mcfam's Passport
 | Been to 435 Attractions |
 | 330 Reviews |
 | 203 First to Review |
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Send a ComplimentAbout Me & My Family
My husband and I have 4 kids... 3 boys and then our girl. We homeschool them all and travel when possible. We just started letterboxing and are finding ourselves a little obsessed with it.
Our Family's Travel Personality
adventurous, curious, structured, relaxed, simple, independent, spontaneous, easy_going
We Just Got Back From
Sequoia National Park and Wuksachi Lodge
Our Favorite Vacation Spot
Camping in Kings Canyon or Yosemite
A Place We'd Love To Visit
The Redwoods in Northern California
Favorite Vacation Memory
Walking the meadows of Yosemite with my family. The quiet, the sparkling water, the rustling grasses, and a dip in the river made for an amazing day.
Worst Travel Moment With My Kids:
Anytime throw up is involved. Especially when one kid triggers another. And when we are in the car. And when they choose to use the box that is holding all their library books and toys.
Websites I Like:
Orange County Beaches
Great beaches for families who visit or live in Orange County, CA
Broadway St.
Laguna Beach, California
Comment:
reviewed on: June 07 2010
"Beautiful"
This beach has it all: clean sand, crystal clear water, playground, basketball courts, public bathroom, boardwalk, tide pools, and restaurants. We love coming here and finding a spot along the sand and watching for dolphins surfing in the waves and pelicans diving for their meal. The tide pools are on the north side of the beach and are a bit of a walk from the playground, but there is a boardwalk that you can walk on for most of the way. The bathrooms are next to the playground and on the north side of the beach near the tide pools.
Parking can be tricky at this beach. There are meters on many of the local streets, or in small parking areas near the stores on Laguna Canyon Road.
We prefer to park in the parking garage on Glenneyre St. just south of Laguna Ave. It is about a 10 minute walk from there to the beach.
It is one of the most beautiful and famous beaches in the U.S. and we love it!
31131 S. Pacific Coast Hwy.
Laguna Beach, California
Comment:
Parking $1 per hour, playground, restrooms, tide pools, fire pits.
reviewed on: June 02 2010
"Sand cliffs"
One of the things we find unique to this beach are the sand cliffs. Aliso Creek empties into the ocean at this beach and often carves new canyons in the sand overnight. The kids love sliding down the hills, creating avalanches and watching the surf mix with the river water. The cliffs are about 6 feet high. Other dunes can be present without running water below them that are equally enjoyable.
There are often skimboarders near the south side of this beach. They are amazing to watch as they surf the waves that crash near the sand. The experienced ones can fly into the air at amazing heights.
We have enjoyed this beach many times and it's high on our list of beaches we prefer.
Cress Street
Laguna Beach, California
Comment:
South Laguna Beach. Large set of stair access only, no public restrooms, free parking.
reviewed on: June 09 2010
"Locally known"
This section of beach just south of Main Beach in Laguna is mostly known by the locals, or those who stumble upon it. Our boys love it because of the big rock to climb on and the smaller rocks to see the waves crash upon. My husband and I love it because there are so many fewer people here than at Main Beach and yet it is still beautiful.A large staircase is the only access to this beach so don't plan on using a stroller. No bathrooms are available so plan ahead of time for this necessity. We just stay as long as we can until it's time "to go"!
We like stopping at KFC (on PCH just north of Main Beach) for some chicken wraps and then head to this beach for an evening dinner, some football in the sand, wave splashing and sunset watching.
Parking is limited to a few metered spots on Cress Street. There are some spots across PCH from the beach that I believe are free. Amazingly, we usually find a spot (metered) somewhere near Cress St.
Cliff Drive
Laguna Beach, California
Comment:
Large bay North Laguna Beach. Free parking, steep ramp, public restrooms, tide pools.
reviewed on: June 03 2010
"Great beach all around"
Our family loves this beach all season long. My boys love walking to the tide pools and climbing on the rocks on both sides of the bay. I love the crystal clear, greenish blue waters. It is a great mix of relatively easy access (despite a hike up a hill at the end of the day), free parking and restroom access. Surfers and divers also love this beach. It is very beautiful!
25300 Dana Point Harbor Drive
Dana Point, California
Comment:
$15 access and parking, public restrooms, camping, close access to restaurants.
reviewed on: June 02 2010
"rocky in places"
We have accessed this beach from the south of Dana Point off of PCH. There is a pedestrian crossing over the road and train tracks that takes you straight to the beach. The price of free admission is that you get to carry your beach gear up 2 flights of stairs and then down.This is a beautiful beach facing west with a view of Dana Point. There are many small rocks and pebbles that line the beach and get tossed in the surf which can provide activities for little kids. Rock tower building, rock skipping in the surf and rock gathering to name a few of the things we have done. Swimming is not the best option because little feet and limbs can get pounded into the above mentioned rocks. All in all a nice beach!
Dana Point
Dana Point, California
Comment:
Small cove beyond Ocean Institute. Free parking, small set of stairs, tide pools, restrooms in Ocean Institute.
reviewed on: June 02 2010
"Rocks and tide pools"
My kids and I found this little gem when we were exploring the area around the Dana Point Ocean Institute.We followed the boardwalk past the Pilgrim and the Spirit of Dana Point (the two historic sailing ships). We stood and looked them over and enjoyed imagining exploring them from bow to stern but our adventure that day included not spending money on admission. We wandered the trail past the Ocean Institute and found it ended where the cliff and the harbor jetty meet. There was a caged staircase leading down to the beach.
