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Home/Locations/California/Orange County/Little Corona del Mar Beach

Little Corona del Mar Beach

Corona del Mar · Orange County · California

Spearfishing here is conditional
The short answer is Legal · SMCA. The exact rule, who enforces it, and what it covers are written out in the field notes below.
Today’s conditions · not a forecast

Visibility Breakdown

Updated through the day · times PT
Last reading 7:01 AM

Visibility by position

Post Break
headline zone
28ft
reviewed reading
Open Water
34ft
reviewed reading

Solid = diver report · outlined = our reading

Cross-section from the sand out to open water, split into 2 visibility zones: Post Break (0-200 ft from shore), Open Water (200+ ft from shore).
Shore
Post Break
0-200 ft from shore
Open Water
200+ ft from shore

Post Break: The range past where any waves are forming, where the water starts to have a significant increase in visibility. There might be some sediment here, but swell energy is diffused and the water is calmer.

Open Water: This zone is far out enough from the shore that the water is at its clearest. It’s deep enough that sediment is not disturbed by the wave energy at the surface. Haze can sit near the surface, so the water is usually clearer the deeper you go.

Through the day

Today's visibility readings at this spot, shown at the hour each one was taken.

Every bar is a reading for the Post Break zone.

28 ✓
7a
9a
soon
10a
soon
11a
soon
1p
soon
3p
soon
5p
soon

Did you dive today?Please share the visibility to make our algorithm more accurate.

Report visibility
Entry type
Shore
Parking
Free street
Spearfishing
Legal · SMCA
Stingray risk
Low
Water quality
Yellow flag: bacteria advisory Advisory · Oct 27
A+ graded Aug 7
A 1.2 mi away
Difficulty
Beginner
Popular activities
Snorkel · Scuba · Spear
Today's forecast

Why it reads 28 ft

Updated 7:01 AM PT today · October 27, 2026
Clean water
Helps vis
0.45 µg/L (water sample)
Moderate impact
Calm seas
Helps vis
1.9 ft
Minor swell
Short-period chop
Hurts vis
5.0 s
Minor chop
Light wind
Neutral
6 kt
Minor wind
Live water reading
Helps vis
live reading today
Minor impact

High confidence

Ocean Oracle

7-Day Forecast

Days 2 to 7 are Pro

Today is the live headline above. Tomorrow onward is the algorithm's forecast from predicted swell, wind, and rain, updated each morning and at 6 PM Pacific.

Today · Tue
Oct 27
28ft
Perfect
Open Water 34 ft
Swell 2 ft at 8 s, wind 4 kt at 10 AM. No rain forecast.
Wed
Oct 28
14
Good
Open Water 21 ft
Thu
Oct 29
9
Fair
Open Water 14 ft
Fri
Oct 30
16
Excellent
Open Water 24 ft
Sat
Oct 31
19
Excellent
Open Water 27 ft
Sun
Nov 1
11
Good
Open Water 17 ft
Mon
Nov 2
13
Good
Open Water 20 ft
Unlock days 2 to 7
7-day forecasts come with Ocean Oracle Pro · $5/mo
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Getting there

Map and parking

33.5895° N · 117.8689° W
Map of Little Corona del Mar Beach showing the Poppy Avenue ramp, Buck Gully, and Arch Rock offshore
Address
Poppy Ave & Ocean Blvd
Corona del Mar, CA 92625
Parking
Free street

No lot. Free street parking on Poppy Avenue and Ocean Boulevard and along the residential blocks above the bluff, which fill on summer weekends. A long paved ramp descends from the Poppy Avenue and Ocean Boulevard corner to the sand.

See the offshore water on Pelagiscape →Clarity, temperature breaks and kelp off this beach.
Field notes

About Little Corona del Mar Beach

Little Corona del Mar Beach is a small rocky cove at the mouth of Buck Gully in the Corona del Mar district of Newport Beach, Orange County. A long paved ramp descends gradually from the corner of Ocean Boulevard and Poppy Avenue, which makes this one of the gentler approaches to the water on a coast full of stairways. Corona del Mar State Beach, known locally as Big Corona, sits about 0.3 miles north beyond Inspiration Point. Arch Rock, a pyramid-shaped arch, stands offshore to the south and is the landmark most pictures of the cove are framed around. The beach has no restrooms and no lifeguard tower.

From the Nautilids who hunt it

Spot strategies

Ocean Oracle Pro
Unlock spot strategies
How other Nautilids actually hunt Little Corona del Mar Beach: the biome they worked, the gear, the tide and time of day, and what they were after.
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Pelagiscape Offshore Map

One full-screen map of the water off all of California: satellite water clarity and temperature, temperature breaks, seafloor shading, depth lines, surface kelp, Marine Protected Areas, currents, wind, and swell. Save your spots as pins and get an email when a temperature break comes near them.

7-Day Forecasts

Visibility predictions for the entire week ahead at any beach. Plan dives, schedule charters, and book trips without guessing.

Prime-Day Alerts

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Dive Log

Every entry freezes that day's report: visibility, tide, swell, wind. Log catches, stamp Personal Bests, level up your guns, and light up your species life list.

Front-Page Oracle

The Coastal Bulletin greets members with the clearest water on the coast today and their own watchlist, before a single click.

Watchlists

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Spot Strategies

A members-only board on every beach where taking fish is legal: how other members hunt the spot, with the gear, tide, season, and target species. Post your own and earn XP.

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