So. Cal beaches

We have a day that is not planned for parks and I wanted to take my kids to the beach. The day we go could be Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday and not sure which would be more fun for my DD (10) and DS (13). Don't want to travel too far either so I was looking at Newport Beach or Huntington Beach. Any suggestions? I like to take crowed level into consideration. Our vacation is 10/16 - 10/22.
Thanks

I wouldn't do Huntington. We did Laguna, Huntington, and Newport beaches in the past, but Huntington had to be our least favorite. It was really windy and cold (probably based on when we went in spring) and not a lot to do besides shopping. We liked Laguna the best because it was so beautiful. I don't remember much about Newport, but it seemed like they had a lot more things to do than Huntington.

Will you have a rental vehicle?

I like Huntington Beach for the true beach feel.

https://www.surfcityusa.com/

Long Beach is fairly close, this is more a tourist location, with the Aquarium of the Pacific, the Queen Mary, boat excursions and more.

http://www.visitlongbeach.com/

The closest would be the Balboa Pier area of Newport Beach.

http://www.visitnewportbeach.com/vacations/balboa-peninsula/

So just playing in the sand and ocean, I would look at Balboa Beach first, then Huntington Beach.

If you are looking for more off-beach activities such as walking up and down the boardwalk (fancy concrete sidewalk) and renting vehicles, I would head to Huntington Beach first, followed by Balboa Beach.

If you are looking for an overall day of activities and things to do, including some time on the beach, I would head to Long Beach and maybe a stop as Seal Beach next door.

Now without a car, you have some issues.

Balboa Beach is reachable by public bus (basically OCTA Route 43 south down Harbor and transfer to Route 71). Takes close to 2 hours each way.

Another choice, take the Metrolink Train/Amtrak from the Anaheim area to the San Clemente Pier, the train station is right on the beach.

Hope that helps.

Let me add the Orange County coastline and my preferences..

1. Huntington Beach for its size, things to do and size/parking.

2. Long Beach for its variety. (Love the Belmont Shore area for the sand and shops)

3. Balboa Pier/Beach area of Newport Beach.

4. Seal Beach

5. Sunset Beach

6. Crystal Cove

7. San Clemente

8. Dana Point

9. Laguna Beach (don't like the small beaches, lack of parking, pain to drive to, and more)

I really love the Newport Beach area, particularly Crystal Cove State Park. There's a nice little restaurant right on the beach too (as well as a shake shack that my son loves). I think it would be a perfect beach/town to spend the day at.

Corona del Mar beach in Newport is the best beach in the area, hands down.

Where does Venice beach fall in the beach list? Making our first trip to Cali and just have always heard of Venice Beach. Granted, we are going first week of December, so I don't know how much beach time we are really going to want. lol

Venice Beach is not in/near Disneyland, it is on the far west edge of Los Angeles County next to Santa Monica and Malibu.

I prefer Redondo Beach for a nice beach area (and pier) in Los Angeles County.

http://www.visitredondo.com/

But now we are getting farther away.

Long Beach just happens to be on the edge of Orange County Beaches, and why I mentioned it.

We are staying over by Universal for four days prior to going to DLR and are free on scheduling for those days, so we are pretty much wide open on where we can go. I'm probably going to be more interested in the views than anything as I doubt it'll be warm enough to go swimming or even hanging out on the beach. But interesting sights and maybe restaurants would probably be priorities.

The views, that would be Palos Verdes and the cliffs. It is where the Terranea Resort is located (Former MarineWorld for Theme Park junkies).

Point Vicente is awesome for its views of the coast, Catalina Island and Whale Watching.


http://www.latimes.com/travel/california/la-trb-gray-whale-watchinig-pt-vicente-20160301-story.html

My recommendation, start at Redondo Beach and the pier, and then stay along the coast until you get to the post of San Pedro and Long Beach. The best drive is from north to south, to keep the ocean on the right side of the road. Plenty of great places to turn off the road, get out of the car and enjoy the views.

Here is a good marked map of the route.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6963643 Close

In June we went to Newport Beach (beautiful!), Crystal Cove State Park, and Laguna Beach (I would move there in a hot minute). We went to Long Beach to see the Queen Mary, but didn't go to a swimming beach area.

We spent a day at Crystal Cove and had a great time. Lots of space, not too crowded. Laguna Beach was beautiful but pretty crowded, because its right by the road and the dowtownish area. Newport Beach was kind of middle of the road. We stopped at a few different places there, the first on our arrival day after picking up the rental from the airport...We just typed in Newport Beach on the gps in the car and went where it took us. We were on numbered streets, in the high 20s like 26th or 28th...there were one way streets with streetside parking, and you walked past these tiny but gorgeous cottages right onto the sand. House goals.

Darkbeer1 said:

Will you have a rental vehicle?

Click to expand...

I will be renting a vehicle since part of our trip will be heading to Legoland and SeaWorld. I just don't want to travel through to much of LA since I am so unfamiliar with the area. I did see a boat tour that looked interesting but not sure how many whales or dolphins one can see in October. I can't imagine we would spend a lot of time at the beach, maybe the morning and then find something else in the afternoon.

Darkbeer1 said:

Will you have a rental vehicle?

