The Great Outdoors — Many of Laguna Beach’s Best Attractions are Free
			Laguna Beach, Calif. — When it comes to spending time in Laguna Beach, some of the best things to see and do are free — or nominal. Residents and visitors alike can enjoy a host of outdoor activities at low to no cost in Southern California’s most picturesque coastal city. With miles of pristine beaches, hiking trails, wilderness parks and more, Laguna Beach offers a wonderful array of choices. Adventurous individuals can enjoy the many great hiking trails that Laguna Coast Wilderness Park has to offer, along with mountain bike rides led by Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteers. For a more leisurely activity, Heisler Park is the perfect spot for a picnic, complete with amazing ocean and coastal views!
			In The Water
			Beaches for Tidepooling Favorite destinations for exploring tidepools in Laguna Beach include Crescent Bay, Shaw’s Cove, Moss Point, Treasure Island, plus areas of Glenn E. Vedder Ecological Reserve/Heisler Park State Marine Reserve including Picnic Beach, RockPile and Bird Rock. All tidepools inside the city limits are designated part of the State Marine Conservation Area. The Laguna Ocean Foundation (www.LagunaOceanFoundation.org) offers a TideWater Docent Program, helping to educate the beach-going public about the tidal habitats of Laguna Beach. Some of the varied sea life you'll view include hermit crabs, turban snails, sea anemones, purple sea urchins and sea hares. For your tidepool enjoyment, wear proper footwear (ie. rubber-soled shoes). Laguna Outreach for Community Arts (LOCA) conducts tidepooling adventures, where each participant crafts their own watercolor journal based on their exploration. www.LOCAArts.org. Tide charts are available for you to pick up at the Laguna Beach Visitors & Conference Bureau. They include useful information such as beach rules, high and low tide times/dates, including sunrise and sunset, as well as the year’s expected grunion runs. Whale Watching The annual migration of the gray whales passes along the Laguna coastline from December to April. Blue, Fin and Minke whales can be viewed from May to November. Visitors can easily observe whales from the Laguna coastline. Contact the Laguna Beach Visitors & Conference Bureau for information about whale watching tours. Capt. Dave’s Dolphin & Whale Safari combines the best of both worlds with intimate, unforgettable trips departing daily to view wild dolphins and whales year round! Hi-tech sailing catamarans allow you to listen to the dolphins and whales on the hydrophone. An underwater camera gives you a view of their amazing ocean environment. Enjoy all of this and one of Mrs. Capt. Dave’s triple-fudge brownies. www.DolphinSafari.com. Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching also provides you with a wonderful excursion into the world of these incredible mammals. Daily whale watching trips are scheduled during the peak times of the migrations aboard large comfortable boats. Individuals as well as large groups can be accommodated by the Dana Wharf Fleet. www.DanaWharf.com. Surfing Laguna Beach’s best surf spots are located at the beaches of Thalia Street, St. Anns, Brooks Street and Thousand Steps (really 230 steps down), all of which boast good waves and breaks. Additional surfing locations include Pearl Street Beach and RockPile at Heisler Park. You can find your surfing attire, along with any required accessories at one of the many famous Laguna Beach Surf Shops throughout town. Want to take a surf lesson? Soul Surfing School can supply all of your surfing needs with rentals available (boards, wetsuits, etc.). Along with year-round private surfing lessons and small group clinics (which can be tailored to your specific needs and skill level), the school offers team building activities with your clients or employees. During the summer, they hold Soul Adventure Club, an action-packed week for kids, ages 8-14. www.SoulSurfingSchool.com. La Vida Laguna also offers reasonably priced expert surfing instruction for the beginner in either a one-on-one or group environment. Rentals are available. www.LaVidaLaguna.com. After going through the basics, you’ll be out in the water catching waves in no time. Skimboarding Skimboarding first took off in Laguna Beach, with the earliest known record going all the way back to 1920. Lifeguards would skim across the sand on crude (by today’s standard) plywood