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The city of Laguna Beach California has a high concentration of named beaches along it’s nine mile long waterfront. Thirty-six to be exact! While each of these beaches are excellent places to visit some have their limitations or are just not one of “best” that Laguna has to offer.

Unfortunately (for most of us) there are beachfront gated communities such as Irvine Cove, Emerald Bay, and Three Arch Bay that close off access to their beaches from the general public. Others such as Totuava have difficult access and some are simply all wet at higher tides.

On the brighter side, Laguna is known for its stunning cove beaches such as Thousand Steps, Crecent Bay, and Victoria Beach. But the focal point of the beach scene in Laguna is at Main Beach where you’ll find grass lawns, volleyball courts, shops, restaurants, and lots of people. It’s the best people-watching spot in all of Laguna.

One section of the shoreline from Main Beach to the Keyhole Rock at Pearl Street Beach is a continuous sandy beach, but it has stairwells at each street so the city has created 12 separate beach names between these end points. Walking on the sand from Main Beach to Pearl Street is a thrill and you can return on the sidewalks of Coast Highway if you’d like. There are many shops and restaurants along this route. Of course it’s possible to turn around or loop back at any of the stairways you find on the way to the end at the Keyhole. If you do the whole thing you can cross many of the Laguna beaches off your to do list.

There are a few parks in Laguna Beach worth mentioning. The crown jewel by far is Crystal Cove State Park at the north end on the border with Newport Beach. This park has six different beaches with two of them in Laguna. You can hike the trails in the park on the bluff or walk long distances on the brown sand below. Heisler Park is another worthy stop in Laguna. It’s just a few paces north from Main Beach and is home to a large picnic area above Picnic Beach and excellent tide pools at Rockpile Beach. Finally in South Laguna there is a huge park called Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park with loads of hiking and mountain biking trails. At the bottom of this canyon is family-friendly Aliso Creek Beach.

Below is our list of the best beaches in Laguna Beach ordered from north to south. As we said, even the smaller hard-to-find beaches in Laguna are worth a visit. So if you have extra time, then check this complete list of Laguna Beaches and see how many you can find!