I like Huntington Beach for the true beach feel.

https://www.surfcityusa.com/

Long Beach is fairly close, this is more a tourist location, with the Aquarium of the Pacific, the Queen Mary, boat excursions and more.

http://www.visitlongbeach.com/

The closest would be the Balboa Pier area of Newport Beach.

http://www.visitnewportbeach.com/vacations/balboa-peninsula/

So just playing in the sand and ocean, I would look at Balboa Beach first, then Huntington Beach.

If you are looking for more off-beach activities such as walking up and down the boardwalk (fancy concrete sidewalk) and renting vehicles, I would head to Huntington Beach first, followed by Balboa Beach.

If you are looking for an overall day of activities and things to do, including some time on the beach, I would head to Long Beach and maybe a stop as Seal Beach next door.

Now without a car, you have some issues.

Balboa Beach is reachable by public bus (basically OCTA Route 43 south down Harbor and transfer to Route 71). Takes close to 2 hours each way.

Another choice, take the Metrolink Train/Amtrak from the Anaheim area to the San Clemente Pier, the train station is right on the beach.

Hope that helps.

Let me add the Orange County coastline and my preferences..

1. Huntington Beach for its size, things to do and size/parking.

2. Long Beach for its variety. (Love the Belmont Shore area for the sand and shops)

3. Balboa Pier/Beach area of Newport Beach.

4. Seal Beach

5. Sunset Beach

6. Crystal Cove

7. San Clemente

8. Dana Point

9. Laguna Beach (don't like the small beaches, lack of parking, pain to drive to, and more)

Click to expand...

Thanks so much! After looking at locations first (in comparison to our hotel) and then seeing what was available for other activities, I may head over to Huntington Beach and then take in the Aquarium.

mykds36 said:

I will be renting a vehicle since part of our trip will be heading to Legoland and SeaWorld. I just don't want to travel through to much of LA since I am so unfamiliar with the area. I did see a boat tour that looked interesting but not sure how many whales or dolphins one can see in October. I can't imagine we would spend a lot of time at the beach, maybe the morning and then find something else in the afternoon.

Click to expand...

Looks like Humpback Whales are still around.

http://www.newportwhales.com/whalecount.html

Darkbeer1 said:

The views, that would be Palos Verdes and the cliffs. It is where the Terranea Resort is located (Former MarineWorld for Theme Park junkies).

Point Vicente is awesome for its views of the coast, Catalina Island and Whale Watching.


http://www.latimes.com/travel/california/la-trb-gray-whale-watchinig-pt-vicente-20160301-story.html

My recommendation, start at Redondo Beach and the pier, and then stay along the coast until you get to the post of San Pedro and Long Beach. The best drive is from north to south, to keep the ocean on the right side of the road. Plenty of great places to turn off the road, get out of the car and enjoy the views.

Here is a good marked map of the route.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6963643 Close

Click to expand...

Thanks! The wife wanted to drive up the coast some anyway, so this could get two birds with one stone.

OK, let's talk about driving down the coast.

And I recommend driving North to South, as that places the coast on the right side of the road, and easy access to parking turn-outs, etc.

If you want a good day's drive, I would start with the Palos Verdes drive, and then keep going down the Pacific Coast Highway when you reach Long Beach.

This takes you to many different great views, some a bit high, some at ocean level.

There is one detour I like in the Newport Beach area, where you get off of PCH and drive down the Balboa Peninsula, and then take the Balboa Ferry to Balboa Island and then connect back with the PCH. Here is a marked map.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6965802

http://www.balboaislandferry.com/

And then enjoy the drive to San Clemente.

If you want to keep going, you need to get onto Interstate 5 to drive through Camp Pendleton Military Base.

Once you reach Oceanside in Northern San Diego County, then take the Coast Highway exit.

http://www.sandiego.org/articles/tours-sightseeing/highway-101-california.aspx#XPOdZrbYCt9BLcZf.97

This will take you to the city of San Diego, and if you time it right, you can watch the sunset over the ocean.

I would plan your trip for at least one night in San Diego proper, if not a few days.

Of course, you could just do the Pacific Coast Highway segment in Orange County with the Palos Verdes add on. When you get to San Clemente, get onto Interstate 5 north to get back to the Disneyland area.

Another scenic drive I like is the Ortega Highway through the Cleveland National Forest. Start in San Juan Capistrano (home of the famous mission and head east on Highway 74, this will take you through a nice part of the Cleveland National Forest to Lake Elsinore. If you are looking at a single day drive, check out Old Town Temecula, and maybe the Pechanga Casino.

Then take the 15 freeway north to the 91 west to get back to the Disneyland area.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Route_74

Want an overnight? Stay on Highway 74, when it becomes the "Palms to Pines Highway", though you will doing Pines to Palms... More nice drives and a scenic end into Palm Desert. You end near the Living Desert, which you could check out the next morning after staying in the Palm Springs area that night. Also check out the Palm Springs Tramway.

http://www.livingdesert.org/

https://www.pstramway.com/

And then on the way back, take I-10 west, and stop at Cabazon and a classic roadside attraction, the Dinosaurs.

http://cabazondinosaurs.com/

Also in the area is the large Cabazon and Desert Hills Outlets, plus Hadley's Fruit Orchids.

So there are a couple of good scenic drives in the area.

Another favorite of mine is the back roads from Julian (Eastern San Diego County) to Palm Springs driving by the Salton Sea.