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Crystal Cove State Beach
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
30 reviews for Crystal Cove State Beach
just went back here the other day....i love to just go and hang out, gives me time to think. the views are amazing.
its kinda weird and funny, but ive only ran into 1 person who has ever even heard of this place. i tell someone about it and they always juss say, its the same as huntington, seal, bolsa, and or mothers beach....i then turn and say, jokes....
if you havent been, gooooo!
My 300th review. YAY! I made it. WOW! Finally! Well, my 300th review is on Crystal Cove state beach. A beach I adore and have known since childhood for it's marine life (sea stars, sea anemones and crabs), tide pools, and beautiful ocean scenery. As a kid, I used to love petting the sea anemones and admiring the sea stars anchored to the rocks. I also used to get a kick out of walking and climbing the bluffs covered in wild flowers and shrubs. Back then there were no trails, which meant you forged your own way to the beach. I felt like Dora the Explorer, forging my own way to a new frontier or a jungle, or at least until my imagination was interrupted by my parents.
Crystal Cove State Beach is a beautiful beach to take the kids, guests from out of town or just yourself. This beach is a treasure and I keep hoping the environmental changes won't effect it but it will. So, enjoy it while you can.
One thing I miss most about the Cove is the original date shake shack (pre-Ruby's ownership) that used to make the best date shakes. A drive on PCH just wasn't complete without a pit stop at the date shake shack on Crystal Cove. That sweet date paste, milk and ice cream were heavenly when blended together. Yum! I miss it.
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Being a white and pasty Vietnamese guy I really have no place here amongst the nicely tanned men and women here. I'm afraid that if I took off my shirt my beaming white skin will force near by sun bathers to put on SPF 1000. Fear not, my shirt stayed on for the sake of all humanity and unsuspecting beach wildlife.
Although it was a bit crowded on a Sunday afternoon around 2:30 it was not to say that we couldn't get a spot. There is plenty of real estate to temporarily claim, it might require a little walking until you find a spot but it is totally enjoyable as you trek along the wet cool sand.
I think a lot of PRIDE goes into keeping this beach clean. I even saw a random old white guy pick up little pieces of trash along the beach. He didn't look like he was employed by the beach, but I thought it was really cool of him to try to keep the beach as pristine as possible.
What I also noticed that there are actually life guards on duty. It's a nice to have piece of mind if you are a parent and brought your kids here, like so many other parents.
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All time favorite beach. I come here with my boyfriend to exercise. I go on the weekdays after 5PM, it's not crowded and I don't have to pay for parking!
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This was an absolutely beautiful spot of beach that I stumbled upon in high school after getting lost in Newport Beach. I've had a lot of great memories here which include taking my high school crush to watch the sunset then walking around to tide pools and playing with sea anemones and crabs.
I also went here with a bunch of friends and went rock jumping and climbing timing each jump carefully with when the waves would come crashing in.
I gave it four stars because they've destroyed the rock structures that my friends and I used to go jumping and climbing on. Despite this, the place is still beautiful but definitely not what it used to be.
Note to Self: I should have gone to school in Laguna or wherever the rest of the yelpers went to school. I grew up in the Valley- no bio classes on the beach for us!
Anyway, I have come here from time to time to go running, but had the most memorable time sneaking down from Trader Joe's with some brews and drinking on the beach on a Sunday afternoon last summer. It doesn't get better than that. xo.
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Alright, I'm sure that everyone's 4 and 5 star reviews have already testified to the magnificence of Crystal Cove! But I had just had to write a review about this beautiful place!
I came here for the first time around a year ago, and I was blown away by just the entrance. I entered through this field of tall flowers and grasses and it was just soo amazing! When we got closer to the cliffs, the view of the ocean, tidepools, sky...everything was so beautiful! And it helps that it's located in Orange County, because then it's more likely to be sunny, and in my opinion, everything looks better when it's sunny hehe. But yeah...so then my friends and I headed down the stairs to explore the tidepools and although they say you're not allowed to touch any of the marine life there, we couldn't help it when we saw the most humongous sea slug in the world. It was disgusting, in the coolest way possible.
I've had many good memories at Crystal Cove, so I would definitely recommend coming here, although I would also recommend not coming here on a windy day haha..
we love crystal cove!
Somewhat hidden, but a quiet beauty to explore...
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Even though its dark because a storm is coming, there are still people outside walking dogs. Its starting to get cold and earlier it smelled like grilled vegetables. My boyfriend heard frogs. Twilight was beautiful, like a Judie Bamber painting. You'll have better reception with AT&T than T-Mobile.