We enjoyed the many rocks of this beach and splashing in the surf. We saw a tour group heading along the rocks to the tide pools... which also sounded fun. We were trying to see the whales passing by during the Whale Festival but we didn't see any spouts. Despite that, it was a great adventure to find this beach!
Moss Street
Laguna Beach, California
Comment:
Small cove South Laguna Beach. Free parking, steep stair access only, tide pools, no restrooms.
reviewed on: June 09 2010
"Slice of Paradise"
We happened by chance to come to this beach on one of our excursions to Laguna Beach. When we got to the bottom of the stairs and saw this beautiful little cove, I couldn't help but think that I had been magically been transported to Hawaii. "We live here!" I couldn't help but say over and over. Well... not actually here... but close enough to visit often.I highly recommend visiting this slice of paradise with your family.
Important things to note:
-There is a great tide pool in this cove. Excellent for exploring.
-No bathrooms available. A steep set of stairs is the only access point to this beach. Not stroller friendly.
-Park in the neighborhood. No meters.
** You must check the tide charts before you go to this beach. There is no actual beach or sand at very high tide and the beach may be closed.
Poppy and PCH
Corona del Mar, California
Comment:
"Big Corona": $10 parking next to sand and public restrooms. Large beach area.
"Little Corona": Free parking in neighborhood off Poppy St. Steep hill to access small beach with tide pools. Public restroom available
reviewed on: June 08 2010
"Not my favorite"
Honestly, Corona Del Mar Beach is not my favorite Orange County Beach. I'm referring to what the locals call "Big Corona". Laguna Beach is much more beautiful and cheaper to visit. The price of parking in the large parking lot at Corona is near $15 and seems to go up each year. The plus side of this beach is parking close to the sand and water, restrooms, showers, and small waves that are nice for young kids. This beach can be very crowded on weekends and holidays."Little Corona" is a different story. This is one of the most beautiful beaches ever. Access this beach from the end of Poppy in CDM. Parking is free in the neighborhoods. Come early enough in the day to find a spot. Beautiful sand, rocks that frame the beach, tide pools and a bathroom (not so clean). The hike up the hill as you return from the beach can be exhausting so be sure to save energy for getting home!
Pacific Coast Highway between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beac
Corona del Mar, California
reviewed on: June 10 2010
"Pure beauty"
The beauty and remoteness of this stretch of beach and wilderness makes this place worth visiting. It was a little bit more of a hike than we were used to to get to a beach, but the walk along a boardwalk through the fragrant native plants of CA and down among the rocks provided such an adventure for my kids that they didn't mind at all.I recommend visiting this beach with the intention of exploring, walking and tide pool watching, rather than the "bring the kitchen sink" and all your beach accessories too. You may regret having to carry them all the way back up to your car at the end of your time. There is so much to enjoy here.
70 Newport Pier
Newport Beach, California
Comment:
Metered parking near pier. Free parking in neighborhoods further north. Public restrooms, pier, restaurants.
reviewed on: June 13 2010
"Classic SoCal"
This is a classic Southern California Beach. Wide sand, great waves for surfing, boogie boarding or body boarding, a pier with a restaurant, and great sun. When we visit this beach, we try to come before 10 on a weekend or 11 on a weekday and park in the metered area just north of the pier. (Off 21 st.) Then we can just hop over the boardwalk and we have the sand and water straight ahead. Bathrooms are on the pier.
The waves near the pier are generally flat and are great for small children to enjoy. But I've noticed that when the tide goes out, my children follow it and they can end up far away from our blanket. Gotta keep my eye on them!
The sand is very fine here and hard to get out of blankets and clothes. We keep a bottle of baby powder in our car which is amazing for getting sticky sand off of skin.
33971 Selva Rd.
Dana Point, California
Comment:
Free parking. Stairs to the beach. Funicular available seasonally.
reviewed on: July 30 2010
"Great beach and ride"
We had never been, nor heard, of the Strand Beach in all our 13 years living in Orange County until we met a new friend from Trekaroo. So, we finally made the drive down to Dana Point and were thrilled with this great beach.Near the top of my list for finding a good beach is finding good parking. This beach has a very large parking lot that was barely filled on a weekday morning and best of all it was free. We loaded our gear onto our backs and made the trek down the stairs. My kids were fascinated by the funicular train that parallels the stairs but I made them wait to ride it until we were coming back up. We thought we could make it down the stairs faster than it could, but we weren't even close.
We found a great spot on the sand after walking south along the boardwalk for quite a ways and enjoyed our day. Next time we come to this beach, which hopefully will be soon, I think I'll plan on setting up "camp" closer to the bathroom at the bottom of the funicular. I had to make quite a trek for my 3 year old who had to do his business... only to find his potty anxiety strike again and the trek was then pointless. Oh well, I got some exercise.
The kids were delighted with the ride up the hill in the funicular, and I was very thankful to not be lugging our stuff up. Even though we had to wait a full cycle for the funicular because of several groups of kids who filled up the small carriage before us, it was a great ride.
To note: taking a stroller to this beach is a good option if you need it but you will need to ride the funicular down and up. Make sure you are going when it is running. There is a bathroom and shower at the bottom and top of the funicular. At the bottom of the funicular is another steep hill down to the beach. A boardwalk and cement walk to the north provide access to a swimming beach area which is about 2 "blocks" down. If you decide to not take the boardwalk, there is a swimming beach to the south but it may be a bit crowded. Enjoy!
