Crystal Cove

Crystal Cove is a 3.2-mile run of bluff coast inside Crystal Cove State Park, sitting between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach in Orange County. The park breaks into six named beach sections. Pelican Point anchors the north end, followed by Reef Point, the Historic District beach at the mouth of Los Trancos Creek, and Moro Beach at the south. The smaller 3.5 Cove and Scotchman's Cove sit just off Reef Point. Forty-six wooden cottages from the 1930s and 1940s stand in the Historic District, federally listed as the Crystal Cove Historic District, and the Beachcomber Cafe operates at the bluff above Los Trancos Beach. The Crystal Cove State Marine Conservation Area protects the southern part of the park, running roughly from 33.5400 N to 33.5895 N and covering about 1,140 acres of underwater habitat. The Historic District beach at 33.5732 N sits inside the SMCA, while Pelican Point at the north end falls outside the boundary.

The bottom in the shallows is cobble and boulder, with bare patches of reef between the kelp beds. Past the inshore reef, giant kelp anchors on rocky bottom and grows up through the water column to the surface. That bare cobble and boulder structure in the shallows makes this a rocky reef biome at entry, and the kelp offshore adds a kelp forest biome reachable by short swim from any of the named beach sections.

The reserve protections have produced dense fish populations on accessible inshore reef, and snorkeling and scuba are common because of it. Spearfishing for finfish under SMCA rules is common on the kelp-covered structure, and hook-and-line fishing from shore is steady alongside it. Lobster and sea urchin take is also permitted under SMCA rules. Swimming holds at the central beach sections in calm conditions, and Reef Point and Pelican Point both break, though surfing stays secondary to the diving here.

Four paid lots inside the state park run along Pacific Coast Highway: Pelican Point at the north, Los Trancos in the center with the tunnel that drops down to the Historic District, Reef Point, and Moro Canyon at the south. The day-use fee is $15, and the lots fill on summer weekends. Under California Code of Regulations Title 14, take of all living marine resources is prohibited inside the Crystal Cove State Marine Conservation Area, with three exceptions: recreational hook-and-line fishing for finfish, recreational spearfishing for finfish, and recreational take of spiny lobster and sea urchin. Take from inside the tidepools is prohibited.