Parking/ ferry questions for newport beach/balboa island?

[maci]

All you SoCal natives, and frequent visitors.

I have been to newport beach and balboa...but it was 10 years ago , and before kids, and we had my cousin who lived there to drive us around!
So I cant remember logistics of it. If we want to go spend the day laying on the beach and renting bikes and exploring balboa, where do we park?
Do we ride the ferry over and park on the island or is there some place to park in newport beach and then just ride the ferry over on foot? Also, if we rent bikes in newport beach, will they let us "ride" them over on the ferry?
Also, does anyone know if the bikes from the rental places have kid seats on the back, or one of those trailer things the kids can sit in to rent as well?

Keep in mind it will be me, DH and DS5 and DD3.

Edited to add, that I was looking at the map...and I guess my question is, is there parking out on the pennisula? And is it best to go to balboa from the pennisula side or the main land side?
Looking at the map, it looks like 55 turns into newport blvd and will take me all the way out there?

Man...this turned out to be kind of a long post!

Thanks guys!! Only 2 weeks to go!!
I am so excited for that beach atmosphere!!

 

[Another Voice]

Balboa Island is actually in the middle of Newport Harbor. It's connected by a short bridge on the north, and to the Balboa Peninsula by ferry on the south. All of the beaches are on the peninsula as well as the Balboa pier and the Newport pier.

The island is mostly residential except for a small tourist strip (small restaurants and shops) off the bridge. Most of the tourist facilities are on the peninsula adjacent to the ferry landing and Balboa pier. There are several restaurants, and old time fun zone, boat and bike rentals (there is a large rental pavilion right at the Balboa pier that always seems to have different kinds of bikes), harbor tours and the boat to Catalina Island.

The beach on the peninsula is very wide with good, clean sand. A bike path runs its entire length and is a fantastic, if somewhat crowded, place to walk, bike, or rollerblade (it's California after all). The path itself goes all the way up to Huntington Beach or to Seal Beach if you're a little more ambitious. The ferry probably takes more people on bikes than in cars, but most of the passengers are walk-ons. There is a large public parking lot at each pier, several smaller lots scattered around and metered parking on the main street down the peninsula. There is very limited parking on Balboa Island however.

The 55 (also called the Costa Mesa or Newport Freeway) does become Newport Blvd and eventually runs down the length of the peninsula. Jamboree Road (which can be reached from both the 405 and the 5) leads directly to the bridge connecting Balboa Island. Both roads cross over Pacific Coast Highway, the main coastal road in California. The drive south from Newport to Laguna Beach and Dana Point gives you a great view of the Orange County coast.

 

[maci]

Thank you!!! Thank you!! Thank you!!!
That is just what I needed!!!