Travel Tips for Laguna beach

[dan_ling]

I'll be in Laguna beach at the end of febuary and was wondering if

anyone had any suggestions on where to go or what to see. I am

familiar with J Tree national park, but i was wondering about the

cleavland national forest or any other natural areas. i'd also be

intersted in beach and civilized areas in or around Laguna.

 

Thanks in advance

[craig_gillette]

From Laguna Beach, if you go to Dana Point/San Clemente, you can go inland and visit San Juan Capistrano, one of the early California missions.

 

From there you can go over Ortega Highway, past Lake Elsinore, which will have water but otherwise isn't too picturesque, and south just a little ways on the I15 and then to the Santa Rosa Plateau Nature Preserve. Also, there are the San Juan Falls off Ortega Highway and you might want to hike to them, I haven't so can't advise if they are worth the effort or not. A Google search will bring up more details.

 

North up the coast you can get to the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, opposite Huntington Beach, or the upper Newport Bay area. As you travel south, there are a number of wetlands after you get past Camp Pendleton as you work your way to San Diego. Torrey Pines State Reserve can be found just before you get to San Diego. It's just been extremely wet and we expect more rain in SoCal so the local hills should be beautifully green in February.

 

If you aren't familiar with poison oak, get some local help on identifying it if you decide to go tramping around off trail, etc. I have some shots here, it would most likely still be mostly green but you can't be sure: http://www.pbase.com/gillettecraig/poisonoak

 

Depending on your interests, the San Diego Wild Animal Park, besides the "exotics," is a good place to see a fair amount of native wildlife as well.

[barmijo]

What is it you want to photograph? Laguna beach's downtown is a nice spot for street photography with a variety of folks from hippies to uber rich. There are a few beaches nearby that are good for surfing shots. The area is pretty well built up so it's not a typical nature photo local. The Bolsa Chica wetlands (already mentioned) are great for birds. From Ortega Hwy (also already mentioned) you can sometimes get decent sunrise shots over the Saddle Back mountain range depending on the weather.

[david_daniel]

while you are in laguna, get someone to direct you to victoria beach (southern part of city). go down the stairs to the beach and turn right around the rocks (low tide only) for a neat surprise. years ago this structure held a staircase for the cliff top resident to use to get to the beach (it still does, but is no longer used). This house is next door to the house Bette Midler bought after she made the movie 'Beaches'. i believe she has since sold it however. this beach is also where o.j. simpson used to own a house. this area has great tidepools at low tide, its my favorite place to watch the sun go down.

 

be sure and have dinner at Las Brisas in laguna. the best view restaurant in southern california. and the coffee place across the street is a good place to hang out and watch people late.

[matt_carroll]

<p>Get high above town for great shots of city lights and moonlight reflecting off the ocean. Crystal Cove State Park is a wonderful setting for beach (great rock formations) and inland (restored coastal sage scrub habitats) walks and contains a town with a lot of history, recently evicted and undergoing renovation for future use. Further off the beaten path, there are some recently acquired, locally-administered wilderness parks in the area -- many of them open only during weekends. At the end of February we should see a very good wildflower season settling in.</p>

 

<p>For great Laguna peoplewatching, do brunch at Zinc Cafe, 350 Ocean Avenue. Tip: the further away from downtown you go, the better the art galleries become.</p>

 

<p>Have fun,<br>

Matt Carroll<br>

<a href="http://www.placeworld.com/">Placeworld</a>, photography from California and beyond.</p>