The 2026 Honda Ridgeline for Orange County

Why the Ridgeline fits Orange County life

Most OC truck owners don't actually tow 10,000 lbs or crawl over rocks - they haul beach cruisers to Salt Creek, mulch home from Green Thumb Nursery, a paddleboard to Dana Point Harbor, or their kid's dorm gear to UCI. For that job the Ridgeline is quieter, more comfortable and more efficient than any body-on-frame truck. And the in-bed trunk is the single most useful pickup feature on the market.

2026 Ridgeline Trims

• Sport - blacked-out styling on the standard truck. AWD standard across the range.
• RTL - leather, heated seats, moonroof. The value sweet spot.
• TrailSport - all-terrain tires, skid plates, orange recovery hooks, unique interior.
• Black Edition - premium audio, ambient lighting, blacked-out badging.

Ridgeline vs Tacoma vs Pilot

If you need a truck bed, the honest OC choice is Ridgeline vs Tacoma. The Tacoma is more capable off-road; the Ridgeline is nicer to live with 350 days a year. If you don't actually need a bed, the Pilot or Passport will do more of what most OC families need.

Real MPG, towing and the in-bed trunk

EPA 18/24/21 - real-world OC owners see 20-22 mpg mixed. Tows 5,000 lbs (jet ski, small boat, small camper). The lockable, drainable in-bed trunk fits a full-size cooler, a case of drinks and ice, or a duffel of surf gear - and it's out of sight in a shopping-center parking lot.

The best surf truck in Orange County

If you live between San Clemente and Huntington and your weekends revolve around Trestles, T-Street, Doheny, Salt Creek or 54th Street, the Ridgeline is quietly the most practical surf rig Honda has ever built. A few things nobody tells you until you own one:

• The bed swallows a longboard flat. The 64-inch bed will take shortboards and fish boards fully inside with the tailgate up. For 8-foot longboards or SUPs, the dual-action tailgate swings out to the side so you can lay boards flat on the bed floor with the tailgate down - no tie-down gymnastics, no roof rack required. Most 9'0" longboards ride with roughly a foot of overhang and a red flag.
• The in-bed trunk is the wetsuit trunk. The 7.3 cu-ft lockable, drainable trunk under the bed floor is engineered to be hosed out. Toss a soaked 3/2, booties and a wet towel in after a dawn patrol at Trestles, drive home, drain it, done - no salt water on your leather seats, nothing visible from a Pacific City parking lot.
• Truck-bed audio for the parking lot. Ridgeline RTL-E and Black Edition include the in-bed 540-watt truck-bed audio system - the bed panels literally become speakers. It is a beach-lot cliche for a reason.
• Two 115V outlets in the bed. Charge a GoPro, run a small compressor for your SUP, or plug in a griddle for post-surf breakfast burritos at Salt Creek.
• AWD without the truck compromises. Unlike a Tacoma or Frontier, the Ridgeline rides on a unibody with independent rear suspension. That means it drives home from Trestles like a Pilot, not a work truck - a real difference on a 90-minute round trip up the 5.
• Fits every OC beach lot. At 210 inches long, the Ridgeline fits a standard California parking stall - which a full-size F-150 or Tundra will not. That matters at Doheny, San Onofre and Salt Creek, where tight lots and narrow lanes make a long truck a headache, and especially when you are hunting for street parking near the Trestles trailheads off Cristianitos Road.

Bring a couple of soft racks or a set of Yakima BedRock towers if you regularly haul 3+ longboards, but for a typical OC dawn-patrol loadout - one or two boards, a wetsuit, a cooler, and coffee - the Ridgeline handles it without a roof rack at all.

Service & maintenance

V6 oil changes run about $100-$130 at Honda dealers. Plan on $300-$450 for the 15k/30k services. RSM Honda's service department handles Ridgeline maintenance for owners across South OC.