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California Coastal Trail

Laguna Beach: Where Art and Nature Thrive

Season 1 Episode 11

Before south Orange County saw a housing boom, Laguna Beach was a small, isolated artist colony tucked between the ocean and coastal hills. It was a place so quiet that even restaurants would close after the weekend crowds left.

Things are different today. Orange County hosts some three million residents and over 30 cities. Millions of tourists flock its beaches. It's home to a handful of Fortune 500 businesses.

Yet Laguna has resisted many modern temptations.

It's opted to retain a greenbelt instead of razing all hillsides for homes. Businesses, hardly any of which are chains, must keep the town character by having a wooden sign. And that artist colony feel? You can still get it with plenty of galleries, its festivals like the Sawdust and Pageant of the Masters, and the occasional painter drawing inspiration from a sidewalk perched above the coast.

Not all of Laguna's sandy beach is part of the California Coastal Trail, but with for a city so rich with history, all parts -- beach and commercial arteries -- are equally pleasing afoot.

Support Provided By
Newport Beach: A Lifeguard's Story
2:41
Gary Conwell is a lifeguard officer for the city of Newport Beach for the past 18 years.
Marin Headlands: San Francisco's Backyard
5:02
Marin Headland's Golden Gate National Recreation Area hosts rich biodiversity.
San Francisco: Land's End
6:07
Lands End is a popular hiking destination at Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Crescent City Harbor Trail
6:28
Del Norte County is home to the cleanest river in the continental U.S., the Smith River.
Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park
5:26
Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park hosts sea-side bluffs above ancient redwoods.
Connecting Communities on the Humboldt Bay Trail
6:03
The Humboldt Bay Trail is a network of trails that will connect Humboldt's largest cities.
Haul Road: MacKerricher State Park
5:59
The Fort Bragg Coastal Trail sees as many as 12,000 people per day on holiday weekends.
Restoring Coastal Access at Noyo Headlands Park
6:48
In Fort Bragg, California, an industrial mill site closed off the coastline for 150 years.
Pelican Bluffs and The Art of Trail Design
6:55
The Mendocino Land Trust has just completed the two-mile Pelican Bluffs Trail.
The Sea Ranch: An Environmentally-Planned Community
7:58
The Sea Ranch is an environmentally-planned private community along the Sonoma Coast.
Ownership of Tribal Land Restored at Kashia Coastal Reserve
8:10
In 2015, the Trust for Public land helped establish Kashia Coastal Reserve.
Discovering Russian History on the California Coast
5:28
Decades after the Russians withdrew, Fort Ross was acquired by the state in 1906.
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