July 23, 2026
Balboa Island is a man-made island in Newport Harbor, connected to the mainland by a bridge and to the Balboa Peninsula by a historic ferry. It was created in the early 1900s when a developer dredged Newport Harbor and used the sand to build up what had been a tidal mudflat. Lots initially sold for as little as $25. Today homes on the island typically range from $3.5 million to $8 million.
The residents of Balboa Island are either slow taking down their Independence Day decorations or are the most patriotic people in America.
These folk even had their own Statue of Liberty
While these settled for red, white and blue penguins.
There were a number of quirky touches, ranging from this old couple sitting on a bench.
To this statue, complete with bible saying
To these lifelike busts, including one, randomly, of Abraham Lincoln.
To this T Rex hiding in the garden.
To this Cadillac golf cart.
But the quirkiest was, undoubtedly, this house stuffed full of teddy bears.
Here are some other photos from our exploration of the island.
Being a jewelry enthusiast, Lauren liked the street names
This was undoubtedly her favorite.
The iconic ferry began operating in 1919 and has been running ever since, taking cars and people on a short three minute ride over to Balboa Peninsula and Newport Beach.
One last quirky fact about Balboa Island, it is the birthplace of the frozen banana. The classic version is a ripe banana cut in half and inserted onto a wooden stick. It is then frozen, dipped in melted chocolate and rolled in toppings such as peanuts, almonds, sprinkles, coconut or crushed cookies. There is some controversy as to who actually first invented this frozen convection and on the main street we saw two shops that claimed to be the first.
Some of you may know about the frozen banana business from the classic comedy Arrested Development that ran in the early 2000s. In the show, the Bluth family owns a frozen banana stand on Balboa Island that is an ongoing gag through the series. We didn’t try the bananas but did have an excellent homemade espresso gelato.
Mal and Lauren 