# Best Beach/Resort areas in Southern California



## amanven (Feb 12, 2009)

Giving consideration to visiting Southern California.   Places where there are nice resorts on or near some of the better beaches in SoCal. Any suggestions?  Also wondering how late into the fall season you can go and still get good beach weather and reasonably warm water temps.


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## Steve (Feb 12, 2009)

amanven said:


> Giving consideration to visiting Southern California.   Places where there are nice resorts on or near some of the better beaches in SoCal. Any suggestions?  Also wondering how late into the fall season you can go and still get good beach weather and reasonably warm water temps.



The nicest timeshare resorts in Southern California are Four Seasons Aviara followed by Marriott's Newport Coast Villas.  Neither resort is on the beach, but they are both a short drive away from good beaches.  The Four Seasons is in Carlsbad which has decent, but not sensational, beaches.  Nearby Oceanside has a very nice beach.  The Marriott is located near some wonderful beaches including Newport Beach, Corona Del Mar, and Laguna Beach.  

From my experience, the weather tends to be nice well into October.  The water, on the other hand, is always COLD.

Steve


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## GregGH (Feb 12, 2009)

Hello Amanven

As also being from Ontario -- did you know that Jan-Feb & March are NOT the busy months in So Cal??    Our fall months are pretty nice - but So Cal kicks ass on Jan thru March ... never way HOT ... but oh so much nicer than So Ont

Keep learning on Carlsbad or Newport Beach - both are great places ... don't stop there - there is so much in Calif -- wine areas ( not just overcrowded Napa ) ... sandy beach vs rocky beach ... 

Greg


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## ricoba (Feb 12, 2009)

My personal favorite beach here is Laguna Beach, I think it is your ideal picture of a California beach, with it's cove and city right at the beach.  The Marriott Newport is the closest nice resort as someone mentioned.  I believe there are RCI resorts in Laguna.

But swimming here is cold year round.  Though being by the beach in the  spring, summer and into the early fall, is quite pleasant.

Unfortunately, our ocean temps are cold due to the cold California Current that brings water from southern BC all the way down to Baja.


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## amanven (Feb 13, 2009)

ricoba said:


> Unfortunately, our ocean temps are cold due to the cold California Current that brings water from southern BC all the way down to Baja.



As soon as I started reading the posts about the cold water temps I started to remember my high school geography lessons on ocean currents.  Thanks for the info and the tutorial.


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## rachel1998 (Feb 13, 2009)

I love Avila Beach on the Central Coast. It is one of the nicest places to go during the summer. Not too crowded.


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## pfaff (Feb 13, 2009)

One of my favorite beaches here in Socal is San Onofre State Beach. It minutes away from to San Clemente and less than a half hour from Escondido or Carlsbad. That would give you plenty of resorts to choose from. I like this beach because it is clean and usually never crowded unless you go on a holiday. The water is cold but is refreshing on a hot August day. Usually, the cliffs enclose the nice breezes. They have camping if your adventurous and many trails if you like hiking. Many people take their mountain bikes and ride on the enclosed street and some actually take the trails.  If you are really adventurous there is a nude beach!

Now before anyone goes into the whole nude beach debate it is all the way at the end of the beach. So if you don't want to be a part of it you don't have to. You really would have to be looking for it at the end of trail 6. So if you are parked at trail 1 through 4 it is a mighty walk to accidentally see it. The people at the nude end are friendly and no lewd conduct goes on. Personally it is my favorite part of the beach and have met many nice people that I probably would never have struck a conversation with.


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## UWSurfer (Feb 13, 2009)

The nude beach section (adjacent to Camp Pendleton) became an area of intense enforcement late last fall after too many complaints of problems including lewd conduct. 

There were many articles in the local papers about it coming to an end and it being one of the last places in SoCal where one could go.   There were some promises of folks ignoring the signs and hoping to be ticketed so they could challange it in court.  To date I've heard nothing more.

While "I" have not participated in that section of beach, I think there should be places like this for folks who like to take it all in, so to speak.


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## Luanne (Feb 13, 2009)

UWSurfer said:


> While "I" have not participated in that section of beach, I think there should be places like this for folks who like to take it all in, so to speak.



Is Black's Beach in San Diego (near the UC campus) still going strong?

Just googled and answered my own question.  Black's Beach has its own website, but I can't get into it at work.  Blocked for some reason.  But, here's another one.

http://www.sandiego.gov/lifeguards/beaches/blacks.shtml


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## pfaff (Feb 13, 2009)

You can still go nude at San Onofre. The signs are there to deter people but are not enforceable. There is a local group of Naturists, Friends of San Onofre, that keep lewd conduct away. They are not afraid to enforce the no gawking, photography, or lewd conduct rules. They do not want their beach taken away. I have been going for ten years, since I turned 18 and one of the first things they do is give first timers the heads up on what is and isn't acceptable. 

