1,850 feet of concrete
There are no public restrooms on the pier deck. That single fact is why portables show up here for every event on the calendar.
What it is
A municipal concrete pier owned by the City of Huntington Beach at the foot of Main Street, and one of the longest public piers on the West Coast. The current structure was rebuilt from October 1990 and re-dedicated on 18 July 1992 after storms in 1983 and January 1988 destroyed its predecessor. A restaurant occupies the pier end — the tenancy has turned over several times since 2021, so check who is there now. Kite and bait concessions, benches, lights and a lifeguard tower run its length; it is free to walk and no fishing license is required.
The deck begins at Pier Plaza at Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway. Only authorised service and emergency vehicles pass the bollards at the plaza end — there is no public vehicle access on the pier. Staging comes from Pier Plaza itself, the pay-by-plate plaza lots roughly between 1st and 7th, the municipal lot between First Street and Beach Boulevard, and the Main Promenade structure at 200 Main St. Ramps and stairs connect the plaza to the sand on both sides.
What happens here
The Lexus US Open of Surfing anchors on the pier each late July and August. The Vans Jack's Surfboards Pro and the AVP Huntington Beach Open both run beside it. Fourth of July fireworks launch from the pier at 9pm with the Surf City Run in the morning. The Pacific Airshow, running since 2016, centers its flight box off the pier on the first weekend of October and is billed as the most attended airshow in the United States. Add the Kowabunga VW Bus Car Show, the Light a Light of Love pier lighting in December, amateur surf contests and fishing tournaments year-round, and near-continuous commercial filming.
The practical part
There are no public restrooms on the pier deck at all. The nearest permanent facilities are the Pier Plaza restrooms at the base and the beach comfort stations in the flanking city lots.
Placement is therefore all at the base: the plaza perimeter at the pier entrance, the paved lot edges immediately north and south, behind event and broadcast compounds staged on the sand beside the pier, and at the ends of the beach footprint. Nothing goes on the deck — load rating, pedestrian flow and emergency access all rule it out. Sand placement needs matting and a firm route from the plaza or a lot; the beach service route runs along the paved multi-use trail where personal vehicles are restricted; tide and swell reach the placements near the pier during winter events; and with PCH and Main closed during major events, service windows are typically overnight.
City of Huntington Beach Community & Library Services special event permit, ninety days ahead, with liability insurance naming the city. The largest ticketed tier — which is where the surf contests and the airshow sit — carries a substantial non-refundable deposit on top of the application and daily permit fees. Filming runs through the city's film permit process. Anything on PCH needs a Caltrans District 12 encroachment permit, and material changes to the beach or plaza footprint can require California Coastal Commission coordination.
Quotes by phone · Mon-Sat 4am-4pm
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Site questions
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Tell us the date and the headcount and we will work the placement out with you on the call.