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Once a yr. I take my students here for an Inside the Outdoors Field Trip. Some have never seen the beach and Crystal Cove is unforgettable to young minds because of the tidepools. Peak time is around 10:30 You can find many sea hares, hermit crabs, and if you're lucky, a sea star or two.
Please do not take anything from this area as it is a preserved habitat. I get very upset when the hub and I bicycle around here on the weekend and see kids and parents swinging around a bucket full of life. It makes me want to come by and snatch it on my bike and bring the animals back, but that's not ladylike, you know.
There is a short paved bike trail/hiking/strolling walking path, lots of animal life; bunnies, all sorts of birds, and lizards, couple of picnic areas, lots of clean restrooms, and parking is always available for $10.
If you see dead sea lions and rotting animals, that is suppose to be there for the vultures and other scavengers. It is working ecosystem so let's enjoy, observe, and respect our fellow friends and their home.
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C.C. all the way! I came here for my first ocean scuba dive, which went really well considering my day started off on the wrong flipper at 5am when I backed my car into my dad's car when I arose for this dive. So it was a fuzzy morning but also a monumental occasion to conquer a big goal! I also love this beach because I used to come here with my summer school class every week when I was little. The teachers would have us paddle out on long boards and then bring up amazing marine life that the average 11 year old doesn't get to see up close and personal.. If you have elementary school kids definitely enroll them in this IUSD summer ocean class!!
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Original Plan: go on an active hike at CC State Park to stay fit and do something new with friends (Jun H. and D) on a Saturday early evening.
Actual Events: lazily chill at CC State Beach to lay out in the warm sun and explore what we could of the tide pools during high tide.
In high school, our bio classes would bus us out to this area to observe and do reports on the VERY COOL tide pools and then picnic on the sands. It was some of my best times and I think added to why I chose to major in bio. ANY WAY, so we passed the gate, turned right, then parked. The lot was busy but it wasn't packed. We grabbed our stuff and headed toward the shore....
Bathroom- smelled like fish outside, but was OK inside.
Short trail- greeted a few dog walkers, young couples returning from picnics, older folk just exercising. We went down the steep incline in flip flops and I slipped a little. Be careful.
Shore- not busy at all. no trouble finding an empty spot. lots of flies and washed up seaweed. sand wasn't SUPER dry but dry enough to lay down towels and not get damp. it was high tide so the only interesting things we saw were sea anemone and worm tubes.
Seagulls- D and I left some snacks out on our towels and went to go play in the water. a gull stole Jun H.'s granola bar and took off!! it tore open the wrapper and devoured the bar within seconds. hide anything in shiny wrappers, ziplocks, and food packages or these selfish little beasts will steal it.
I thought we'd get more sun around 4 but it quickly got cold and breezy. The cliff didn't block the wind either. Next time!!
love this area... great for hiking and awesome sunset views. Tidepools on the shore are teaming with sea stars,crabs and even octopus. Def an OC treasure.
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Great beach, good body surfing, lots of space, and the people at this beach are usually pretty mellow. In addition this beach has no pit bulls in heat, very few people with lame tribal tattoos, no cheesy dudes with coolers, and very few males playing football trying to compensate for the fact that they're at the beach and they can't swim worth a crap so they decide to band together and play an annoying game of football so nobody knows that they can't swim but when they do that we all know that they can't and by the end of the day they know that we know so they leave the beach quickly in lame mustangs and raised trucks. Was that a run on sentence? At least people that play Frisbee are usually medicated on something.
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Is there anything better than the sound of waves collapsing on a secluded stretch of sand? I'm not talking about the "ocean breeze" option on those noise machines that are often used to lull insomniacs to sleep. No, this kind of sensory experience is something that belongs in its natural environment -- specifically, in a place like the Crystal Cove State Beach. Add in some mojitos, a good book, a friend, and an unlimited supple of sunsceen, and you've got yourself a perfect afternoon.
There is a reason why I don't go to the beaches in Los Angeles County. None of them can compare to those in Orange County. While it does cost $10 to park at the Crystal Cove State Park on the cliff above the beach, the benefits of spending a few hours relaxing on a laughably uncrowded, naturalistic stretch of beach far exceeds the monetary costs. Can you really put a price on sanity? Do I need to do a faux Mastercard "priceless" commercial to make my point? Sorry folks, I'm still in my lackadaisical mood from yesterday. My brain can't be bothered.
I will make the effort to say this: Once you go OC, you'll never go back.
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I took a friend of mine here for a picnic after stopping by the market to pick up some cheese and chocolate to go with our wine. It's great to watch the sun as it's going down from this beach....there is hardly ever anybody there... Drinking alcohol on the beach is prohibited, but we downed a whole bottle and there were poeple walking by us... picnic baskets and wine just blend in anyways...
