SoCal Road Trips: Shoreline Aquatic Park in Long Beach

One of the most beautiful and fun filled places for a Southern California road trip or a day trip is Shoreline Aquatic Park in Long Beach.

I had difficulty coming up with a title for this post because once you are at Shoreline Aquatic Park you are surrounded with so many things to see and do.  It just doesn’t do it justice to simply say Shoreline Aquatic Park is the destination. You could spend a week in the area and not get to it all!

We created the video because there is just so much to see photos alone don’t do it justice.  But you will also find a LOT of photos at the bottom of this post.  If you like the video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel.

The park itself is a strip of grassy land on Queensway Bay with a rocky beach on one side and a beautiful harbor on the other.  (note, if you want a sandy beach to lay out on then just head over to the very nearby Alamitos Beach) There is a path leading to the Lions Lighthouse on the top of a hill.  It’s a great place to hike a bit and take in the views.  You have birds eye views of the RMS Queen Mary, the downtown Long Beach skyline, the Aquarium of the Pacific, Shoreline Village and the harbor.

The park area has benches for taking in the view and picnic tables.  There is also an area where they are working to restore the natural plant life to the beach with informational signs.

A paved walkway surrounds the marina and you can stroll along it to the other nearby attractions.  The main one is Shoreline Village on the east end of the marina.

Shoreline Village is a boardwalk lined with restaurants, shops and things to do.  Activities include parasailing, sailing, a carousel, bike rentals and harbor cruises.

Along Shoreline Drive between the park and the village is a cluster of restaurants. This is also a great place to park when you come to visit. It’s central to all the things you’ll want to do.

If there isn’t enough shopping and dining for you near the park, the Pike Outlets Mall is just across Shoreline Drive.  You’ll find at least two bridges over Shoreline Drive you can walk across.  One will take you to the Long Beach Convention Center and you can cut over to the Pike Outlets.  The other takes you to the second level at the Pike Outlets.  This entire area of Long Beach is packed with stores, restaurants, theatres, art galleries and more.

If you’re making it more than a day trip, there are fabulous hotels in the area, including the Queen Mary itself.  Or if you have joined the RV craze that erupted after the COVID-19 epidemic, the Golden Shore RV Resort is right there too. It offers full amenities with reasonable rates of about $70.00 per night.

If you do decide to stay more than a day, consider the harbor cruises, touring the Queen Mary or taking the nearby Catalina Express to Catalina Island.

More photos after the break…

 

Background Music: Bohemian Beach by Chris Haugan from the YouTube Music Library https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjwz2-ZuVjGfpf3pahuTkSw

Video produced by Mark Stout Photography 

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