and this is a great spot to come people watch and watch fish being caught by locals but otherwise - walk down and back will take you about 10-15 minutes and you're done with the pier. read more

This is a really nice pier in a great area of Southern California. And addition there is a hamburger shop at the end of the pier if you desire a bite to eat. This is an all class destination that I've been going to for many years I happened to meet a friend who needed to meet me between San Diego and Los Angeles. I definitely will be back in the future. read more

Balboa Pier - Beaches Near Me - Newport Beach, California

Diana and I stopped at the Balboa Pier 801 E. Oceanfront in Newport Beach. Since it was a beautiful hot sunny day in Spring, we decided to take a walk on the pier. We saw a few fishermen catch a Fer small fish that they kept in buckets of water. It is Newport's smallest pier. I talked to one of the fishermen who was Vietnamese how he cooked his fish. He said that after he fileted the fish he would add spices and cook them in a large skillet until they were a golden brown. We found that most of the fishermen were at the end of the pier. We sat on a bench & saw children playing in the surf. We recalled how we enjoyed the beach as young kids. Then we left to find my next review. Robert H. read more

See all

very clean beach. Restrooms located next to the pier. Stores and restaurants on the board walk. Parking lot right next to the pier. read more

Balboa Pier - Chillin - Beaches Near Me - Newport Beach, California

See all

Great place for the family! Fun, clean, water what else do you need? Loved taking the ferry

If you're looking a safe, clean and uncrowded beach, look no further! Balboa Pier is a great place to spend an afternoon at the beach. It was chillier in the morning with overcast skies in the forecast, but it cleared out and the day turned out to be beautiful. The water is cold but the heat from the sun warms you up! There is a public restroom that is small but it has doors, automatic flush, and a sink. It's not updated, but does the job. There are a lot of families here that set up around the fire pits and bring their own canopies. It's a gorgeous place and I prefer it over other beaches near LA. It's definitely worth coming here! read more

See all