California: what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Beaches! So, in this post I will present you a few information about some of the beaches I have been. It is far away from a comprehensive guide, but maybe it can give you some ideas of what is around. I’ll focus on OC beaches, but I will briefly describe 2 beaches located in LA and 2 in San Diego, just to give you some initial thoughts. The time described to get to the places depends, of course, of traffic (well, it is California).
OC
Corona del Mar
Corona del Mar is the closest beach to campus: about 10-12 minutes’ drive, and it is located in the city of Newport Beach. The Beach is down a cliff, which is surrounded by many mansions. It has a couple of volleyball nets and many pits for bonfires. In my opinion it is a nice place for a bonfire in the end of the day and t is usually where UCI bonfires happen. There is a paid parking lot down the beach, but you usually can find plenty of free parking spots on the streets up the cliff.
Laguna Beach
The beach of Laguna Beach is right in the town. It is very beautiful with great sunsets, and after the sun is gone you can walk to many nice restaurants or just walk by the many art galleries that exist around. Close by there is the Heisler Park, up in a small cliff, which is specially pretty during Spring, with all the flowers. There are also a pair of volleyball nets and basketball courts. It is about 17-20 minutes driving from UCI and you can park on the streets close by the beach (the spots have parking meters).
Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach is much bigger than the previous 2. It is by the Pacific Coast Highway, so even just driving there makes it a good experience. There’s a nice pier and a wide sidewalk where some events happen (I happened to see once a “duckaton,” a fundraiser where they threw a bunch of plastic ducks in the ocean to see which one gets to the coast first – they also collected all the ducks from the ocean after it finished). There are many volleyball nets, people biking, running, and doing slackline. It is a good place to spend a weekend afternoon. It takes about 25 to 35 minutes driving to get there (depending on the traffic). The best place to park is by the street, but it may be a bit hard to find a spot depending on the day and time. There is a paid parking lot on the beach which has a maximum daily rate – non peak – of $15. More info.
Doheny Beach
Doheny Beach is located in Dana point, about 30-35 minutes driving from campus. It is a much calmer beach, and you can often see many families there. It seems to be a good place to learn to surf, you can see many kids learning with their parents. And I mean very young kids, like 4 years old. The bottom of the ocean is covered of stones, but they are usually not pointy due to the water (if you have water shoes you are covered). There are places for barbecue and picnics, besides many volleyball nets. There is paid parking by the beach (hourly).
Crystal Cove
One of my favorite beaches in the OC (probably alongside with Huntington Beach). It is a state park, located by the Pacific Coast Highway (about 15 minutes driving from campus), between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach. There are many trails for hikes, a historical site, and the beach is down a cliff. It is a long and beautiful beach where you can see gorgeous sunsets. Even if it is not your type of beach, I would definitely recommend a visit. More info here. There is paid parking close by.
LA
Santa Monica
One of California’s most known places, you probably have seen pictures or heard about the Santa Monica pier. The pier is big, with many restaurants and a small amusement park. The beach in which it is located is wide and pretty. Since it is in LA, the drive is longer, around 1h40minutes depending on the traffic. There is parking on the beach, but it costs about $15 flat rate. You can try parking on the streets close by, but it may be hard (and I believe many of them do not allow parking). If you intend to spend the day at the beach the paid parking lot is probably an option with a reasonable cost-benefit. If you intend to spend just a couple of hours to visit the pier and you can’t find parking close by, there is another option: there is a small mall (Santa Monica Place) close by in which you can pay hourly for parking.
Venice Beach
Another very popular beach in LA is Venice Beach. It is usually very crowded, especially in the summer. There are many sports and entertainment options, such as volleyball, basketball, and tennis courts, a skate park, cycle lanes, weightlifting equipment for bodybuilding (Arnold Schwarzenegger used to practice there), music and dancing presentations, etc. It is about 1h40min – 2hours from campus and you can find free parking on the streets. There are also paid parking available. More info here.
San Diego
La Jolla
In La Jolla you can find, among others, La Jolla Shore, La Jolla Cove, and The Children’s Pool. The whole region is very pretty, and it is located before you get to the city of San Diego. La Jolla Shore is the best one to actually going to the beach. La Jolla Cove has a small sand area but offers caves and opportunities for water activities. The Children’s Pool was originally built for children, but sea lions and seals are now the owners of the place. It is about 2h-2h30min from campus. You can find parking on the streets and there is paid parking available. More info here.
Pacific Beach
In my opinion, Pacific Beach represents the “stereotype of a Californian Beach”. It is a long beach, surrounded by an equally long sidewalk, where people ride bicycles, skates, rollerblades, or just walk. The sand area is great for spending the afternoon sunbathing. There are people surfing and playing volleyball. There are many restaurants close by and people say it has good options for night life as well. There are free parking spots for limited hours, but it may be difficult to find in busy days. There is also paid parking around. It is about 2h-2h30min driving from campus.
I hope these descriptions give you an idea of the beaches in SoCal. And there are many more! Feel free to comment which ones do you know, what are your favorites, and which ones would you add to this list. And welcome to sunny California!
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Mayara Costa FigueiredoHome Country: BrazilDonald Bren School of Informatics and Computer Sciences, Computer Science, Ph.D. |