Take off your flip flops and dig your toes in the sand. Laguna Beach and Newport Beach have some of the most majestic, awe-inspiring scenery and beaches anywhere in the United States. If you are thinking of moving here, or just coming for a visit, we wanted to give you some insider tips to the prettiest beaches in our area.
Laguna Beach
Thousand Steps Beach
9th Ave & Pacific Coast Hwy
Laguna Beach
No, it is not 1000 steps to get up from the beach to the road, but after a long day of sun-worshipping, it may feel like it! Actually, there are only 230 steps from top to bottom. Thousand Steps Beach is a gorgeous spot right along the Pacific Coast Highway. When you are going down the steps, at the bottom you can hang a left and find a cave with a beautiful ocean view. If you are really feeling adventurous, you can try climbing through the cave on the south end of the beach and explore some tide pools. Of course, if it is high tide, you can’t explore the caves but the beauty is right in front of you nonetheless, with Pacific Coast waves hitting the rocks.
Pearl Street Beach
Pearl Street & Ocean Way
Laguna Beach
If you are in Laguna Beach and walking down Pearl Street heading west and get to Ocean Way, you are just a few steps from something pretty special. Pearl Street Beach can be found just below a stairway. You are standing a block off Highway 1. Pearl Street Beach is a gorgeous, sandy west-facing beach with several homes built right down to the beach level. When you are walking the beach, turn left, heading south, and you will see a natural arch in the rock wall called the “Keyhole” that gives this beach the nickname Arch Cove or Arch Beach. If you are at low tide you can walk through the arch to a rocky shelf which leads over to Woods Cove. It’s good to get expert advice on high and low tides, because this is a terrific place to explore tide pools when the tide is out and the waves are not strong.
Crystal Cove
8471 N. Coast Highway
Laguna Beach
Crystal Cove is a large California state beach and park, with more than three miles of waterfront. It connects Laguna Beach and Newport Beach, with several different beach access points, and each point has its own identity. When the tide is low, you can enjoy the tide pools, and the individual beaches can seamlessly be tied together, which creates a long walking route, but when the tide is high, they need to be taken individually. You can walk on the paved pathways on the bluff above the beaches to enjoy the beauty of each spot. Crystal Cove’s beaches include:
- Moro Beach–southern beach between Laguna Beach and Corona del Mar area
- Reef Point Beach–large state park with 3.5 miles of beaches and day-use parking
- Los Trancos Beach–in the historic district of Crystal Cove State Park
- Pelican Point Beach–near Los Trancos with a gentle slope
- Treasure Cove Beach–can be accessed from hiking trails that lead from a steep bluff inside the Pelican Point entrance
- Little Treasure cove–on the northside of Crystal cove between Laguna Beach and Newport Beach
Victoria Beach
If you head south in your car from Victoria Drive, you’ll find a long white sandy beach. Victoria beach is a public beach but isn’t easy to see, but put in 2713 Victoria Drive in your GPS device and you’ll be right there. A long stairway will get you to the far north end of the beach. If you are a hiker, you can walk onto the rocks and around the point to see the Victorian La Tour Tower that was built nearly 100 years ago. Front that vantage point you will also be able to see a circular concrete pool that fills with salt water and sand depending on the tide.
So are you packing your hat and sunscreen? Let us show you around this gorgeous area. The Stavros Group has many listings that can make Laguna Beach (and its beaches) your home!
