Best Places to Watch the Sunset in Huntington Beach

Huntington Beach faces southwest, which means the sun drops into open water for most of the year. That's the whole reason this stretch of coast is so good at sunset — you get color on the water rather than behind a headland.

The end of the pier

Walk the full 1,850 feet and turn around at the end. You get the sun on one side and the entire city lighting up on the other. Arrive thirty minutes before sunset; the last ten minutes are the ones worth staying for.

Bolsa Chica bluffs

The reserve's upper trail gives you the wetlands in the foreground and the ocean beyond. Herons, egrets and almost no crowd. Best in fall when the light goes amber early.

Dog Beach

Low tide, wide sand, a hundred dogs sprinting through the reflection. Not a peaceful sunset — a joyful one.

Tower 20 and the north end

My personal default. Fewer people than the pier, a fire ring if you plan ahead, and a clean western horizon.

Sunset Beach

Technically its own community, four minutes up PCH, and the small-town counterpoint to Downtown. Grab something to eat and watch from the greenbelt.

Quick timing guide

• Summer: sunset around 8pm, arrive 7:15, expect crowds through 9.
• Fall: best color of the year, and Santa Ana days give you a crisp horizon.
• Winter: earliest and often the most dramatic — bring a jacket, it turns cold fast.

More ideas in Things to Do in Huntington Beach, or plan around the Surf City events calendar.