|
Orange County
Beach Information - Questions & Answers
activities|
airport|
bonfires|
camp|
celebs|
drink|
dog|
eat|
hours|
nude|
parking|
piers|
safe|
temp◦
How big are the Orange County
beaches? The Orange County
(California) beaches span an approx.
40 mile (64 km) distance from the
northern border touching Los Angeles
County to the southern border
touching San Diego County.
How many beaches are there in
Orange County, California?
That's a tough question to answer
since Laguna Beach alone has over 20
neighborhood beaches. A rough
estimate would include over 40 named
beaches. For specifics, there are
six incorporated cities with
beaches--Seal Beach, Huntington
Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach,
Dana Point and San Clemente.
Unincorporated communities with
beaches include Sunset Beach and
Surfside. Communities within
incorporated cities with beaches
include Capistrano Beach, South
Laguna Beach, Newport Coast and
Corona del Mar. State operated
beaches within cities include
Crystal Cove State Beach, San
Clemente State Beach, Bolsa Chica
State Beach and Huntington State
Beach.
What is the
water temperature of the ocean
at these beaches? The
water temperature ranges from
mid-50's degrees F. in winter to mid
70's degrees in summer.
How far are the Orange County
beaches from the original
Disneyland?
12 to 40 minutes drive (approx.)
Read more
How far are the beaches from the
airport? 12 to
35 minutes (approx.)
Read more
How do I
park at the beach? Most
beaches offer public parking for a
fee. Be sure to take approx. $10 for
a one day admission to the beach
parking lots.
Is the water
safe for swimming?
Orange County beaches do experience
rip currents occasionally. Rip
currents pull you out to sea, but
are not known to pull you under
water, generally. Always check with
the lifeguard at the beach, swim
with partners, and watch kids
carefully. Jellyfish are
occasionally known to sting, though
they are not considered poisonous
for most people. Water quality is
normally good, but never swim in the
ocean for at least a day after it
rains. Fortunately, it seldom rains
in Orange County.
What is the best beach to visit?
If you have time, see all of them on
a coastal drive, which will take
about a day as you stop along the
way. If you have to pick one spot,
we need to know what you're looking
for. For sunbathing, any beach is
ideal. For tidepools and scuba,
definitely choose Laguna Beach. For
boating in the bay, pick Newport
Beach. For hotels on the beach,
Newport Beach offers several--Balboa
Inn or Balboa Bay Club. Sunset Beach
offers Ramada Limited or Econolodge.
Laguna Beach features a handful such
as Surf & Sand, Montage and more.
Dana Point has one on the harbor,
Ritz Carlton on the hill and San
Clemente has several.
Where can I
camp at the
beach? Tent camping and RV
camping is available at Doheny Beach
in Dana Point; RV camping is
available at Newport Dunes in
Newport Beach, Bolsa Chica State
Beach in Huntington Beach and
seasonally (winter months) at
Huntington City Beach.
Where can I have a
beach bonfire?
You will find beach fire rings for
bonfires are available free of
charge at Huntington Beach, Newport
Beach, Corona del Mar, Dana Point's
Doheny Beach and San Clemente.
See chart
Which beaches have
piers
in Orange County? There are
five major
Orange County
piers, and
each pier includes a restaurant. San Clemente has one pier, Newport Beach
has two piers, Huntington Beach has
one pier and Seal Beach has one
pier. At all these public piers, you
can fish without a license, free of
charge. In addition to two large
piers in Newport Beach, there are
other smaller fishing piers.
What are some great
beach
restaurants? San
Clemente Pier features a fantastic
bar and restaurant; Laguna Beach is
known for its ocean view restaurants
ranging from Las Brisas, Mosaic Bar
& Grille at Montage Resort, The
Beach House, Terrace Cafe or Claes
at Hotel Laguna; both Newport Beach
piers have restaurants,
including a 50's style Rubys Diner,
and Newport Habor features
Harborside Restaurant, The Cannery,
Rusty Pelican and many more;
Huntington Beach offers three great
choices at the beach; Ruby's Diner
on the Pier, Chimayo at the Beach
and Dukes Huntington Beach; Seal
Beach features two great cafes,
Ruby's Diner on the Seal Beach Pier
and Riverfront Cafe on the beach.
Where can I see filming or
movie stars at the beach? In
reality, your best bet for seeing
celebrities is in places such
as Santa Monica in Los Angeles. On
nearly every trip there, we have
seen stars. The star power may exist
in Orange County, but there are no
guarantees you'll see a star at a
beach on any given day. Technically,
Orange County is out of the zone
that filmmakers seek for wage
considerations.
What are some
things to do at the beach?
Activities include sunbathing,
swimming, basketball courts,
volleyball courts, sand playgrounds,
dining, beach skate & bike paths,
dog beaches, free concerts during
the summer months, special surfing
and sports competitions, fishing,
boating, take a gondola ride,
shopping, bonfires, picnics, skim
boarding, body boarding, surfing,
kite surfing, kite flying, scuba
diving, studying the tide pools,
hiking, walking, plein air painting,
farmer's markets and art fairs and
more!
Where can I
drink at
the beach? We are sorry to
say there is no beach in Orange
County that permits liquor. (go to
San Diego beaches for that).
What hours are
Orange County beaches open?
The beach curfews when the public is
not allowed generally run from
around 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. For more
generous beach hours, head south to
San Diego County where some beaches
never close and others offer a 2
a.m. to 5 a.m. curfew.
Where are the
Orange County nude beaches?
There are no official, nude beaches in Orange
County. Each city has laws about how
much of your body can show in a
swimsuit, generally prohibiting
topless suits for women unless
breastfeeding up to a two year old
baby. One beach that many like to
trek to near San Onofre (station
10), does often have nudity...but
here's the deal. You can get a
ticket for stripping down your
clothes, so locals say they have a
system of watching out for each
other in order to enjoy this tucked
away beach requiring a hike to get
to.
Where are the
dog beaches? Pets are permitted on Newport
Beach beaches from 5:01 p.m. to 8:59
a.m. They are also permitted on
Laguna Beach beaches during posted
hours similar to Newport's.
One dedicated (daylight) Dog Beach
is located in Huntington Beach at
Pacific Coast Highway between Golden
West Street and Seapoint Street.
|
