Things to do / Travel Guide
There are few, if any, places in the U.S. that can match the southern California Coast in providing visitors with a fantastic array of active outdoors vacation options. The one-two punch of great weather and a wide variety of natural terrain cinches the deal. From there, it all depends on your definition of “recreation.” For some, it's exploring a National Park with outdoor camping facilities. For those seeking adventure, it may be something like rappelling down the face of a sheer rock wall. The world's your oyster dude!
Land-based Activities in the Southern California Coast
High up on the “to do” list of people with outdoorsy and active lifestyles is the visitor's favorite of biking. There is something for every visitor, terrain-wise, in the southern California Coast region. In Orange County, between Laguna Beach and Laguna Hills, a great place for biking is the Laguna Niguel Regional Park, also home to the Aliso Wood Canyons Regional Park.
Also in Orange County, visitors will find Crystal Cove State Park, home to the Moro Ridge route. Located in the San Joaquin Hills between Laguna Beach and Corona del Mar, this State Park boasts rolling hills and pleasant green valleys, and it's also one of the very last stretches of open coastal land in Orange County. The Moro Ridge bike route is considered moderately difficult and runs for over nine miles.
In the winters, many people will be surprised to know there is skiing available in the region. From November-April, Mt. Baldy features a terrain Park and halfpipe for snowboarders as well. There are four lifts serving 26 runs on the mountain, with the longest run being 2,100 feet.
Golf is another staple of active life in this region, with some legendary courses to choose from, including Torrey Pines (South Course), Barona Creek Golf Club, and LaCosta Resort and Spa.
Head into the Santa Monica Mountains for some rock climbing and bouldering - some of the most popular haunts are Echo Cliffs, Owl Tor, and Painted Cave. Closer to San Diego, Mt. Woodson offers smooth granite with a large diversity of cracks to scale.
Hiking in this region offers the almost surreal experience of walking into the complete wilderness only minutes away from one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. Leave the freeway behind and trek off into Holy Jim Canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains or the Big Santa Anita Canyon, to name a couple.
Water Activities in the Southern California Coast
This coastal region affords visitors a whole other environment to play in - the water. Diving has become a very popular option in the southern California Coast region and there are many popular diving hotspots along the region's shores. For example, La Jolla, just north of San Diego, along with Catalina Island, is considered an excellent spot for first-time divers. Just off the coast of San Diego lies the shipwrecked USS Yukon, a naval destroyer from World War II, which provides a real treat for more experienced divers. There is also the San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park Ecological Preserve, a sanctuary for endangered aquatic creatures like the Garibaldi fish, the official state fish of California ... although the “Governator” is rumored to be changing that to a nice pickled herring.
Where there's water, there's boating, of course. What better place to give it a whirl than the southern California Coast? Traveling by boat is probably the best way to see the region's otherwise inaccessible areas. Boating along the coast will give you a unique perspective of many parts of La Jolla, San Diego, Newport Beach, Long Beach, Marina del Rey, near Santa Monica, and the Port of Los Angeles. Boats of every kind can be rented for simple day trips or longer cruises to the open ocean. For instance, the Catalina Express and Catalina Cruises offer roundtrip excursions between Catalina Island and Long Beach for about $55 per person. In addition, both companies also offer boat trips along the coast for reasonable prices that are based on time at sea and distance traveled.
If you have that boat under you, and you have a penchant for the hunt, fishing the region's waters can prove to be a great outdoors excursion. Miles of coastline, together with plenty of inland lakes and rivers, make southern California a fantastic place to take a fishing trip. Catches like barracuda, yellowtail, and bass can be reeled in from the waters off the coast of southern California from April-October, while albacore tuna appear in abundance during the summer months. Fishing boats leave daily from the southern California ports of Newport Beach, San Diego, and Long Beach for deep-sea fishing and sport fishing. For the freshwater angler, five different kinds of trout, along with some other species of fish, can be found in the many lakes and streams in this region.
Hang ten dude! Keeping an active vacation style is easy in the southern California Coast region, especially considering the plethora of fantastic beaches available to choose from. Activities such as surfing, boogie boarding, kite-surfing, jet skiing, and swimming can be found in abundance in this region in places like Huntington Beach, Malibu, and Venice Beach. Seal Beach, Mission Beach, La Jolla Cove, and Catalina Island's beaches also rank among the best.
Surfing is king here and locals have their own favorite spots. A visitor to the beaches of southern California can't go wrong hitting some of the better-known spots, like Trestles at San Clemente, Black's Beach in San Diego, Malibu Beach, and Huntington Beach, home to the U.S. Open of Surfing, the largest such event in the world.
Southern California Coast from Above
If, after all this, you still need to get the old heart pumping, might we suggest you try jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft, at altitude? Skydiving is a particularly popular adventure activity in southern California and you'll simply be amazed at the lofty perspective you'll get of the densely-populated region. Geronimo!
Hot-air ballooning is another great way to get a bird's eye view of the beautiful southern California Coast. Many balloon operators offer free champagne while flying out to any winery guests desire. Del Mar, at the northern end of San Diego County, is a popular spot for recreational ballooning. Prices for a balloon ride above southern California run from about $120-$170 per person, and are generally higher on weekends (we could have said inflated, but the pun was just too obvious!).
For the active outdoors lovers, the southern California Coast is a virtual canvas of fun waiting to be painted with your adventures. So, put on some sunscreen, zip up the wet suit, wax the board, and bait the hook. Surf's up, dude!
Outdoor Recreation in San Diego, Laguna Beach, Los Angeles, Malibu, Santa Barbara, Southern California
Outdoor-Sports-Recreation
Ocean Beach - San Diego, California (OB)
Malibu Lagoon State Beach - California
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