Beautiful beach with amazing walking trails. Very secluded and easy to get to. Pull up and pull out…read moreyour chairs!

Colorado Lagoon is truly a gem within the City of Long Beach. Free admission and a stunning…read morelocation that was saved from neglect and pollution by the City....thank you! So many wonderful activities including swimming in the lagoon, hiking, running, sunbathing, picnicking, bird watching and native plant hunting. There's even a model boat club on the premises and lots of resources for education. The parking lot meters are in effect 10 am to 4 pm; free street parking is also available. This is truly an amazing free resource for all of Los Angeles.

River's End Park in Seal Beach is 6.2 acres of scenic views with trails for walking, running, or…read morebiking. There are picnic areas with a covered gazebo and benches throughout the trail to rest. There is street parking in the area. Depending on how long you're staying keep an eye on the signs because some streets are limited to 1 hour while some streets don't have a limit. I have a new found appreciation for this park, and parks similar to it. I thought it was all natural, but turns out it takes a lot of volunteers to maintain it for the public to enjoy. I came here with a group of passionate volunteers on a weekend and we helped plant new flowers and herbs, and removed weeds. I think I'm better at removing weeds than planting flowers. Despite it being a scorching hot day, it felt very rewarding that we were able to give back to a beautiful public space for all to enjoy. I would definitely want to come back here for a picnic and walk to the beach after. The views are romantic and stunning.

2/19/25 Beautiful, stunning, serene & uplifting…read more Hubby & I have passed by this park numerous times & I am surprised it's not on Yelp (but Google has it). It is located exactly where IT IS, at the River's End. The San Gabriel River. This park is on 1st Street & Ocean Way & right before the entrance to The Beach House Restaurant. The San Gabriel Trail begins/ends here as well. Plenty of cement benches/tables are available to provide areas for picnic. There is an area dedicated for tots to run around (non playground), too. Parking is in the neighborhood or you may opt to pay for parking at the lot of The Beach House. Public restrooms available next to this restaurant. Definitely worth a visit, although small, it is picturesque as it is located by the beach.

Locals just call it the Wetlands. We only call its full name when we're mad. "Bolsa Chica State…read moreEcological Reserve, you betta git your butt down here!!' Designated by the Dept of Fish and Wildlife, it's managed by Cal Trans and California State Parks. It's like a kid with two dads who lives with his grandma. The term Bolsa Chica means "little bag" because it's full of weed.[1] Archaeologists believe the Tongva and Acjachemen tribes lived here 9,500 years ago based on cog stones. Interestingly they're not sure what they were carved for. They may be ritual & ceremonial objects, or sacred replicas of nature (starfish, jellyfish, urchins) to help replenish their food source, or fishing weights, or game pieces. One thing's for sure, they used a black light and found acjachemen on their sheets. Fast forward past colonization and land grants to 1899, when the rich duck-hunters from Pasadena and Los Angeles who formed the Bolsa Chica Gun Club (a club that included Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig) dammed Bolsa Chica for their members. They were the luckiest guys in the face of the earth. In July 1920, Standard Oil Company got permission to drill, promising a 50/50 split of revenue. Fighting to preserve the area for themselves, the Gun Club fought off efforts to drill directly on the land but from the surrounding area, still making millions in royalties without a single rig. Annual club membership was $75,000, an idea that Disney ran with less than a century later. Fearing attack in the 1940s, two bunkers (Battery 128 and 242) were built. Though the largest was demolished in 1995, the circular frame of the smaller bunker, and you might get a ranger to show you if you sure him your cog wheels. In the 1960s, most of Bolsa Chica was acquired by Signal Landmark, who planned housing and a marine. State officials objected and 300 acres were set aside in 1970. The League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women decided to create a new group to preserve the area, but they all got into car crashes the first meeting. They became Amigos de Bolsa Chica "Friends of Little Bag" in 1976. By 1990, the Amigos and developer created the Bolsa Chica Conservancy, and two years later formed the Bolsa Chica Land Trust to expand the reserve to provide nesting, shelter, and food. People thought it was for the birds. It was. The egrets, herons, and raptors. Much of the developers land was bought and the remaining land was under dispute (California Coastal Commission, Proposition 50, etc), but it eventually ended up in Acjachemen Tongva Land Conservancy (by 2023). And, the 2006 restoration included opening an inlet to the Ocean, reconnecting it for the first time since 1899. It's the Circle of Life. Ha-bolsa Machica! It was because of the Bolsa Chica Conservancy, we took our Extended Day Care kids there for educational field trips. The Bolsa Chica Conservancy Interpretive Center offers live animal exhibits and other scientific stuff. They would start us off with something academic before setting us free upon lands full of "Seriously, rattlesnakes can kill you" signs. The coolest thing I remember hearing is that some of these species have "euryhaline tolerance", meaning some of the saltwater fellows are coming into the freshwater to eat and vice versa. Other fish would explode. This includes the local legend California Killfish and the Striped Mullet, which I had in high school when I was really into the Thompson Twins. Free public tours are offered each month by three organizations: the Amigos de Bolsa Chica, the Bolsa Chica Conservancy, and the Bolsa Chica Land Trust. Say Bolsa Chica one more time!! Approximately 30,000 people visit the reserve each year. Hiking, photography, and birdwatching are popular activities at the reserve. Fishing is permitted at designated areas around outer Bolsa Bay only. Pets are prohibited, unless you dress them up as a rattlesnake and they'll fit right in.

