Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, United States. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth most populous city in Orange County, the most populous beach city in Orange County, and the seventh most populous city in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located 35 miles (56 km) southeast of Downtown Los Angeles, it is bordered by Bolsa Chica Basin State Marine Conservation Area on the west, the Pacific Ocean on the southwest, by Seal Beach on the northwest, by Westminster on the north, by Fountain Valley on the northeast, by Costa Mesa on the east, and by Newport Beach on the southeast.
"Huntington Beach" redirects here. For the state park in South Carolina, see Huntington Beach State Park.
Huntington Beach, California
United States
February 17, 1909[2]
Gracey Van Der Mark[4]
Pat Burns
Rhonda Bolton
Dan Kalmick
Casey McKeon
Natalie Moser
Tony Strickland
Michael E. Gates[5]
Al Zelinka
28.33 sq mi (73.38 km2)
27.00 sq mi (69.92 km2)
1.33 sq mi (3.46 km2) 16.10%
39 ft (12 m)
198,711
7,000/sq mi (2,700/km2)
Huntington Beach has a long 9.5-mile (15.3 km) stretch of sandy beach, mild climate, excellent surfing, and beach culture. Swells generated predominantly from the North Pacific in winter and from a combination of Southern Hemisphere storms and cyclones in the summer focus on Huntington Beach, creating consistent surf all year long, hence the nickname "Surf City".[1]
Arts and culture[edit]
Special events[edit]
Many of the events at Huntington Beach take place on the beach during the summer. The U.S. Open of Surfing is featured on the south side of the pier. Huntington Beach is a stop on the AVP beach volleyball tour.[58] A duathlon (swim/run) hosted by the Bolsa Chica & Huntington State Beach Lifeguards takes place in July, early at dawn. The race begins at the Santa Ana River Jetties and ends at Warner Avenue, Bolsa Chica State Beach. Huntington Beach Junior Lifeguard day camps are held which teaches pre-adolescents and adolescents ocean swimming, running, and first-aid medical knowledge.
In addition to the beach-focused events, the Fourth of July parade has been held since 1904.[59] The Huntington Beach Film Festival takes place every February.[60]
The Pacific Airshow (originally known as the Breitling Huntington Beach Airshow, then the Great Pacific Airshow), featuring the Breitling Jet Team and the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, is held each October.[61][62]
During the winter, the annual Cruise of Lights Boat Tour is held in the Huntington Harbour neighborhood. This is a parade of colorful lighted boats as well as boat tours to view the decorated homes. In February of each year since 1996, the Surf City USA marathon is held with over 20,000 runners.[63] The annual Kite Festival is held just north of the pier in late February.
Huntington Beach hosts car shows such as the Beachcruiser Meet and a Concours d'Elegance. The Beachcruiser Meet is held in March, attracting over 250 classic cars displayed along Main Street and the Pier parking lot.[64] A Concours d'Elegance is held at Central Park in June and benefits the public library. An annual 'Cars N Copters' is held each October at Huntington State Beach featuring exotic cars and aircraft.[65] An informal "Donut Derelicts" car show occurs every Saturday morning at the intersection of Adams and Magnolia Street.
Surf City Nights is held every Tuesday night during the year. The Tuesday Surf City Nights is a community-spirited event that features a farmer's market, unique entertainment, food, kiddie rides and a carnival atmosphere. Surf City Nights and the Downtown Huntington Beach Art Walk are presented by the Huntington Beach Downtown Business Improvement District (HBDBID) and the City of Huntington Beach. The Tuesday night Surf City Nights event takes place in the first three blocks of Main Street from Pacific Coast Highway to Orange Avenue.
Parks and recreation[edit]
Central Park[edit]
Huntington Beach has a large central park, known as Huntington Central Park. Central Park is located between Gothard and Edwards Streets to the east and west, and Slater and Ellis Avenues to the north and south. Dedicated on June 15, 1974, Huntington Central Park is the largest city owned park in Orange County with nearly 350 acres (140 ha).[76] The park is vegetated with xeric (low water use) plants, and inhabited by native wildlife. Thick forests encircling the park are supplemented with Australian trees, particularly Blue Gum Eucalyptus, a high water use plant.[77]
Operational area
Huntington Beach
1909
17,205 (2014)
198 (2014)
$45.6 million[91]
Career
Scott Haberle
ALS
3354
1
8
8
2
5
1
1
Education[edit]
Public schools[edit]
Huntington Beach is the home of Golden West College, which offers two-year associates of arts degrees and transfer programs to four-year universities.
Huntington Beach is in the Huntington Beach Union High School District, which includes:
Media[edit]
The city was featured in the TruTV series Ocean Force: Huntington Beach. The city is mentioned in the Beach Boys song "Surfin' Safari", Jan and Dean's "Surf Route 101", and "Surfer Joe" by The Surfaris.
Live cameras are set up at the Huntington Beach Pier and shown on screens at the California-themed Hollister apparel stores. The store pays the city for the cameras, with the money used to fund marine safety equipment. The cameras are also used by lifeguards.[134]
The public television station KOCE-TV operates from the Golden West College campus, in conjunction with the Golden West College Media Arts program.
The Wave Section of the Orange County Register covers Huntington Beach.[135]
Huntington Beach has the following sister city relationships, according to the Huntington Beach Sister City Association:[141]