Beaches in Newport Beach

Newport Beach’s Shoreline at a Glance

Newport Beach has more than eight miles of beach, by the city’s count, from the Santa Ana River jetty to Crystal Cove State Park. Its lifeguards cover 6.2 miles of ocean beach and 2.5 miles of bay beach, and the city counts 8 to 10 million beach visits a year. The ocean side runs down West Newport and the Balboa Peninsula, from the river mouth to The Wedge at the harbor entrance; the bay side holds the calm-water beaches of Balboa Island, Lido Isle and the Back Bay. This guide covers the city’s beaches outside Corona del Mar, which has its own beach guide.

Newport Beach’s Ocean Beaches

West Newport and the Santa Ana River Mouth

West Newport’s beach runs more than a mile and a half from the river mouth, on the Huntington Beach line, past street ends every few hundred feet along Seashore Drive. Eight rock groins cross the sand here, and the city warns that rip currents form beside them, so stay clear of the rocks when you swim. Surfers know the jetties and the river mouth, and West Newport Park, the strip along Seashore Drive, has restrooms, a playground and courts. The city’s Blackball area, between lifeguard Towers 40 and 44, is closed to surfing and skimboarding from May 1 to October 31.

Newport Pier and McFadden Square

The Newport Pier stands at the foot of McFadden Place, where the McFadden brothers finished the first wharf in 1888; the site is a California Historical Landmark. The city’s lifeguard headquarters sits at the pier’s base, with free beach wheelchairs. By city policy, the beach just west of the pier is reserved for the Newport Dory Fishing Fleet, founded in 1891, whose open-air market still sells the day’s catch on the sand. The West Ocean Front lot holds 211 metered spaces.

The Oceanfront Boardwalk

A paved boardwalk runs about three miles along the sand, from 36th Street in West Newport to F Street on the Peninsula, shared by walkers, skaters and bicycles. Between the two piers it carries the crowds: the city puts the pier-to-pier walk at 1.74 miles one way. Volleyball courts and street ends line the route.

Balboa Pier and Peninsula Park

The Balboa Pier stands at the ocean end of Main Street in Balboa Village; the Balboa Pavilion of 1905, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, stands at the bay end of the same street. A plaque at the pier’s foot marks the first water-to-water flight, in May 1912. Peninsula Park, on the grass beside the pier, has a playground, picnic tables, barbecues, restrooms and showers. The beach around the pier holds 31 fire rings, split east and west of the pier, first come, first served, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.; wood goes only in the unpainted rings. The Balboa Pier lot has 614 spaces.

The Wedge and West Jetty View Park

The Wedge, at the tip of the Peninsula beside the west harbor jetty, is the city’s bodysurfing beach, known for heavy shore break. From May 1 to October 31, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the city bans every flotation device there, surfboards and bodyboards included, so only bodysurfers may ride it. West Jetty View Park, at 2300 Channel Road, looks over The Wedge and the harbor entrance from benches and a lawn; parking nearby is limited.

Newport Beach’s Bay Beaches

Balboa Island

Every beach on Balboa Island is public, according to the city’s Coastal Land Use Plan, with 33 street ends leading to the sand and a boardwalk circling the island. The city’s Balboa Island loop runs 1.70 miles. The water is calm bay water, and the Balboa Island Ferry crosses about 800 feet to the Peninsula at Palm Street; its operator says it has run since 1919. Parking on the island is street parking only, so the city suggests the Balboa Pier lot and the ferry.

Lido Isle

Lido Isle is a residential island with its own community association, whose clubhouse and its beach serve members. The city and the Coastal Commission also record public ways to the water there: 13 street-end walkways the association keeps open, and public beaches at Via Genoa and Via Trieste.

Newport Dunes and the Back Bay

Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort, at 1131 Back Bay Drive, is a private resort on county land with a public lagoon beach, fire pits, restrooms and lifeguards in season; day visitors pay for parking by the length of their stay. Up the bay, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife manages the 752-acre Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve, open sunrise to sunset, and Back Bay Drive runs about three miles along its east shore; inside the reserve it is one way for cars and two way for bicycles and walkers.

Beach Rules: Dogs, Fires, Parking and Lifeguards

Dogs. The city bars dogs from its ocean beaches and oceanfront sidewalks from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from its bay beaches from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Outside those hours dogs are allowed on a leash of six feet or less, and they are never allowed on the piers.

Hours and alcohol. City beaches are open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and the piers from 5 a.m. to midnight. Glass, alcohol and smoking are banned on the beaches, the piers and the beachfront sidewalks, and portable grills are not allowed on city beaches.

Parking. The city meters its beach lots by the hour. The Balboa Pier lot and several Peninsula lots charge more from May through September and on holidays, while the Newport Pier lot charges one rate all year. Most lots charge from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, and the Balboa Pier lot charges around the clock. The city’s annual parking permit covers the Balboa Pier lot.

Lifeguards and flags. The Newport Beach Fire Department’s lifeguards staff headquarters at the Newport Pier every day of the year from 7 a.m. A black ball flag bars surfboards and skimboards in crowded areas; bodyboards stay allowed, except at The Wedge.

Living Near the Beach in Newport Beach

Most homes on the sand sit on the Balboa Peninsula, from 36th Street to Peninsula Point near The Wedge, and in West Newport along Seashore Drive. Newport Shores lies across Coast Highway from the West Newport sand, beside Semeniuk Slough. On the bay, Balboa Island and Lido Isle trade ocean surf for calm water and private docks, and Balboa Island adds the boardwalk around its shore; our guide to Newport Beach waterfront homes covers the bay front and its pier permits.

Much of the Peninsula and the island neighborhoods sit on low ground. Across the city, of the 280 homes for sale on October 31, 2026, our Newport Beach page counted 112 inside the State’s Tsunami Hazard Area and 115 in a liquefaction zone. Read the natural hazard disclosure on any home near the water.

Oceanfront Homes for Sale in Newport Beach

These are the six newest Newport Beach listings that their agents mark as oceanfront or beachfront in the MLS. See every one on the Newport Beach oceanfront homes page.

More About Newport Beach

Our Newport Beach real estate page covers every community and its homes for sale, living in Newport Beach covers the climate, commute and daily life, and the Newport Beach housing market page tracks prices month by month. Compare the city with Corona del Mar, Newport Coast and Laguna Beach, or read selling a home in Newport Beach. Realatrends Real Estate has sold homes on the Orange County coast since 1983; talk with us about homes near the beach.

Frequently Asked Questions About Newport Beach Beaches

Are dogs allowed on Newport Beach beaches?

On the ocean beaches, only before 10 a.m. and after 4:30 p.m.; on the bay beaches, only before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m. Dogs must be on a leash of six feet or less, and they are never allowed on the piers.

Can you surf at The Wedge?

Not from May 1 to October 31 between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., when the city bans all flotation devices there and only bodysurfing is allowed. Outside those months and hours the seasonal ban does not apply.

Where are the fire rings in Newport Beach?

Outside Corona del Mar, the city’s ocean fire rings are at the Balboa Pier: 31 of them east and west of the pier, open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on a first-come basis. Corona del Mar State Beach has its own rings.

Are Balboa Island’s beaches public?

Yes. The city’s Coastal Land Use Plan lists all of Balboa Island’s beaches as public, reached by 33 street ends and the boardwalk around the island.

How long is the Newport Beach boardwalk?

About three miles, from 36th Street in West Newport to F Street on the Balboa Peninsula. The stretch between the Newport and Balboa piers is 1.74 miles.