As the weather warms up, I figured a beach-inspired post was in order! We’re fortunate enough here in southern California to have beach weather pretty much all year round, but we do have bouts of colder weather every now and then. The California coast is lined with tons of beautiful beaches, though I’d have to say that my favorite beaches in southern California are located in Laguna Beach. This week, I’m letting you in on some of my favorite treasures along the beautiful coast of Laguna!
Shaw’s Cove
Shaw’s Cove is a tiny beach tucked away in the gorgeous neighborhoods of Laguna, and has some decent snorkeling where you can see bright orange Garibaldi fish (California’s state fish), baby leopard sharks, and if you’re lucky, maybe a little ray or two! There are also few caves slightly farther out from the reef that you can snorkel to, I’m just personally too scared to swim out to see them (haha), but I’ve heard many wonderful things and have seen some really awesome videos and pictures!
Thousand Steps
I love Thousand Steps beach. Despite the name, there really aren’t 1,000 steps down to the beach – only about 270 or so. Still, this is enough to raise your heart rate a bit, so just put it in your mind before you go. I always think the way back up from the beach is worse than the way down, but that’s just my opinion – people literally workout on these steps; I don’t think I ever will. You’ll be thankful once you get down to the beach, though, because the water is beautiful. For those of you who love ‘sightseeing’, the cliffs over Thousand Steps are lined with several dream-worthy houses for you to oogle over while you enjoy the relaxing beach scenery.
The caves at Thousand Steps are one of the cooler places to check out. You can access the caves after you take the stairs down to the beach and walk all the way to the left. It depends on the time of year you go, but sometimes the entrance to the cave is inaccessible by foot due to the high, rough tide. At other times of the year, you may get lucky enough to where you can walk right on through in to the cold, damp sand of the cave. Once through the cave, you can climb over the rocks and water pools to where you’ll find great views of the water from the top of the rocks. Last time I went, I saw the cutest sea lion playing with seaweed in the waves!
Crescent Bay
Crescent Bay is so pretty, and reminds me of that simple yet beautiful, quintessential Orange County beach you imagine in your mind. I always bring my friends here whenever they visit, since it makes such a great impression every time. But let’s be real, Laguna itself makes an impression any time of day! If you head all the way to the right and climb over the rocks, you can catch glimpses of sea lions frolicking in the water and can experience a great viewpoint of the beach. If you’re like me and love to collect seashells, I suggest walking a little farther past the rocks to find thousands of pieces of shells, dried sea urchins and smooth sea glass.
Aliso Beach
This beach is definitely the most family-friendly beach, as it has an up-close parking lot (only $1 parking per hour!) and many fire pits scattered throughout the sand. There’s also a little play area for the young ones, plus a concession stand and restroom nearby for those of us who stay snacking. If you want to reserve one of the bonfire pits, I suggest coming here a bit early, as groups of people hang out the whole day and save the pits just to enjoy the beauty of having a bonfire on the beach – it’s worth it!
Main Beach
Main Beach is the most active and access-friendly for those of you who don’t like to lay motionless on the sand all day. Known for being a hot spot for volleyball players, this beach has all you need to set and spike with some of the area’s best players (i.e., not me). There are also a few basketball courts at the north end of the beach, which make it easy for you to play a pick-up game or two and then head across the street for some food right afterwards! This beach also has wonderful tide pools that I recommend checking out, and has a playground, benches and picnic tables for all of your other needs. Also, if you forget to bring a bathing suit to the beach (like my friend and I did one time – guess we were too excited for the beach or something?) there are tons of cute beachwear shops around the area, amongst tons of the area’s cutest home decor boutiques.
And that’s a wrap for my favorite beaches in Laguna! Check them out if you haven’t gotten the chance, and definitely save time to explore the adorable beach shops, restaurants and art – Laguna is known for this!
xx.
