“USA 🇺🇸 ~California in Crystal Cove Beach State Park”

• May 4, 2021
• By Pen
• 0 Comment

Another fun place to visit in California, is Crystal Cove Beach!

Today, we had the pleasure of picking these two cool cats up at the airport (from Oregon). We had a fun afternoon by the pool, and at the beach! But, time went way too quickly, as usual, when we get together!

Crystal Cove Beach is one of my favorite places to go; close to home, and we wanted to show Debby and Vern this 1920’s (and still vintage) state beach! We stayed for just a few hours, but were on hand at the restaurant for the salute and raising of the “Martini Flag,” which is a tradition that goes way back.

Vern, Debby, Daryl and me, at the 1920’s vintage restaurant, called Beachcomber. Great food and service, and right on the beach!

For the saluting and raising of the “Martini Flag,” at cocktail hour.

Friends for life!

There is a tunnel which goes under the Pacific Coast Hyesy, (PCH) from the Los Trancos parking lot. It takes approximately 10 minutes to walk from the parking lot to the restaurant. There is a shuttle available, as well, from the parking lot.

Daryl and I have been to Crystal Cove Beach a couple times before, even to spend the nights at one of several cabins, available. BUT, it’s tricky to get a reservation, as it’s a very popular beach and State Park.
The Park is located off the Pacific Coast Highway between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach and features a historic village with 46 cottages built in the 1930’s, most of which are awaiting renovation while making a fascinating beachfront ghost town. The cottages that have already been renovated are available as overnight rentals. More on that later, if interested, but here are some photos and history about this wonderful beach.

Back at the famous Beachcombers Restaurant for more delicious food! This Beach is next door to where we live, so this is a great date night dinner place for us!

Then, with our tummies full, a walk on the beach for sunset is in order, of course!

Always a popular spot to see on this Beach, is the beach house used for filming the popular movie; “Beaches.” The house is no longer rented and lived in, but has been turned into a museum and is open to the public.

The 1988 Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey Beach House used in the movie; “Beaches.”

Along with the beachfront properties, this State Park also has three miles of gorgeous Pacific Coastline, wooded canyons, open bluffs, and an underwater park.
Considering it’s one of the most beautiful spots in Southern California, it’s no surprise many Hollywood movies have been filmed here; including one of my favorites, the 1988 Bette Midler film; “Beaches.”
This famous Beach House is listed as Crystal Cove’s Cottage 13 and has since been renovated back to its original glory.

This view of the Beach House #13 is me taking a photo from our boat, while out on the Pacific Ocean one day.

Cottage #13, before the renovations for the movie.

As I said, prior, here is a link to the government California State Parks website, if interested in visiting. Besides the cottages to rent, there is also an RV Park, as well as some tent camping spots. There is information on their website which tells you how to make a reservation at Crystal Cove.
https://www.crystalcovestatepark.com/historic.htm

I will tell you, it’s very difficult to get a reservation, as it’s all done by a phone call at a specific “lines are open” time, do you can imagine how many callers actually get through for just 36 cottages… and some of the cottages are already rented. There is no online reservations, so there is no way of knowing what’s available. You just call, be ready with the cottage number you want, and hope it’s available. I understand why the reservations are set up this way; because reservations would be filled up for five years ahead, if done any other way. 

Well, what we do, when I’ve tried and tried by phone, only to get a busy signal, is, we show up at the office on any given weekday morning, after 9AM to learn if there are any no-shows, on that particular day, and if so, we grab a night, and pay our fees. We then go home and pack food and clothes, and come back. Now, this way of reserving doesn’t get us the cottage we want, but it’s still nice. All of the cottages are nice. There are two locations for cottages: On the beach, or up on the ridge, overlooking the beach. It’s quieter up on top. That part is great!

We stayed in collage #18, which comes with a shared kitchen in the larger cottage, next door. We had a private bath, and a queen bed, plus some bunk beds. There was Another couple renting the cottage with the shared kitchen, so we didn’t spend much time in the kitchen, except for making coffee and eating breakfast. After the couple left, we hung out in the bigger cottage for sure. It was all good. Here are some photos.

Now, for photos from the shared cottage side:

Back down at beach level, here are some photos of some cottages, we would love to stay in one day. There is even a cute museum there, too.