There is a fee to park and the lot closes at sundown... I think it's $10
One of the best beach and state park!! Great beautiful view especially the sunset. Place is quiet and stunning!! Bring a date and a camera there.
A totally secluded, quiet, lovely beach. It doesn't have parks or bonfire pits... things that tend to attract tourists. This place is truly for people that really want to enjoy the beach, ocean, skies, and sand for what it is - breathtaking, gorgeous nature views.
There's so many trails you can walk on.. I love walking on this one trail on a cliff area... I often come here when I need to reflect and escape from the world.
On Saturday mornings you can catch glimpses of people biking or walking hand in hand... some OC mom's come here and push strollers around. Even with these things going on, the serenity of the place still remains undisturbed.
If you park directly into this beach it's about $10. Park ACROSS the street in this empty parking lot and it's FREE. Walk across, don't be a lazy bum!
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If you live in or near Newport Beach and have not explored Crystal Cove State Park - I strongly recommend a visit to Crystal Cove State Park. I believe parking is $10, which is a bargain at twice the price considering the gorgeous, and usually quiet walkways to be found. Spectacular! Southern California at it's finest.
My favorite beach in Southern California.
Romantic, secluded, quiet, beautiful, peaceful--I could go on and on and on.
Crystal Cove was much more secluded when I was younger. I spent many summer days playing in the water at Crystal Cove. Memoriesssss...
Anyway, I'm a little sad that it now costs $10 to pay for parking at Crystal Cove and a restaurant was recently built on the sand. It's definitely not as secluded as it used to be, but it still is an absolutely wonderful beach that I love.
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I'll preface this review with the following...I'm not much of a big fan of beaches. For one, take a look at how pale I am. The sun and I do not get along for very long periods of time. Secondly, I tend not to like crowds.
That being said, I absolutely love crystal cove. This is not the typical SoCal beach of endless flat sand in either direction with scattered trash and trashy people. The trail we took down to the beach was a little steep and you do have to park either at the top of the trail heads or across PCH, but the extra effort pays off in the end. We arrived around 5pm on a Sunday afternoon and there were still several families there who had enjoyed the coastal escape from the inland heatwave. However, we easily found a large empty space to put down the bamboo mat and eat our sandwiches. Within an hour 90% of those people were gone. A leisurely stroll down the beach at sunset brought us to the tide pools. Very cool to see the little sea creatures. By the time the sun was down and we turned around to walk back, the beach was virtually empty. Hard to believe you can find such seclusion and beauty but a ten minute walk down a trail from PCH. And as an added bonus, even though the parking lot closes at 10pm by the time we got back to the car around 9, the ranger was gone, so there was no charge for parking.
I highly recommend you spend a late afternoon and sunset at this spot!
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I remember going here with my then boyfriend, and it was a small beach, and quite a walk down some stairs, but it was worth it to hover over the large rocks and see little sea creatures...called...what? Starts with an "A"...they're kinda soft, jelly-like with tiny tentacles...I NEVER remember what they're called specifically, but I had fun poking them and watching them coil. Don't worry. I wasn't too cruel.
parking is ten bucks. DAYAM. but. you get what you pay for. it's yay! i'm a fan
Beautiful, small and intimate beach that doesn't really get too busy on weekends. Expect a little more people rolling out on the sand during the summertime. Good family spot to walk up and down the trails admiring the cottages. Excellent photo ops here!
Yes the panaroma prompts exclamations...Very beautiful.Bring a spring willow woven picnic basket,inside with deli cuts and a nice red wine(dont forget the crystal wine glasses)the different cheeses perched with strawberries.Hand to Hand with your date it makes for a very romantic setting..As the sun melts into the sea,and the moon silvers the waves,it will all suggest that how truly special life is when you share such moments with another beautiful person.Just dont be so quick in popping the question,instead pour the wine and enjoy your moment.
north of laguna beach, located in newport beach...
absolutely beautiful... seriously, it's so romantic... (sigh)
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This place is B E A U T I F U U U L!!!! This place has amazing views and one of the cleanest beaches I have ever been too!! A great place for a romantic picnic and great place to just relax and enjoy life! ~
I've never seen such a quiet beach! It was definitely worth the $10 to pay for the parking to enjoy a peaceful lay on the sand to soak up some rays. If you're looking for a getaway from the city, this is a nice spot to go to. I'll definitely be back.
so pretty, a nice place to chill or relax.
Great place. Not crowded at all. Great hiking, walking, and biking paths. Clean bathrooms and great weather.
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