Thousand Steps Beach
South Laguna · Orange County · California
Visibility Breakdown
Visibility by position
Solid = diver report · outlined = our reading
Break Zone: The range of water where the waves break and sediment is stirred up.
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.
✓ = reading reviewed by hand
auto = reading not yet reviewed by hand
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Coastal Bulletin
About Thousand Steps Beach
Why it reads 8 ft
High confidence
7-Day Forecast
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.
Map and parking
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
No lot. Metered and residential street parking along South Coast Highway and the blocks above the bluff, and spaces are scarce through the summer. The stairway entrance is across South Coast Highway from 9th Avenue.
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See the offshore water on Pelagiscape →Clarity, temperature breaks and kelp off this beach.
About Thousand Steps Beach
Thousand Steps Beach is a wide sand beach in the South Laguna neighborhood of Laguna Beach, Orange County, reached by a long public stairway that drops from South Coast Highway across from 9th Avenue. The name overstates the climb. The stairway runs a little over 200 steps, steep enough that most descriptions of the beach lead with the walk back up rather than the sand at the bottom. Sandstone bluffs frame the beach on both sides, rocky points close off either end, and a sea cave at the south end opens up at low tide. Public restrooms sit at the bottom of the stairs. Table Rock Beach lies just up the coast to the north, and the Three Arch Bay shoreline continues south.
Species found here
Researched habitat and range candidates. A listed species may be seasonal or depth-limited; this is not a confirmed sighting at this location.
Spot strategies
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