Newport Coast, CA February?

[Theiggy]

Looking for alternate plans since April is going to be a bust. How is the weather in February? Is this a good resort for a family with teens in Feb? What is there to do around there? We don’t golf and it seems it will be coolish weather.

 

[klpca]

Yes it will be cool. For this Californian, much too cool for swimming - either ocean or pool. Sometimes we will have some gorgeous weather but you can't reliably count on it. If you want something warm, I would consider Palm Desert or Phoenix. It's a beautiful resort in a very nice area. There's shopping nearby, nice restaurants, walking distance to the beach, and some fun, funky beach towns nearby. I'm not sure about the teen activities - I'm about 10 years out of that life stage. My girls would have just wanted to hang out at the pool at that age. I hope that someone else can help with that part of your question.

 

[icydog]

FEBRUARY is great for sightseeing....and there’s plenty of sightseeing to do. Nothings crowded at that time of year, and to me, a North easterner, the weather is sublime.

 

[Big Matt]

That area is never really hot or cold and even in February you should see temps in the high 60s and low 70s, but it gets cold at night. I don't know what age the teens are, but there is quite a lot to do within 20 minutes if they like nature, hiking, shopping, going to the beach. It is one of my favorite parts of the country so I'm biased. I could see where others may think it is a little boring.

 

[Steve Fatula]

Yeah, we went in Feb once, we never saw 70. Compared to Palm Desert, quite cold. Compared to much of the US, warm.

 

[Big Matt]

My son is out there. The temps this year were very warm with several days in the 80s and way more than half the month above 70. Again, it gets cold at night.

 

[klpca]

I went to look up rainfall totals and found this chart https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/newport-beach/92663/february-weather/331967. I was surprised to see a comment about temps in the 80's because there are months in the summer where the coastal areas don't see those temps. At any rate, this chart seems to line up with I have experienced here in San Diego - 100 miles south. Daytime temps in the 60's, nighttime temps in the 50's. Along the coast in southern CA is very temperate year round. The proximity to the ocean makes it feel very damp however, which makes you feel cold in the evening. Back to rainfall (which would be the real issue with a vacation), I couldn't easily find a daily almanac but this has interesting information https://www.weather-us.com/en/california-usa/newport-beach-weather-february#rainfall_days . Essentially it shows on average, 5 days of rain in February. Sometimes 2 or 3 of them come in a row. Seems right to me.

I always get nervous when I see people planning trips during the times that we consider to be our *worst* weather, understanding that it may be much better than other areas. I see it as expectations management. Southern CA coastal in the winter won't be hot and sunny. It may be cool and sunny (which is perfect weather in my mind), it may be cool and cloudy, it may be cool and rainy, or we could even have some stormy weather, but just a day or two. Kids will be in school, and crowds will be almost non-existent (Disneyland excepted). Traffic will still be traffic - that is year round. Walks on the beaches will be perfect. But the California that you see in the movies, Endless Summer etc, well that's misleading. True, there will be surfers - but they will be in wetsuits, lol. For reference, we love to visit Hawaii but we have crossed late Nov-Dec off of our list because while some years the weather was perfect, we've had a couple of visits where the islands were hit by fairly good sized storms. We made the best of it but we weren't expecting that. I was told by others that Hawaii doesn't really have seasons, but my uncle who lives on the BI says that they do get some weather in the winter months. I don't want "weather" when I go to Hawaii. I want temps in the 80's, and lots of sunshine. When that's what you want and you get temps in the low 70's and rain, well it's kind of disappointing.

 

[csalter2]

I live here. It varies. Some days it can be in the low 60’s and others can be in the 80’s. It rained a lot last week. The weather is unpredictable from January to April. However, it’s better than the east coast.

 

[Bill4728]

We visit SoCal a couple times a year and often visit in Feb. Yes it to cold to swim or play in the ocean
BUT very comfortable for walking the beach. We love the heated pools at NCV and of course the hot tubs.

The only thing you can't do is play in the ocean, So go.

Enjoy

 

[BJRSanDiego]

@Theiggy : It would help to know where you're coming from. For example, if you live in Hawaii, you'll probably find the weather cool. Could be some rain. But if you're coming from Minnesota (or surrounding states), you'll probably want to wear a short sleeve shirt and walking shorts. Ha ha.

If you can find availability in an inland location like Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Phoenix, etc., it will "likely" be warmer. But not necessarily.

As for "what is there to do", it really depends on your own interests. You could take your kids to Disneyland I suppose. Let us know what sorts of things you like to do. Maybe we can be of help.