Fourth Of July 2010 Info For Newport Beach & The Balboa Peninsula

Heading to Newport Beach for the 4th Of July? Here are some tips for you!

First, see my post from last year, 4th Of July 2009 Info For Newport Beach & The Balboa Peninsula. Much of it remains applicable to 2010, including these sections:

Parking
Public Transport
Necessities
What To Do
Fireworks Viewing
Partying & Avoiding Trouble

Also see my Newport Beach 4th Of July 2010 Street Closures & Info map of related information:

View Newport Beach 4th Of July 2010 Street Closures & Info in a larger map

Here’s what’s new for 2010:

Balboa Boulevard Closed To Everyone

Other than by water, there are two routes onto the Balboa Peninsula: via Newport Boulevard or Balboa Boulevard. Balboa is traditionally closed to vehicles. This year, it’s closed to everyone, from noon on July 4 through 6pm. Even if you’re biking or walking, you still can’t “enter” the peninsula via Balboa Blvd. Here’s a snapshot of the city’s map showing the entrance routes:

For those driving, this is no big deal. You couldn’t drive onto the peninsula via Balboa anyway. For pedestrians and bicyclists, this is a big deal. Go off the peninsula via Balboa, and you’ve got a long walk ahead of you.

Here’s a close-up view of the closure area around Balboa Blvd, from the city’s published map:

And an even closer view, from another map:

There’s a small shopping center on the corner of Balboa and Pacific Coast Highway. In the map above, the “No Access” barricades look to block access to the center. This means anyone heading over to the businesses there are likely to have been deemed to have “exited” the peninsula and subject to the new detour entrances.

Another change is that the street closure area is now shorter, both ending earlier than in the past and also only extending to 38th Street.

Activities Update

My 2009 post has plenty of information on things to do and where to perhaps see fireworks displays. Here’s an update on things that are new:

Boat Parade: The American Legion is again having a Pancake Breakast at 7am through 11am, then BBQ Lunch and Dinner from Noon through 6pm. The Old Glory Boat Parade also returns, starting at 1pm. More info is here, here plus the route is here.
Marine Helicopter Flyover: Watch along the beach at 7:00pm. Four AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters will be flying from the north in Huntington Beach and down the coast to Camp Pendelton. They’re expected to pass off Newport around 7:05pm. More info here.
Mariner’s Parade & Picnic: It happens on July 3 this year, not July 4. More info here.

Twitter Hashtag

On the peninsula and tweeting? Use #nb4th as your hashtag!

More Information

Finally, I’ll leave you with these samples of what last year was like. Enjoy this year!