Ideas for entertaining your tween around Huntington Beach.
Huntington Beach is a very cute little beach town, full of all kinds of hidden gems.
We had a wonderful time exploring the town for the day and I think it's now our new favorite hang out spot.
Our first stop was the Wetland & Wildlife Care Center. You can book group classes with them to learn all about the wetlands they are trying to protect. The group size can be between 6 and 20 people. They have all kinds of classes for different age groups. To book your own tour, contact John Villa at 714-374-5587. Their website is www.wwccoc.org and you can find the center at 21900 Pacific Coast Highway. We also follow them on Facebook to stay up to date on all their special events.
Next we were off to Huntington Beach Pier. We parked near the pier because it's near most of the things we wanted to do and see. Parking is $2 per hour. The beach is full of beautiful sea shells and the pier provides lots of shade in case you don't bring a sun umbrella. I think the kids could have played out in the waves all day. The current isn't too strong and there are miles of flat beach. I was shocked at how warm the water was.
On top of the pier you are allowed to fish without a fishing licence. They have a shop where you can rent fishing poles for $6 per hour and they have all different kinds of bait for around $10. You will also find sinks on the pier where you clean up your catch of the day.
If fishing is not your thing, head over to Ruby's for an ice cream. For $1.99 you can get the kid's cup, which is a pretty big scoop of ice cream. They have ordering outside, or you can walk around the back to find the door for ordering inside. Their ice cream is nice and creamy.
Dwight's Beach Concession has all kinds of things to rent for the day or by the hour. They have thing like bikes, surf boards, volleyballs and even wet suits you can rent. If you forgot your umbrella or beach chair, no problem. Just run over and rent one for the day.
We took a walk over the the International Surfing Museum to check out the world's biggest surf board. The museum itself is really small and has some interesting information on the history of surfing. It's free for kids 15 and under and $3 for adults.
You'll find the Museum at 411 Olive Ave.
We walked up Main street and down 5th street making sure to look down every ally and around every corner because there is a lot of cool street art to see. That's how we found the pizza wings by Cruisers Pizza Bar and Grill.
After the beach, we went to Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve (3842 Warner Ave) to check out the sea slugs. We couldn't believe how big these slugs were just moving around in the water. Parking is free there.
Then we were off to OC-RC Raceway (15282 Jason Cr). I found a deal on Groupon for the kids to drive for an hour. There are 2 tracks there. The kids got to use the little one with ramps. This is definitely an activity for older kids. The cars were not very easy to control but the kids still had a lot of fun with their time there.
If you want to go for a jump after, there's Get Air Trampoline Park right next door.
On the way back we stopped at Old World Village for a look around and some photos. It's a cute little German themed village. They have a few restaurants and shops there.
We also like hanging out at Huntington Dog Beach. It's one of the few beaches in California where you can have your dog off leash. Our little Peanut just loved her day at the beach. Just look at that happy little face.
Adventure Playground is another one of our favorite day trips to Huntington beach.
I took a group of 13 year olds on opening week. I thought for sure by noon they would say they were done, but instead we were the last ones out of the park. I couldn't get them to leave. The park is wonderful for hands-on, old-school, dirty fun. They have changing rooms and an outdoor shower for washing off dirt.
The park is at 7111 Talbert Ave. It's open from 10am to 4pm between June 17 and August 16. Entry is $4 per child.
Nearby you will find Huntington Beach Disc Golf Course (18189 Goldenwest St).
It's a pay-to-play course. $2 weekdays. $3 weekends & holidays. Rentals available for $2 per disc. Kids 15 & under play free. Disc Golf is a fun sport for teens to get into. It's just like golf but with Frisbees. The course is open from 8am to 7pm.
Right next door you will find Shipley Nature Center (17851 Goldenwest St). It's a cute little center and wonderful for bird watching. They are open from 9am to 1pm and closed on Sundays. Admission is free.
That sums our adventurous experiences in Huntington Beach. We would love to hear if there are more fun things for "tweens" to do in the Huntington Beach area that we don't know about yet. Please let us know in the comments.
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