boards. Great sandy beaches with quality waves have combined to make Laguna one of the premier places in the world for the sport. With the Victoria Skimboards World Championship of Skimboarding held annually at Victoria Beach in South Laguna, skimboarders from all around the world come here to compete in a number of age and skill division levels. Favorite local skimboarding beaches include Ninth Street Beach (Thousand Steps) and Aliso Beach in South Laguna, along with Victoria, Cleo, Pearl Street, Brooks Street, Thalia, St. Anns, Crescent Bay and Treasure Island. Diving Along with world-class beaches, Laguna offers some of the best diving sites in all of Southern California. Certified divers and snorklers enjoy a diverse underwater world of reef structures and aquatic sites at Crescent, Shaw’s Cove, Boat Canyon, Divers Cove, Pearl Street, Wood’s Cove, Moss Point, Goff Cove and Treasure Island. Laguna Sea Sports is a wealth of information for all of your scuba needs. This full service dive store provides instruction, scuba and snorkel sales and rentals, equipment service and dive conditions. www.LagunaSeaSports.com. Sea Kayaking Get close to reefs, private beaches, tidepools and sealife aboard a kayak. La Vida Laguna (www.LaVidaLagna.com) conducts two-hour guided ecotours. Launch from Fisherman's Cove (Boat Canyon) to view Splash Rock, Heisler Park and RockPile, and hidden reefs where bright orange Garibaldi swim beneath you. Pass Main Beach, Bird Rock, Shaw's Cove, Crescent Bay and Emerald Bay. Look for sea lions at Seal Rock. You can also rent a kayak from La Vida Laguna's Treasure Island location and paddle South Laguna. North Laguna Float Company also offers guided two-hour tours for beginners or seasoned paddlers at Divers Cove and Crescent Bay. www.LagunaBeachInfo.com/attractions.
			On The Beach
			Laughing Yoga Begin the day with a yoga-on-the-beach class. The Laguna Yoga Institute - Laguna Laugh Club integrates yogic breathing with laughter. Workshops and programs are available for individuals, leadership training and corporate events. www.LYInstitute.org. Drum Circle If you're lucky enough to be here on a full moon, join in the free community drum circle on the beach. It takes place during every full moon from 7 to 10 p.m. at Aliso State Park, complete with a bonfire. They'll even provide the drum. www.LaVidaLagna.com.
			On Land
			Hiking, Biking, Camping and Horse Trails With more than 6,400 acres comprising some of the last remaining coastal canyons in Southern California, Laguna Coast Wilderness Park is home to coastal sage scrub, maritime chaparral, oak woodlands and riparian habitats, plus the only natural lakes in Orange County. The Park is also enrolled in the Natural Community Conservation Planning program designed to protect various endangered species by preserving large tracts of the rapidly diminishing coastal sage ecosystem. As Laguna Coast Wilderness Park's new headquarters, the Nix Nature Center features an easy trail around the center and is the gateway for recreational users to explore a vast network of linked trails throughout the 20,000-acre South Coast Regional Wilderness. It features award-winning interpretive exhibits and an ongoing series of educational programs, guided hikes and other activities. Parking is $3 and the lot is open 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. www.LagunaCanyon.org. The South Coast Wilderness area also includes Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, James Dilley Greenbelt Preserve, Crystal Cove State Park, The City of Irvine Open Space and Irvine Ranch Land Reserve, and Laguna Coast. Hiking, biking and equestrian trails are located at various sites within the park. The Laguna Canyon Foundation (www.LagunaCanyon.org) provides fitness hikes, nature hikes, intermediate mountain bike rides and more in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and Aliso & Wood Canyons Wilderness Park. Sunset and full-moon tours are often scheduled. The James Dilley Preserve, a 3.5 mile loop from Laguna Canyon Road, is the only way to reach Orange County's largest lake – Barbara's Lake. For more information, call Laguna Coast Wilderness Park at 949.923.2235 or visit www.OCParks.com. Crystal Cove State Park features three miles of beautiful coastline, wooded canyons and open bluffs, plus offshore waters designated as an underwater park. Hikers can follow hillside and canyon trails through 2,400 acres of undeveloped