Bolsa Chica Wetlands is a jewel in SoCal! Great place to walk, take photos, enjoy nature and breath…read morein the beauty of the wetlands. This is a birders paradise. Great walking trails just beware of snakes and other critters on the walking paths as the weather warms up. Bathrooms at the north end interpretive center on Warner Ave. near PCH.

This is a nice park with lots of trees and grass. There are plenty of benches to sit and relax…read more Check out a book from the library and spend the afternoon here relaxing. The park is very clean with lots of trash cans and stations with bags to pick up after your pets.

This park is located in Old Town Seal Beach, south of main street. It goes all the way to Electric…read moreand Ocean. This park doesn't have any play grounds but does have lots of trees, a nice walk way, dog poop cans, and is always groomed. Most people that are here on a daily basis walk their animals, have yoga circles, climb trees, play catch or just lay in the grass under the tree. There have been sightings of coyotes at night that attack little animals but they usually won't go after people. I am here a couple times a week as its right across from my home, and we walk our cat lol. We get a lot of people stopping and staring but it's still fun. Everyone is really friendly and the park is always clean.

Very small park with about 2 or 3 benches. The landscape is well kept. The view gorgeous and…read morepeaceful.

A little bit of green near the Ocean, Alamitos Park provides parking and lifeguard building for the…read morefar-most SE point in Long Beach. It also has access to the furthest point of Alamitos Beach, which starts in downtown Long Beach, through Belmont Shores, and gets very close to Seal Beach. The sandy area just south of the park is called Alamitos Park Beach. There were huge, manmade sand berns protecting the houses facing the ocean, which made viewing the ocean more difficult. But one could 'camp' at the top of the berns, overlooking the rocks, to get some wonderful views. We could see the skyline of Long Beach, and the giant cranes of the Port of Long Beach. The area was pretty empty , except for the fisherman who came to test their skill/luck at the outcropping of rocks extending far into the ocean (learned that they can be called jetty, headland, groyn, or breakwater). We ended up spending 3 hours here, enjoying the views, weather. This is also where the lifeguard building is, and where my wife stopped by to get sandbags filled in preparation for any big storms. As for the park itself, it has a few stone tables where one could sit and watch the boats sail by from the Bay into the Ocean. This is where the sailing competition of the next Summer Olympics will be held...figures it will be a lot more crowded then (and hopefully not so much dog droppings in the grass).

