LAGUNA BEACH
LAGUNA BEACH Kayak, Canoe and Stand Up Paddle Board (SUP) Guide
Orange County, California
Laguna Beach has many coves and wonderful rock formations which are beautiful to paddle by. Normally the surf is smaller in Laguna than at other surrounding areas which makes the beach entries required here fairly easy on a day with no major swell. Scroll down the page and keep reading for detailed launch and paddling information.
TIDE PREDICTIONS FOR NEWPORT HARBOR Close by so tides are are same.
VIDEO of paddling in this area and video web page -- See more Pictures of Laguna Beach Paddling
Go to my blog page for LAGUNA BEACH -- Go to our ORANGE COUNTY paddling page - more places to paddle in Orange County
You can paddle along the rocky coast and land in a secluded cove for lunch. The City of Laguna Beach is kayak friendly, it's legal to launch and land on any of the beaches.
The diving and snorkeling can also be excellent in Laguna, I often snorkel from a kayak here.
Crescent Bay / Seal Rock / Emerald Bay / Cameo Cove:
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The access to the beach at Crescent Bay is either via a long ramp at the end of Cliff Drive (good if you have wheels for your kayak) or a shorter series of stairs off Circle Way. Parking by either of these spots is free although convenient spaces are often taken -- especially on summer afternoons.
If there is no major ocean swell, the entry from the beach is pretty easy.
About 200 yards from the beach, Seal Rock usually has many Sea Lions on and around it. Paddling near it you get an excellent view of the Sea Lions -- often barking at each other or frolicking in the water. Watch the Sea Lions here for a while before paddling further. See pictures of Seal Rock at my Seal Rock web page.
Paddling northwest from Seal Rock, you paddle along the rocky coast with its high cliffs. At lower tides, a seal or two often rest on some smaller rocks along here.
After passing a small cove, you reach Emerald Bay. Even on summer days, you seldom ever see people on the beach here. You can stop for a picnic here or at Cameo Cove around the next point where you'll see people even less often.
Paddling to the point beyond Cameo Cove, you get a nice view up the coast to Crystal Cove State Park or back down the coast to Seal Rock. The paddling distance from Crescent Bay to this point is about 1.5 miles. Off the end of this point there is a mostly submerged shelf rock which you normally can either paddle inside of or outside of if you decide to paddle around the point.
Main Beach /Divers Cove / Fishermans Cove / Santa Ana Cove
/Crescent Bay / Seal Rock:
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Laguna's Main Beach has metered parking spots right next to the beach and it's often very easy to launch your kayak here. The only problem is the parking spots are often taken and the meters go for a maximum of two hours. If you get here very early in the morning, though, you can get a parking spot and get in a paddle before the meters are enforced (8:00 am). After parking, you can carry or roll your kayak the short distance to the edge of the
boardwalk and lower it easily over the edge of the boardwalk or carry it down about four steps to the fairly narrow beach. See pictures of Main Beach at my Laguna Beach Main Beach web page.
Divers Cove and Fishermans cove also have access / launch spots and are alternative launch spots for this paddle. However, getting your kayak from your car to that water is a bit more difficult at these coves than by the Main Beach. Divers Cove has a ramp down to the beach. Fisherman's Cove (also known as Boat Canyon) has some stairs to the beach. While getting to the beach is a bit more difficult, the Northwest end of the beach at Fishermans Cove is
one of the most protected launch spots along the Laguna cost. Even when the surf is up at other places, the launch from Fishermans Cove is usually easy. I now have a separate web page for Fisherman's Cove and Boat Canyon.
You can scout out all the above launching spots by walking along the scenic path that goes along the cliff top for about .75 mile between the Main Beach and the stairs to Fishermans Cove.
The scenery going Northwest from the Main Beach is very spectacular with the many little coves you'll want to explore as you paddle here. You soon pass Bird Rock and a little cove. Next you round the point to Divers Cove. Then there is a slightly submerged shelf rock that you may want to go outside of as you paddle to Fishermans Cove, Santa Ana Cove, and Crescent Bay. You'll want to explore Seal Rock before you head back. It's between 1.25 and 1.5 miles from the Main Beach to Seal Rock, depending on how far you paddle into the little coves you pass on
the way.
Brooks Street:
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The surf entry here is often a little bit harder than at Crescent Bay or Main Beach. Paddling south from here provides some outstanding scenery. Brooks Street has a short series of stairs for accessing the water.
Victoria Beach:
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Paddling either North or South from here there is great scenery. However, the steep beach here can often have a nasty shore pound which makes the entry more difficult then Crescent Bay or Main Beach.
Victoria Beach has a ramp to the beach which you can use to wheel your Kayak down to the beach. The ramp is located at the end of Victoria Drive.
Aliso Beach:
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At Aliso Beach, you can drive right up to the beach for easy access to the water. However, the surf is often a bit larger here then at other places in Laguna. From here you can enjoy wonderful scenery paddling either south towards Three Arch Bay or north towards Goff Island.
(c) Copyright 2011, 2013, 2020 by Mister Dave KayakDave.blogspot.com
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SALT CREEK
Salt Creek Beach Park has meter parking and a fairly long ramp down to the beach. The surf here usually breaks a little ways from shore and when no major swell is present usually isn't too powerful.
The best place to launch is a bit further North up the beach from the ramp. You can go North following the lower paved path that parallels the beach.
From Salt Creek Beach Park, you can either paddle north past Three Arch Bay or South around Dana Point. Both directions have beautiful scenery and are worthwhile.
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See our Pictures of Laguna Beach Paddling web page for lots of pictures!
See our ORANGE COUNTY PLACES TO PADDLE AND LAUNCH A KAYAK AND STAND UP PADDLE BOARD (SUP) for pictures and guides of additional places to paddle in Orange County California.
