Balboa Island, California

A power walk around Balboa Island is only better when nutritional breaks are included. We recently tried the long-standing island Chinese restaurant on Marine. We loved the food and the price, but we still like our RoadTripFlavors egg rolls the best.  Not Chinese at all, our rolls are more the Filipino-style Lumpia. See our recipe for Vegetable Lumpia and Dipping Sauce below.

 

Mapping the Day

The perimeter of Balboa Island is about 1 3/4 miles. Flat, sidewalk power walking along the Newport Bay is a welcome respite on hot summer days. The island walk also delivers fabulous bay views and entertaining people watching.

 

Local Story

Once over the bridge on the island, make the first right turn down the alley. Pass several streets and then start looking for an easy parallel parking spot. (We typically park on Coral Street.)

 

 

Parked and ready for walking, head back toward Beacon Bay and at North Bay Front, turn left. Enjoy the laughter of kids making sandcastles and bayfront residents in their fishbowl domains. At the tip of the island is a bridge to Collins Island. It is closed to the public, but imagine being one of 8 or so homes on the exclusive bay view spot.

Now continue on to the Newport Bay side, the Balboa Island Ferry pier is always bustling. Cars wait in line to board the ferry in groups of three. Plus throngs of pedestrians and bicyclists take the quick crossing of the bay. For a power walk detour, who can beat the inexpensive ride over to the Balboa Fun Zone on the Pennisula? The majestic Pavillion Building anchors the bay.

 

 

Beautiful view homes dot South Bay Front. There is always construction in progress as homeowners try to construct the perfect mansion on small lots that originally staged simple beach bungalows. Don’t miss Coral Street Public Pier where visitors can walk freely out above the water to catch a bay vantage point.

Two blocks short of the end of the island is Marine Avenue, the main commerce district of the island. Take a shorter walk and enjoy the many downtown offerings. Hershey’s Market has been on the corner of Marine and Park since 1929. (We love their crock cheddar cheese. It is so good.)

View from the Table

There are many restaurants along Marine. Recently, we opted for affordable Chinese food at Shanghai Pine Gardens. It’s a great spot and the lunch specials are a bargain. The restaurant is under new ownership from the original that opened in 1969, but it’s still a good place to fill the void.

After lunch, pick up extra mileage for your power walk by going back to the Park Avenue Bridge and cross to Little Balboa Island. It adds another ¾ of a mile and displays wonderful views of the channel out to open ocean water. There are also views of the Yacht Clubs and hillside homes on Dolphin Terrace.

With the extra mileage, a Balboa Bar may be justified. A block of vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate and dunked in toppings of choice is so good. Pick Dad’s or Sugar ‘n Spice. Which one is best?

 

 

Now up Marine and back to North Bay Front, turn left and continue to the original starting point. Viola, a perfect power walk with nutritional breaks.

Recipe

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