woodland. Miles of dirt road and single-track routes are open to mountain bikers, as well as equestrian trails for horseback. Two campsites are located on Moro Ridge with another at Deer Canyon, complete with picnic tables. Campers must hike to the sites, which can last in duration from two to six hours. For more information about camping, activities, trails and events, visit www.crystalcovestatepark.org. Designated a wildlife sanctuary, Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park comprises 4,000 acres featuring mature oaks, sycamores and elderberry trees, as well as two year-round streams and more than 30 miles of trails. Hiking, mountain biking and equestrian trails are featured, along with ranger-led hikes, fitness hikes and tours of native plants. For more information, visit www.OCParks.com. Walking Tours and Related Recreational Activities Main Beach Park and Heisler Park both reveal a two-mile greenway that runs along the bluffs of the Laguna Beach coastline. Recreational activities such as picnic areas, basketball and volleyball courts, lawn bowling and a boardwalk for strolling are available at the two locations. Public art is integrated into Main Beach Park, while Heisler Park features several beautiful sculptures, scenic park benches and scenic views of Laguna Beach and the coast. In 1986, The City of Laguna Beach adopted this program (Art in Public Places ordinance) with the goal of enhancing the livability of the city and making art more available to the public by incorporating site-specific art into each new commercial or industrial development when the project total exceeds a specified amount. The Art in Public Places program is administered by the City of Laguna Beach Arts Commission which was established in 1978. For a self-guided tour of art in public places, public sculptures and artist-designed benches (an annual competition that began in 1998) throughout the city, pick up a Public Art Brochure at the Laguna Beach Visitors & Conference Bureau. Heritage Walks & Tours reveals the charm of Laguna Beach’s historic bungalows and cottages. For a leisurely self-guided tour, take the local Laguna Beach Bus. You can obtain a brochure on city buses, at City Hall or the Laguna Beach Visitors & Conference Bureau. The City of Laguna Beach and the Heritage Committee also sponsor Heritage Month in May, featuring historic downtown walking tours and seminars. First Thursdays Art Walk takes place every month from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Participating galleries throughout Laguna Beach provide a festive, cultural evening. Free shuttle service is provided to participating galleries beginning at 6:15 p.m. from the Laguna Art Museum and Bluebird Center. Shuttles run until 8:45 p.m. For more information, call 949.683.6871 or visit www.FirstThursdaysArtWalk.com. Fieldtrips The Pacific Marine Mammal Center at 20612 Laguna Canyon Road welcomes groups of all sizes to get a first-hand tour of the marine mammal rehabilitation facility. Fieldtrips include a guided tour of the grounds, along with educational presentations and opportunities to visit pinniped patients being rehabilitated in their outdoor pools. A $25 confirmation fee reserves your date and time. Tours are $5 per person. You also have the opportunity to visit for free on a daily basis (donations are welcome). For reservations, call 949.494.3050 or visit www,pacificmmc.org.
			Backgrounder
			About the Laguna Beach Visitors & Conference Bureau Laguna Beach Visitors & Conference Bureau has two Visitor Center locations: 252 Broadway, open Monday – Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 381 Forest Ave. in the Coast Sotheby's International Realty office; it is open Monday – Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Laguna Beach is Southern California’s premier seaside destination located midway between Los Angeles and San Diego and along the central coast of Orange County. Known as home to hundreds of local artists, and set amid 20,000 acres of wilderness, Laguna Beach is primarily served by Orange County Airport located just 20 minutes away. For more information, please visit www.LagunaBeachInfo.com and click on Build Your Itinerary to create your own one-of-a-kind outdoor experience.		Judith A. Bijlani Executive Director Laguna Beach Visitors & Conference Bureau (949) 376-0511 judyb@lagunabeachinfo.com www.LagunaBeachInfo.com
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