Aaah the Laguna Beach- southern California’s pearl. Materialized dream desired by many, attainable by a few. Make the city of Laguna Beach a destination point for your family to explore while driving up and down the coast. The little art town on the pacific coast highway in a welcome fashion swings open its gallery doors for locals and distant visitors. How can you not go see this mirage while exploring SoCal?
An ideal artist community town unrepeated anywhere else along the Pacific Coast Highway, except maybe for Carmel-by-the-sea in Monterey county or the El Passeo drive in Palm Desert. Heisler Park is the ideal starting destination point, and we’ll see why.
Laguna simply has it all. Finely ground sandy beaches, sea-life stocked tide pools, pleasant mountain hikes, world-renowned galleries, thrifty shopping, refined restaurants, hipster breweries, boutique hotels, the list goes on and on…
Note: Interestingly enough, the Laguna town began as an independent artist community that was looked down upon by the elite back in the ’50s. Now, look how far this self-made paradise has come along.
Where to begin exploring Laguna?
You might wonder: what is there to see in Laguna? I’d recommend starting your journey at Heisler Park. It is a model modern urban park that has been designed for enjoyment by all, literally all people, from kids to grownups. There are several green lawn areas, grilling & dining zones, tranquil corners of the palisading gardens. Our son really enjoys running around the park while looking at various features
Btw. The whole park feels like an art gallery by itself. There are easily a dozen sculptures displayed throughout the tropical paradise’s winding paths.
Many kids can climb down to the tide pools and have an awesome real-life biology lesson right at the Ocean.
Our son likes zooming around the park on his scooter. We’ve got to see some of the most alien flora, like blooming of unusual flower in Laguna beach – rare Puya berteroniana Blooming Blue.
Here’s a really cool website to see other rare blooms in the Orange County.
Such is the case with the exotic, slow-growing puya plant, now blooming for the first time in more than 20 years.
And when we say bloom, we’re not messing around. No shy little flowers for this hardy bromeliad that grows in the high reaches of the Andes Mountains throughout South America, according to the Bromeliads.info website.
https://www.latimes.com/home/la-hm-ga-rare-puya-bloom-20190617-story.html
Food near Heisler park
Las Brisas – a historic restaurant at the top of the cliff is not affected by COVID as much since they have adequate seating available on the ocean view patio.
“We all yearn for the nostalgia of the past, Las Brisas is the perfect bridge to that feeling in the present. Its origins stretch back to the Victor Hugo Inn in 1938 and it represents a romantic bygone era of beauty and charm. The menu is refined and focused, featuring home-made tortillas, from-scratch salsas, and an abundance of fresh seafood.”
Urth Caffe – A really hipsterish yet high-quality food right on the other side of PCH from Heisler Park. It’s a great takeout place. You’ll be surprised how diverse is their menu, especially for breakfast.
Wholefood and Pavilions are also within walking distance.
Note: Don’t forget to take advantage of the Free shuttle that zooms through the city of Laguna beach to get you from one end to another in but a fleeting moment.
Don’t forget to check out the local galleries. We found a lot of amazing artwork while walking around with our baby napping in a stroller. Try to find Eiler Larsen – Laguna Beach greater. It’s not as easy as it sounds =)
Have fun and stay foolish!
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