City Guides: Things to do While Boating in Long Beach, California
With Redondo Beach to the north and Huntington Beach to the south, Long Beach is located where the Los Angeles River and the San Gabriel River meet the Pacific Ocean. The sunny Southern California city is home to historic attractions, the Long Beach Grand Prix, wide sandy beaches and multiple parks with walking trails and bike paths.
The city’s waterfront location is within close proximity to private boat slips for rent near Alamitos Bay, Queensway Bay and the Los Angeles River, making it a prime destination for boaters and watersports enthusiasts. Along with charter fishing trips, day cruises to Catalina Island and tall ship watching at Rainbow Harbor Esplanade, Long Beach visitors can even book a gondola ride along the bridges, bays and canals of Naples (yes, Naples, California).
Today, we’re going to take a look at some of Long Beach’s sites and attractions.
RMS Queen Mary
Photo: Queen Mary Facebook
The retired ocean liner and WWII troopship is now a museum ship and hotel (a supposedly haunted one at that). Built in the 1930s and retired in 1967, the Queen Mary is docked in Queensway Bay and has 346 staterooms, a spa, a fitness room and a restaurant all amid intricate woodwork, paintings and glamourous art décor architecture. Visitors can take historic ghost tours, a Glory Days historical tour and peruse an exhibit on Winston Churchill and his connections with the Queen Mary. He traveled aboard the grand ship three times during WWII and many times afterward and signed the D-Day Declaration aboard the Queen Mary. Other notable names include Bob Hope, Fred Astaire, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Dwight Eisenhower, Queen Elizabeth and Jackie Kennedy.
Aquarium of the Pacific
Photo: Aquarium of the Pacific Facebook
Located waterfront at Rainbow Harbor, the Aquarium of the Pacific features more than 12,000 species of Pacific Ocean creatures, including sea lions, eels, leopard sharks, sea otters, spider crabs, jellies, penguins and colorful fish. Exhibits cover the Northern Pacific, Southern California/Baja and the tropical Pacific. There’s an art gallery, interactive displays, animal encounters and boat adventures such as harbor tours and whale watching excursions. The 5-acre property also has a waterfront park, Shore Line Aquatic Park, that's perfect for picnics. The area is within access to yacht clubs and private boat lift rentals near the Los Angeles River
Museum of Latin American Art
Photo: Wikimedia
Founded in 1996, the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) is located in the East Village Arts District. It’s the only U.S. museum that’s fully dedicated to modern and contemporary Latin American and Latino art. There are more than 1300 works of art, a 15,000-square-foot sculpture and events garden and a wide variety of exhibits on topics such as Celebrating Diversity and Women Artists.
Long Beach Marine Stadium
Photo: Long Beach Marine Stadium (via Wikimedia)
The 106-acre Marine Stadium was the site of the 1932 Olympics rowing competitions and the 1968 rowing trials. A state historic site, it’s a premier waterskiing facility. There’s a boat launch, a sandy beach, restrooms and picnic areas. You can brush up on your waterskiing, practice rowing or check out powerboat races put on by the Southern California Speedboat Club (SCSC) at the annual Long Beach Sprint Nationals. Located on Alamitos Bay, the area is considered the birthplace of West Coast powerboat racing.
Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden
Photo: Wikimedia
Traditional Japanese garden design (with inspiration coming from the Imperial Gardens in Tokyo) can be found at the 1.3-acre Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden. Located on the campus of California State University Long Beach, you can walk among art, pagodas, bridges and koi ponds while enjoying seasonal blooms, exhibits and cultural events. It opened in 1981 and has a Tea House and a Zen Garden. It’s the perfect spot for when you need some quiet time away from the boat dock rental.
Hopefully you’ve picked up a few ideas to check out the next time you’re in Long Beach and looking for something to do from a private boat slip rental. Let us know if we missed anything!
