Coastal Orange County
Famous for its swallows that fly back to town every year on March 19 (though sometimes they’re just a bit early), San Juan Capistrano is home to the …
Must-see attractions in Coastal Orange County
Newport Beach
This engaging museum highlights California art and cutting-edge contemporary artists, with exhibitions rotating through two large spaces. Recent…
Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve
Huntington Beach
You'd be forgiven for overlooking Bolsa Chica, at least on first glance. Against a backdrop of nodding oil derricks, this flat expanse of wetlands doesn't…
Huntington Beach
One of SoCal’s best beaches, the sand surrounding the pier at the foot of Main St gets packed on summer weekends with surfers, volleyball players,…
Huntington Beach
A 3-mile-long strip of sand favored by surfers, volleyball players and fishers, Bolsa Chica State Beach stretches alongside Pacific Coast Hwy between…
Huntington Beach
The 1853ft Huntington Pier is one of the West Coast's longest. It has been here – in one form or another – since 1904, though the mighty Pacific has…
Newport Beach
Four miles long but less than a half-mile wide, the Balboa Peninsula has a white-sand beach on its ocean side and countless stylish homes, including the…
Newport Beach
A few miles of open beach and 2400 acres of undeveloped woodland at this state park let you forget you're in a crowded metropolitan area, at least once…
Laguna Beach
The grassy, bluff-top Heisler Park offers vistas of craggy coves and deep-blue sea. Bring your camera – with its palm trees and bougainvillea-dotted…
Coastal Orange County
This child-friendly educational center encompasses four separate ocean-centric ‘adventures.’ It is mostly reserved for school groups on weekdays, so it's…
Coastal Orange County
Surfers won’t want to miss world-renowned Trestles, in protected San Onofre State Beach, just southeast of San Clemente. This beach is famous for its…
Newport Beach
On the harbor side of Balboa Peninsula, the Fun Zone has delighted locals and visitors since 1936. There’s a small Ferris wheel (where Ryan and Marissa…
Newport Beach
This 10,000 sq ft center in the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Preserve is made from sustainable materials. Inside, you’ll find displays and information…
Coastal Orange County
Just south of the Laguna Beach boundary, this 18-acre county-run park is popular with surfers, sunbathers, bodysurfers and tide poolers. Families make the…
Newport Beach
In the middle of the harbor sits the island that time forgot. Its streets are still largely lined with tightly clustered cottages built in the 1920s and …
Coastal Orange County
One block southwest of the mission, next to the Capistrano train depot, this peaceful assemblage of a few dozen historic cottages and adobes now mostly…
Laguna Beach
A nonprofit organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating injured or ill marine mammals, this center northeast of town has a small staff and many…
Upper Newport Bay Ecological Preserve
Newport Beach
The brackish water of this 752-acre reserve, where runoff from the San Bernardino Mountains meets the sea, supports more than 200 species of birds. This…
Coastal Orange County
San Clemente City Beach stretches alongside this historic 1296ft-long, wood-built pier. The original 1928 pier, where Prohibition-era bootleggers once…
Laguna Beach
South of downtown Laguna Beach, the locals’ favorite Aliso Beach County Park is popular with surfers, boogie boarders and skimboarders. With picnic tables…
Coastal Orange County
The renowned sculptor Isamu Noguchi designed this 1.6 acre sculpture park, steps from the arts center near South Coast Plaza and the Segerstrom Center…
Newport Beach
In the Balboa Fun Zone, this newly refurbished museum was recently taken over by Santa Ana's Discovery Cube and runs educational programs for local…
Bolsa Chica Conservancy Interpretive Center
Huntington Beach
Galleries in this 1400 sq ft facility feature tanks showing off local marine life and reptiles, and there's taxidermy of land and bird species. It's on…
Coastal Orange County
Adjacent to the southern border of Dana Point Harbor, this mile-long beach is great for swimmers, surfers, surf fishers and tide poolers. You’ll also find…
Newport Beach
If you're seeking an escape, head down the steep hill to this secluded beach known for its tide pools. Kids love the tide pools, but be aware that the…
Surfing Heritage & Culture Center
Coastal Orange County
This foundation gives a timeline of surfing history by exhibiting surfboards ridden by the greats from Duke Kahanamoku to Kelly Slater, and its photo…
Coastal Orange County
Where Main St ends, Seal Beach Pier begins, extending 1865ft over the ocean. The 1906 original fell victim to winter storms in the 1930s and has since…
Laguna Beach
Jealously guarded by locals, Thousand Steps Beach is about 1 mile south of Aliso Beach, hidden off Hwy 1 just south of Mission Hospital. At the south end…
Newport Beach
For a striking architectural specimen, stroll past the 1926 Lovell House, designed by seminal modernist architect Rudolf Schindler, a student of Frank…
Newport Beach
At the end of the Balboa Peninsula, the Wedge is famous for its perfectly hollow waves that can swell up to 30ft high. The waves are shore-breakers that…
Huntington Beach
The world's biggest surfboard (in the Guinness World Records) fronts this small museum, an entertaining stop for surf-culture enthusiasts. Temporary…
Laguna Beach
This breezy museum has changing exhibitions featuring contemporary California artists, and a permanent collection heavy on California landscapes, vintage…
Newport Beach
A variety of lush gardens awaits at Corona del Mar's prize attraction. On 2.2 acres, the profuse orchids, a rose garden, a koi pond and even a desert…
Huntington Beach
Dogs can romp in the surf at Huntington Dog Beach, between Goldenwest St and Seapoint Ave, north of Huntington City Beach. Nearly a mile long, it’s a…
Newport Beach
Locals enjoy impromptu, though not quite legal, cocktail parties at Lookout Point, perched above the beach with views of Pirate's Cove and the Balboa…
Newport Beach
Take the stairs off the north end of the Main Beach parking lot down to hideaway Pirate's Cove, a waveless beach that’s great for families. Scenes from…
Laguna Beach
Near downtown’s village, Main Beach has volleyball and basketball courts, a playground and restrooms. It's the first beach you see as you come down Laguna…
Huntington Beach
Want even more surf and sand? South of the pier, Huntington State Beach extends 2 miles from Beach Blvd (Hwy 39) to the Santa Ana River and Newport Beach…
Laguna Beach
South of central Laguna, this beach has long been a hangout for Laguna's (and the OC's) LGBT community (with an emphasis on the G). The eye candy can be…
Laguna Beach
Just north of Main Beach, Picnic Beach is too rocky to surf but has excellent tide pooling.
