Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [224]
You can rent beach chairs, umbrellas and boogie boards from Main Beach Toys ( 949-494-8808; 150 Laguna Ave at Pacific Coast Hwy).
LAGUNA ART MUSEUM
This breezy museum ( 949-494-8971; www.lagunaartmuseum.com; 307 Cliff Dr; adult/under 12yr/student & senior $10/free/8; 11am-5pm) has changing exhibits usually featuring one or two California artists, and a permanent collection heavy on California landscapes, vintage photographs and works by early Laguna artists. There are free docent tours at 2pm daily, and an interesting gift shop. Hours may be extended depending on the exhibit. Check the website for further information.
PUBLIC ART
Laguna is full of public art, from well-placed murals to free-standing sculptures in unlikely locations. Pick up the Public Art Brochure from the visitors bureau for a self-guided tour. It shows color photos of all 51 of Laguna’s public art pieces, as well as a bulleted map to help you navigate. Stop by Heisler Park to see almost a dozen sculptures.
PACIFIC MARINE MAMMAL CENTER
A nonprofit organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating injured or ill marine mammals, the mammal center ( 949-494-3050; www.pacificmmc.org; 20612 Laguna Canyon Rd; admission by donation; 10am-4pm) has a small staff and many volunteers who help nurse the ailing sea lions and seals back to health.
Located northeast of town, you can visit – there are several outside pools and holding pens – but remember, this is a rescue center, not SeaWorld. Still, it’s educational and heart-warming. And you can buy a stuffed animal in the gift shop to benefit the center.
Activities
HIKING
Surrounded by a green belt – a rarity in SoCal – Laguna has some good areas preserved for hiking. Hikers who love panoramic views should take the short, scenic drive to Alta Laguna Park, a hidden park up-canyon from town. Few nonlocals ever visit. Inside the park, the moderate Park Avenue Nature Trail, a 1.25-mile one-way hike, takes you through fields of wildflowers in spring.
The 2.5-mile West Ridge Trail follows the ridgeline of the hills above Laguna for stunning ocean views. It’s open to hikers and mountain bikers. The visitors bureau stocks a fold-out trail guide. Take Park Ave from town to its end at Alta Laguna Blvd then turn left to the park, where there are restrooms and telephones. Both trails are in-and-out trails, not loops.
KAYAKING
Take a guided kayaking tour of the craggy coves of the Laguna coast in an inflatable, self-bailing kayak with North Laguna Float Company ( 949-494-5910; 2hr guided floats $35), a good company with reasonable prices. Most trips are scheduled for weekdays. On weekends, consider a tour in a hard-plastic two-seater with La Vida Laguna ( 949-275-7544; www.lavidalaguna.com; 2hr guided floats $75, under 11yr discounted). You might just see a colony of sea lions. Make reservations for both.
CYCLING
Laguna Beach isn’t the greatest for road biking. Drivers along always-busy PCH are distracted by the view, so pay attention if you head out on that road. Conditions and traffic improve once you get out of town.
Up in the hills, you can have a blast mountain biking. Crystal Cove State Park and Aliso & Woods Canyons Wildnerness Park (28373 Alicia Pkwy, Laguna Niguel) are locally recommended. Rent a bike and get trail info at Laguna Cyclery ( 949-494-1522; lagunacyclery.net; 240 Thalia St; 10am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat & Sun) The cost of 24-hour rental is about $35 to $100 for road bikes and $35 to $65 for mountain bikes. They’ll also arrange to have your bike shipped from overseas, although this can be expensive. Just north of town, try Rainbow Bicycle Co ( 949-494-5806; www.teamrain.com; 485 N Coast Hwy; 11am-6pm Mon, 10am-6pm Tue-Sat, noon-4pm Sun), which rents road bikes for $35 per day and mountain bikes for $45 per