Good Beach close to Disneyland

[5lilfish]

I'm looking for a good family beach that is close to Disneyland. Our youngest 2 have not been in the Pacific Ocean. Plus, we don't have any beach time on this cross-country road trip. We are only looking to go for a couple hours.

Thanks...
Jess

 

[momofeva]

We always go to Huntington Beach.

 

[Zoemakes5]

Love Huntington, especially with the Ruby's on the Pier.
One that's a bit more secluded and has a bit of a breakwall that lessens the waves is Corona Del Mar.

 

[KCmike]

Newport Beach and Corona Del Mar for swimming. Perfection.

 

[wnissen]

I'm looking for a good family beach that is close to Disneyland. Our youngest 2 have not been in the Pacific Ocean. Plus, we don't have any beach time on this cross-country road trip. We are only looking to go for a couple hours.

Thanks...
Jess

This opinion may be profoundly unpopular, but for my money there aren't any really nice beaches in the LA area. The water is just too cold and the waves are just too high. Will the kids have a great time playing in the sand? Yes. There are plenty of good places to do that from San Diego to Santa Barbara. However, the iconic image of a surfer in a wetsuit is no myth.

They often don't have jettys to break the waves (due to surfers) so the sideways current is strong and the waves are high. Unlike the East Coast, where the water is drawn up from the equatorial waters, the Pacific water is drawn from the cold northerly areas. The LA water temperature never gets above 70, which is the same temperature as Boston! The beach in Long Beach is sheltered and has warmer water, so that's where I would go with kids.

 

[zimaaaaah]

How much time does it take to get to Huntington Beach from DL on a Tuesday AM? I looked at the distance on map, but wondered time ? Thanks!

 

[wnissen]

Since LA's "rush hour" is really just continuous traffic from 5am to 8pm with a break from roughly 10am-3pm, I would take the 31 minutes Google says and double it. You might do better than that since there's a carpool lane on the 22 (Garden Grove Freeway). Enjoy!

P.S. You don't say when you're going, but the 405 will be closed in mid-July: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/07/local/la-me-405-freeway-20110607

 

[zimaaaaah]

Thanks for the info! I figured it would not be what it says on the directions. We will be there first week of August, so guess we will check it out closer to time.

 

[woody73]

I'm looking for a good family beach that is close to Disneyland.

We enjoyed Huntington Beach.

Woody

 

[reyasmommy]

Huntington Beach is nice just like the other posters have said, and I rather enjoy Santa Monica. Those are the two places we plan on visiting when we go in November.

 

[KCmike]

Here are some pictures of Corona Del Mar. It's a crescent shaped beach connected to Newport but on the south side of it.
View from above

 

[cyclenut]

Since LA's "rush hour" is really just continuous traffic from 5am to 8pm with a break from roughly 10am-3pm, I would take the 31 minutes Google says and double it. You might do better than that since there's a carpool lane on the 22 (Garden Grove Freeway). Enjoy!

P.S. You don't say when you're going, but the 405 will be closed in mid-July: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/07/local/la-me-405-freeway-20110607

Not really correct. There are definate rush hour windows. It isn't busy the entire time. I would take Katella over to Beach Blvd and take that south all the way to the beach. It should take you about 20 minutes from DLR to the pier. If you go in the morning, you'll get parking near the pier, otherwise, you'll need to find parking wherever you can and just plan to walk.

If you really want play time in the ocean for your kid, consider Mother's Beach in Long Beach. It is really more of a lagoon and it is a longer drive, but it is a much better experience for young kids who just want to play in the water. That one will take you about 30 minutes. It is really Marine Park in Long Beach.
http://www.longbeach.gov/park/parks_and_open_spaces/parks/marine_park_(mothers_beach).asp

 

[JennCa]

I vote for Laguna Nigel. It has a little playground right on the beach and nice places to eat and some casual places also close by. I find it a very upscale and clean beach. The water is not super rough by Pacific standards. The only issue is you have to pay to park, but that is very common in LA.

Jenn

 

[Pete W.]

Are there places to rent umbrellas, chairs, etc. at most of the beaches?

 

[hsmamato2]

does Huntington have a nice pier area? I want to hit a nearby beach,for the west coast ambience....we live on the east coast,so looking for that Cali. vibe