Beaches crowded in LA & San Diego area?

OffToDWD

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 29, 2014
We are planning on visiting early August (staying at Disneyland) and we would love to incorporate some beach time. Just wondering how the beach situation is in the LA & San Diego area... Are there restrictions? Is it crowded? If there are beach suggestions, would love that too! Thanks!
 
Right now you can't just go to the beach for fun. No sitting on the sand. You can only be there doing "active" stuff: swimming, surfing, walking, running. Not sure when that will change.
 


In San Diego, you are now allowed to sit on the beach, lay on the beach, loaf on the beach, etc. Your are expected to keep your family group at least 6 ft away from others. Things can change by August and things can change with only a one day notice. So, I wouldn't base an entire vacation around going to beach, but if the beach is just one part of your vacation, then I believe you'll be able to visit the beach in August and it won't be a total loss if you cannot.

There were beaches that opened in certain parts of San Diego County before the all of them did. Each city can make their own rules and even if there are rules above them (like state mandated rules), it's the city that you are in that will enforce the rules or not. For example, I live in a city in San Diego County and most people do not wear face masks in public, even though it's a state mandated rule. My particular city just doesn't care and won't enforce anything unless someone complains above their head.

Beaches I recommend close to Disneyland - my favorite is Crystal Cove State Beach which is in Orange County. If you do want to drive down to San Diego, I recommend La Jolla, Oceanside, Del Mar and Torrey Pines.
 
In San Diego, you are now allowed to sit on the beach, lay on the beach, loaf on the beach, etc. Your are expected to keep your family group at least 6 ft away from others. Things can change by August and things can change with only a one day notice. So, I wouldn't base an entire vacation around going to beach, but if the beach is just one part of your vacation, then I believe you'll be able to visit the beach in August and it won't be a total loss if you cannot.

There were beaches that opened in certain parts of San Diego County before the all of them did. Each city can make their own rules and even if there are rules above them (like state mandated rules), it's the city that you are in that will enforce the rules or not. For example, I live in a city in San Diego County and most people do not wear face masks in public, even though it's a state mandated rule. My particular city just doesn't care and won't enforce anything unless someone complains above their head.

Beaches I recommend close to Disneyland - my favorite is Crystal Cove State Beach which is in Orange County. If you do want to drive down to San Diego, I recommend La Jolla, Oceanside, Del Mar and Torrey Pines.

Thank you so much!
 
San Diego beaches are the way to go. The people are friendlier and there Covid cases has remained low. The best way to avoid the beach crowds on the weekend is to get their early (9am) and set up your gear. The crowds come around Noon. If you get there at 9am or earlier you can see some really great waves and watch the surfers 🏄 by 1pm, the crowd arrive, it’s hot and it’s a great time to head back to ur hotel or wherever you are staying. You will feel like you had a full day at the beach 🏖
 


San Diego beaches are the way to go. The people are friendlier and there Covid cases has remained low. The best way to avoid the beach crowds on the weekend is to get their early (9am) and set up your gear. The crowds come around Noon. If you get there at 9am or earlier you can see some really great waves and watch the surfers 🏄 by 1pm, the crowd arrive, it’s hot and it’s a great time to head back to ur hotel or wherever you are staying. You will feel like you had a full day at the beach 🏖

Thanks for the great tip!!
 
Beaches in California are seldom that crowded, they show these low shots looking miles up the beach where it looks like people are on top of each other, but it is not the case. Not hard to find an open spot on most beaches. You might have to walk a few hundred yards but there will be spots. Take Huntington Beach for example, it is massive, you could probably put a million people on it and still have room.
 
I know your trip (if you took it) has passed, but in retrospect August was crazy this year. We are at Newport every Sunday by 7:30 am, and the last few weeks (until last week with the smoke and cooler temps) were absolutely packed. We usually have no trouble finding parking in the morning and the crowds come in around noon when we're leaving, but we were having trouble parking at 7 am and it was a madhouse by 10. And no one was following social distancing/mask guidelines. The crazy heatwave was driving everyone to the beach, even though it was still getting to the 90s there. Hopefully the temps will drop and it will be less crowded from here on out. Also, I used to live in San Diego and prefer the beaches there too.
 

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