Best Beach in LA-Orange County area

What is the best beach for a small family with an 11 year old to
visit? I would like something family oriented,( probably not Venice
for example) not too crowded, but not isolated either. ( San Clemente
and south to Oceanside )

I am also concerned about pollution, hearing that the beaches just
south of LAX are where there are some contamination problems.

What would fit the bill for me: Santa Monica? Huntington Beach?
Hermosa Beach? Long Beach? or somewhere else, perhaps all the way down
to Laguna Beach?

I would possibly like to do some sightseeing in LA as well, Beverly
Hills, perhaps visit Warner Bros studios, La Brea tar pits etc...Is
the drive from Laguna to Beverly Hills/West Hollywood ridiculously
long on weekdays ( over 2 hrs. )

I've never been in LA before, other than changing planes at LAX once.

Also, what would water temps be in mid June...Mid 60's? Would south
Orange county be significantly warmer than Santa Monica, water
temperature wise?

Any questions any one could answer would be greatly appreciated.

On 10 Apr 2004 09:30:59 -0700, (Olentangy) wrote:

I can't advise you about beaches or water temperature, but I can tell
you that June weather often is cool and overcast in the mornings
("June Gloom") which burns off by the afternoon. The evenings will
also be cool. Therefore you may not want to visit the beach until
later in the day.

I would expect the daily temperatures to be in the 60-80 degree range,
obviously on the cool side near the beaches.

Driving between Laguna Beach and West Los Angeles won't be too bad on
weekdays because your family can use the carpool lanes. You will want
to avoid the rush hours, although traffic will be fairly heavy anyway.
Perhaps if you left your hotel around 10 am would be OK. You might
choose to have dinner near your destination and not return to your
hotel until 8-9 pm or so, in order to skip the evening rush hour.

But I wouldn't be surprised if the trip from Laguna Beach to West Los
Angeles could take 2 hours. The trip from 'downtown' Laguna Beach to
the nearest freeway is a 15-minute drive all by itself, at least. When
I drive towards West LA (I live in San Diego), I'll often take the 605
to the 105 to the 405 since those freeways tend to be less busy than
some of the others. Get yourself a good map and put 1070-AM (KNX) on
your radio since they issue traffic reports every 6 minutes.

DKM




I would possibly like to do some sightseeing in LA as well, Beverly
Hills, perhaps visit Warner Bros studios, La Brea tar pits etc...Is
the drive from Laguna to Beverly Hills/West Hollywood ridiculously
long on weekdays ( over 2 hrs. )

I've never been in LA before, other than changing planes at LAX once.

Also, what would water temps be in mid June...Mid 60's? Would south
Orange county be significantly warmer than Santa Monica, water
temperature wise?

Any questions any one could answer would be greatly appreciated.


To contact me directly, send EMAIL to (single letters all)
DEE_KAY_EMM AT EarthLink.net. [For example .]

Olentangy wrote:
What is the best beach for a small family with an 11 year old to
visit? I would like something family oriented,( probably not Venice
for example) not too crowded, but not isolated either. ( San Clemente
and south to Oceanside )

I loved Laguna as a kid because of the abundance of tidepools to
explore. And IIRC, the water temperature does get warmer as you go
south. The water at Ventura, for example, is darn cold.

Laguna Beach & Corona del Mar are wonderful, beautiful & clean beaches
- Laguna more of a long white sand beach & CdM more rocky coves ending
in a big beach at Big Corona. Water temp won't be that different -
pray for sunny days - the water will still be cool, but 11 year olds
don't seem to mind... Your 11 year old will love Laguna, but as
others have siad, it's a ways to LA. Still a wonderful town to visit
& much preferable to the others you mentioned, IMHO. Visit Newport,
take the ferry from Balboa Island to the Peninsula, visit San Juan
Capistrano & perhaps Dana Point - plenty to see & do.

As an European i wonder none of you are mentioning
Redondo Beach. One of the most peaceful and quit beaches in
that area. No need to take 405, from airport, take Sepulveda and
KEEP it and as a miracle you reach Redondo beach in about 15 minutes.
Of course, avoid rush hours.



"brenda" schreef in bericht
om...
Laguna Beach & Corona del Mar are wonderful, beautiful & clean beaches
- Laguna more of a long white sand beach & CdM more rocky coves ending
in a big beach at Big Corona. Water temp won't be that different -
pray for sunny days - the water will still be cool, but 11 year olds
don't seem to mind... Your 11 year old will love Laguna, but as
others have siad, it's a ways to LA. Still a wonderful town to visit
& much preferable to the others you mentioned, IMHO. Visit Newport,
take the ferry from Balboa Island to the Peninsula, visit San Juan
Capistrano & perhaps Dana Point - plenty to see & do.

Where will you be staying?

On 10 Apr 2004 09:30:59 -0700, (Olentangy) wrote:

What is the best beach for a small family with an 11 year old to
visit? I would like something family oriented,( probably not Venice
for example) not too crowded, but not isolated either. ( San Clemente
and south to Oceanside )

I am also concerned about pollution, hearing that the beaches just
south of LAX are where there are some contamination problems.

What would fit the bill for me: Santa Monica? Huntington Beach?
Hermosa Beach? Long Beach? or somewhere else, perhaps all the way down
to Laguna Beach?

I would possibly like to do some sightseeing in LA as well, Beverly
Hills, perhaps visit Warner Bros studios, La Brea tar pits etc...Is
the drive from Laguna to Beverly Hills/West Hollywood ridiculously
long on weekdays ( over 2 hrs. )

I've never been in LA before, other than changing planes at LAX once.

Also, what would water temps be in mid June...Mid 60's? Would south
Orange county be significantly warmer than Santa Monica, water
temperature wise?

Any questions any one could answer would be greatly appreciated.