Oh don’t you just love the summer? I sure do even though I might be complaining at how hot it is at home, But it’s perfect to be outdoors and near the beach! It’s been so long since we went on a really long hike but on Saturday, we went to the Crystal Cove State Park which is off Pacific Coast Highway between Laguna Beach and Corona Del Mar.
On this hike you find lots of people here hiking. There were many runners going up the hills, bikers, leisurely stroll, and families. This park is popular with bikers, hikers, surfers, and scuba divers.
Visiting the visitor’s center
Also be sure you always pick up a map.
Let the hiking begin!
I checked their site and it states that All day parking is $15 and the annual pass id $195. This park accepted a donation to help preserve the area along with renovations. I could see the donated money being used to pave the hike trail with wood but it was still in progress.
The trails were mostly quite dry and there were occasional spots where the plants were green.
I was even able to take some pictures of beautiful wild flowers. This park has 3.2 miles of beach and 2400 acres of back country wilderness. There are 17 miles of hiking trails so your options are limitless.
We began the Moro Canyon trail around 9 and finished around 12. Then we made our way up to the E. Cut Across (1.1 mile), to the Moro Ridge (1.6 miles), Then .1 mile extra along the shore trail, .4 miles back on to Moro Canyon, towards the parking lot.
From the map you can see we did the Green Easy Out And back- Mono Canyon, and then to the Yellow Trail- Mono Canyon, East Cut Across, Moro Ridge, and to the BFI (unsure what that stands for).
What I like about this trail is that it’s right next to the beautiful beach! I’m so used to the beach around Huntington Beach, Bolsa Chica, Newport, and Seal beach where the water isn’t so clear unfortunately. The beach at Laguna Beach was absolutely stunning where you would even see the reef and the water was turquoise. It sure felt like I was in Hawaii or some tropical island.
“G” turned on his Garmin Navigator to help us lead us the way we wanted to go. We loops on a trail to the beach and it was such a stunning view.
The hike to the beach was well worth it!
It’s strenuous to get to the beach side view from the trail but let me tell you, it sure is worth it.
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View of the ocean from the hike[/caption]
I'm so jealous of the residents here to be able to see this every day!
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Road next to the beach[/caption]
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Trail and the ocean[/caption]
The water is crystal clear that you can see the reef.
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Newport Coast[/caption]
I actually remembered to take some video clips so check out the vid below!
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