Built slightly after LA's Venice Canals but there is nothing to be disappointed about here…read more The housing architecture is equally as diverse as the Venice Canals. The plant life may not be quite as nice as Venice but the SPACE here is the big plus. The walkways are wide and roomy and homeowner's have more space for their outdoor space around the sidewalk and in front of their properties. There are way more boats here compared with LA given the wider canals and more spacious environment. I believe there are more canals here as well given our walk through the area. Some teens were jumping off the bridge and into the water. I flashed back to my youth, and it looked like fun on this hot day. Until I overheard one scooter referencing all the sting rays doing "blow bys" in the water around them. It made immediate sense as I looked at the outlet to the ocean and a quick Internet search confirmed it. The waters are full of paddleboarders and small boats. If I had to choose, I would say this is the more enjoyable spot for a stroll. The ability to take a gondola ride through at night is very cool for those who have not been dating or married long. We're well beyond that so we passed on the offer, sadly. ;)

After a great day of the beach and lunch, our friends wanted to show us their favorite spots to go…read morefor a walk to get their steps in. Naples Canals is a beautiful neighborhood. Beautiful homes nestled around water and gondolas rides coasting by. We actually drove around for a couple of loops just being that crazy looky loo's at the beautiful neighborhood. We found parking and went for a walk. There's a cool bridge overlooking the canal. We got to see the gondola ride! Our friends told us this was a great neighborhood for seeing Christmas lights displays. All the neighborhood decorates their homes. How cool is that?!?!

The photos that I saw made the park actually look somewhat nice but it was a long dirt road to the…read morebaseball field. The parking lot is also dirt and very bumpy. It was a walk back down that dirt road to the little garden area to get to the bathroom- which was just one dirty porta potty. The people at the park were nice though and it wasn't sketchy, plus there were passionfruit growing on the chain-link fence between the parking lot and the bike trail. No entrance to the bike trail from there by the way!

Very nice little park, good for relaxation and just enjoying a bit of nature. It's conveniently…read morelocated near the freeway for easy access. I've been there several times and have been able to just chill and take my mind off things for a short while.

An interesting find while in Seal Beach! I'm not talking about the park, but a relic from a bygone…read moreera! While walking around and exploring Old Town Seal Beach, we stumbled upon this bright and shiny Red Tower Car! It's located in the Electric Avenue Median Park. Most people would feature the park in their review, but I was more amazed with seeing this Red Car there! It sits on the original tracks! This Car No. 1734 was built in 1925 and was used until 1950. It was a roving machine shop used to address problems along the route, used for performing repairs and maintenance on the overhead trolley wires. It is now the site of the Red Car Museum. It is owned by the Seal Beach Historic Resources Foundation. There are 7 steps leading up to a viewing platform. You can look through the window to peer inside. I couldn't see the details all the way at the back of the car. It was nice to take a quick look inside, though! Fun Fact: Seal Beach was known as "Bay City" when the Pacific Electric Railway first operated through here. It was renamed in 1915. A little bit about the park: It is approximately 0.6 miles long. It's a grassy park with a meandering cement walkway and makes for a serene little stroll. Just know that there are no restrooms here. Also, there's not a playground either, just grass! There are benches along the path. This park is full of large trees so finding shade on a hot day won't be difficult. Street parking is free. Come enjoy the park and take a look at a piece of history!

We should have more walking space in every neighborhood like Electric Avenue in Seal Beach…read more Green space is important in improving climate changes we are experiencing today. It feels about 20 F cooler under one of the giant trees lining this street. We love our after-breakfast wander down this windy walkway. Good way to add to your 10,000-step daily goal. Look out for birds, squirrels, and doggos. They are sure to add fun to your little neighborhood nature walk. You can even bring your food basket and a big blanket for a nice little outdoor picnic. Enjoy!