The military area that is blocked off by the small fence is enforced by the Marines who live and train at Camp Pendleton. I do not go beyond that part cause of possible penalties. 

Here is a cut and paste from The Friends of San Onofre website about their victory on keeping the area beyond trail 6 nude. 



> DATE: October 3, 2008
> SUBJECT: San Onofre Update
> TO: All naturists and other concerned citizens
> 
> ...


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## Liz Wolf-Spada (Feb 14, 2009)

I've always loved Mission Bay Beach area on the ocean side where the roller coaster is. Tamarack in Carlsbad is just a short walk across to a nice beach. I believe Coronado is either on or close to the beach. The only warm ocean water I know of is Hawaii, having never swum in the Atlantic, but I find the California southern beaches swimmable in July -September.
Liz


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## GregGH (Feb 18, 2009)

*see the pic's*

Here is a link I just remembered I have ... the complete coast line of Calif ...   go crazy

http://www.californiacoastline.org/cgi-bin/captionlist.cgi?searchstr=carlsbad

See the beach ... 

Greg


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## JudyH (Feb 22, 2009)

I grew up in S. Cal.  Mom never took us to the beach after Sept, that was for tourists.  One terrible heat wave in Sept, she caved in, something must of pushed that current off shore, cause the water was about 80.  What a treat and what a memory.


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## lark (Feb 23, 2009)

For a beautiful resort, I don't think you can beat Aviara.  But it's not near the water.  My favorite SoCal timeshare is Carlsbad Inn, all things considered.  I love the Village and the proximity to the water.  The units are better at Tamarack, basically across the street.  But there's something about being on the water side of the PCH that breaks the tie for me.  I'd like to try Wave Crest in Del Mar some time, but it's a very hard trade/rental.

For warm water, I think you'll need Florida or Hawaii.  I find the So Cal beaches too cold to swim, even in Summer.  But there are plenty of people in the water, so it depends on your tolerance.


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## ricoba (Feb 23, 2009)

lark said:


> For warm water, I think you'll need Florida or Hawaii.  I find the So Cal beaches too cold to swim, even in Summer.  But there are plenty of people in the water, so it depends on your tolerance.



I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and swam regularly in Puget Sound and other northern waters in WA & BC.  

I now live in Southern California, and just don't have that tolerance anymore you mention to go anywhere near the water here in SoCal (though I have done it a couple of times).  You are right the Pacific here is cold....but Hawaii....ahhhhh that's another story!


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## applegirl (Feb 23, 2009)

Our favorite beach for sunbathing and playing in the water is Pacific Beach or Mission Beach in San Diego.  It's a nice wide and flat beach and is great for kids.  It still has more kelp than I'd prefer, but because of all the massive kelp beds in the waters off the coast of CA, it's hard to avoid seaweed on the beaches here.  There is also an extensive boardwalk along the beach that goes for several miles.  Things here can get a little raucus in the summer because it's so popular with young people but in the fall those crowds should be gone.  

October would be beautiful but this year we had some great weather in November too.  Things cooled way down the last half of December then we had crazy warm weather most of January.  Go figure!

Huntington Beach is also a very good beach.  Big, flat and great for everyone. If flat beaches and fairly safe waters is not real important, then maybe you are going more for scenic beaches.  That's a whole other ball game.  For that I like Laguna beach, La Jolla is very pretty and Corona Del Mar has a pretty beach with good services but it's not great for swimming. Newport Coast is a fabulous Marriott property where we stayed last September.  We used Corona Del Mar beach but it wasn't fabulous for swimming like I said.  But it was so close!

For those of us in California we all have our preferences and opinions on beaches.  Since we have little kids, we like flat beaches with water that's easy and safe for our kids to play in.

Best of luck in choosing!  

Janna


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## UWSurfer (Feb 23, 2009)

Just a note about Kelp (sea weed) and california beaches.

Kelp has a root structure called a "hold fast" which literally clings to the rocks and reefs.   They provide an underwater version of a forest which many marine creatures (fish, crabs, urchines, eels, lobster...) establish a home. 

When you see a large kelp patch on the water, it generally equates to a healthy ecosystem below.   Where there is no kelp is often just acres of barren sand.   

Kelp = life (a good sign in my eyes).


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## Barbeque (Mar 5, 2009)

We traded into the Carlsbad Inn and loved it and wanted to go back   The one in 4 year rule forced us to put a wanted ad on TUG and we bought a unit for a week.   It has held its value better than most of our real investments.  Nice beach right across a small street and you have great restaurants within walking distance lead by Fish House Vera Cruz.
Not as luxurious as the Four Seasons or Marriot but right by the beach and functional.


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