In the early 2000s reality TV show “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County” hit the headlines, but for those in the know—especially artists and surfers chasing the best waves—this seaside town had been a haven for decades.
Named after the Spanish word for “lagoon,” it’s famous for its dozens of beaches and intriguing coves, close to six miles of which are a protected state marine reserve. The city is surrounded by hills and canyons and has remained largely untouched by large development.
There’s only one road in and out too, which makes for some challenging driving—and especially parking—so staying overnight is perhaps the best way to enjoy a full few days at the beach.
JenningsSayre - Dreamstime
City Trolley
The hotel is a good place to start your trip north towards busier Laguna Village, so get walking or use the old-style Laguna Beach Trolley, which runs back and forth along the Coast Highway drag.
Ron Azevedo
Festival of Arts Pageant of the Masters
Shopping is a feeling in Laguna Beach, but alongside luxury chocolate, surfing gear and tony summer dresses, you can still get beach spades and buckets. There are plenty of art galleries both big and small too, and local artists exhibit at the summer and winter Sawdust Art Festival.
Some of the work is especially quirky and colorful, though that’s hardly a surprise in a city that’s home to Pageant of the Masters, a July/August festival that began in 1933. It features eye-popping tableaux vivants or “living pictures” that are gradually recreated on stage with costumed actors, props and backdrops until they resemble a famous classic or contemporary work of art.
Richard Cummins - Alamy
Stores on Pacific Coast Highway
Stores on Pacific Coast Highway, Laguna Beach
For your soundtrack, Gen Zs and TikTokers who have “discovered” the pleasures of vinyl will make for the recently reopened Sound Spectrum, but they can join the queue: local music-lovers have been coming here since 1967.
Keep an eye out too for thrift and vintage stores. One of the best is Laguna Exchange, a non-profit that deals in gently used clothes and supports locals experiencing homelessness as well as single mothers and people struggling with mental illness and addiction.
If you skipped breakfast or arrived early enough for brunch, visit the near-legendary Orange Inn. A cozy, surfer shack-type place that has been around for over 80 years, it’s the birthplace of the smoothie and the California date shake, and the walls are lined with historical photos.
Visit Laguna Beach
Breeching Whale by Jon Seeman
Just before you arrive at bustling Main Beach, you’ll pass the 450-foot-long “Whaling Wall” mural, which depicts a gray whale and calf, and several other marine creatures. Originally painted in 1981 by Robert Wyland, it was later replaced with this tile version.
Laguna Beach has a long connection to the seaborn “sport of kings,” and you can check out its history—if you’re not surfing or bodyboarding, yourself—at the Surfing Heritage & Cultural Center. Due to open on Broadway Street later this year, it was founded by Dick Metz of “Endless Summer” fame.
Alternatively, if you don’t want to get sand between your toes, paddle in the water or are done with shopping, then stroll along the oceanfront Heisler Park, which is just beside Main Beach with its lifeguard towers.
Perhaps the prettiest way to get an elevated sense of the ocean and the rocky cliffs, it has a number of short and winding pathways and many art sculptures. You can’t miss the 16-foot-high Breaching Whale by Jon Seeman, while the gazebo is a great stopping spot for views and selfies. Don’t be surprised to see a fitness or yoga class on one of the many grassy greens.
Alisha Jucevic
There are steps down into some of the coves and their tide pools too, though taking rocks or shell souvenirs is strictly prohibited. Instead, examine the “Tide Pool Kraken” octopus statue, which sits on the bluff over Diver’s Cove at the end of the mile-or-so park walk.
When the sun is descending and Happy Hour approaches, take another way back through the park and make for the Royal Hawaiian Inn. Opened nearly 80 years ago by Philippines-born Francis Cabang and his partner Hal Hanna, this was reconstructed and expanded from its original modest size a few years ago by the new owners. Hopefully, the sun is setting, so jump into tiki world with a flaming cocktail and a huge slice of their coconut cake before making your way back to your hotel.
Plan your weekend in Laguna Beach at visitlagunabeach.com.
Where to stay
Fresh from a $15m renovation, Casa Loma Beach Hotel has front rooms that are a stone’s throw from busy Main Beach and steps from Heisler Park. All rooms also have their own Spotify playlist to listen to while you wave-watch.
At the recently fully renovated Surf & Sand Hotel in quieter Laguna Beach South, all 165 rooms are directly over the sand—almost literally, at high tide—and it is hard to tear your eyes away from the rolling waves. Breakfast at their restaurant Splashes or a late-afternoon drink on the terrace offers ocean views and even some dolphin-spotting.