Crystal Cove: A turquoise slice of Orange County
The water at Crystal Cove stops you mid-step. Here, the Pacific is an impossible shade of turquoise, more Hawaiian than Southern Californian. It is the kind of color that makes you reach for your camera before your brain has caught up.
This stretch of Orange County coast has been drawing people since the early 1920s, when Irvine Ranch families and Hollywood film crews discovered a remote cove accessible only by a new road called the Pacific Coast Highway. A woman named Elizabeth Wood gave it the name in 1927, simply because it seemed right for such a beautiful place. Dozens of cottages went up along the beach and bluffs in the decades that followed, and many still stand today.
Some coastlines earn their names, just as this one.
Tips
- Crystal Cove State Park charges a day-use fee. $10 or free with a CA state park pass.
- Hike the Reef Point and Crystal Cove trail. Mostly flat, with expansive views of the Pacific.
- The trail is fully exposed and has no shade. Bring enough water and sun protection.
