Beach Guide
Loading Beach Guide…
Dogs, parking, lifeguards and the walk down for all five beaches — plus the honest word on Doheny's water quality.
Loading the latest information…
Loading the latest information…
Loading Beach Guide…
Dogs, parking, lifeguards and the walk down for all five beaches — plus the honest word on Doheny's water quality.
Loading the latest information…
Five very different beaches in about eight miles — and almost none of them are run by the city. Each entry below says who actually manages the sand, what parking really costs, and what the rules are, checked against the agencies' own pages. The one thing this page can't show is today's water quality — for that, check ocbeachinfo.com or call the county hotline before you swim.
Check the water before you swim — especially at Doheny
The classic family state beach at the mouth of San Juan Creek: a campground, a five-acre picnic lawn, a gentle longboard wave at the north end, and a visitor center with ocean tanks (weekends 10am-4pm). Run by California State Parks, not the city or county.
This is the only Dana Point beach where fires are allowed — in the designated state-park fire rings only, first-come first-served, 6am-10pm. Water quality is Doheny's known weakness: bacteria counts near the creek mouth exceed state standards often enough that the State Water Board wrote a dedicated cleanup plan for this beach. Check ocbeachinfo.com or call 714-433-6400 before swimming, and stay out of the ocean for 72 hours after rain.
The surf beach below the Monarch Beach resorts, with the Bluff Park lawn up top. Wide sand, consistent waves, and a real walk between the parking lot and the water. Run by OC Parks (county).
Budget energy for the walk: the path down is easy, the climb back up with chairs and a cooler is not. All fires are prohibited. Beach hours 5am-midnight.
The quieter stretch below Strand Vista Park, between Salt Creek and the Headlands. The sand is county territory (Salt Creek's rules apply); the blufftop park, stairs and ramp belong to the city.
Residents have long reported that the funicular (inclined elevator) down the bluff is frequently out of service — plan on the stairs or the long switchback ramp, and pick a different beach on days when stairs are a problem.
A small, calm beach inside the harbor breakwater — flat water, no surf, the spot for toddlers, first paddleboard sessions and kayak launches. County harbor property, currently mid-rebuild.
Calm water is not the same as clean water — enclosed harbor beaches get advisories too. Check Baby Beach on ocbeachinfo.com the same way you would the ocean beaches.
The narrow neighborhood beach along the coast highway toward San Clemente — and the hardest-hit erosion site on this coast. Storms destroyed the boardwalk and basketball court, and sand placed in 2024 washed away within a year; replenishment keeps cycling. Run by OC Parks.
The beach can all but disappear at high tide — check the tide page before planning a walk here.
5 beaches
Check the water before you swim — especially at Doheny
Town Tools builds free, public tools for Dana Point and towns around the world. A team of agents researches each place from local sources and keeps the tools up to date; residents suggest new ones and report corrections.