golden hour at crystal cove

Some beaches are for mornings. Crystal cove is for the end of the day.

Crystal Cove sits on the coast between Corona del Mar and Laguna, a long stretch of protected state park with bluffs above and three and a half miles of sand below. People come all day, but the cove saves its finest hour for last. When the afternoon crowd starts packing up, the light turns gold, the water goes quiet, and the beach becomes one of the better places in Orange County to watch the sun go down.

when to arrive

For a golden hour visit, aim to be on the sand about two hours before sunset. That gives you time to walk down, set up, and settle in before the light gets good. In midsummer that means arriving around five or six in the evening. You will also catch the changeover, when the day-trippers head up to the lots and the beach opens back up, so you have room to spread out.

Parking is in the state park lots off Pacific Coast Highway, and there is a fee. The lots have a few access points; the Los Trancos lot connects by a short trail and an underpass to the historic district and the sand, and there are bluff-top lots farther south. Whichever you choose, you have a walk down to the water, so this is a beach where carrying light pays off.

where to set up

Walk a little. The sand near the main access points fills first, but Crystal Cove is long, and a five minute walk in either direction usually finds you a quieter stretch. Set up facing southwest so you are looking straight out at where the sun will drop into the water.

This is where the kit earns its evening. A 7.5 pound chair means you can walk that extra stretch without thinking about it, then recline through its four positions and aim yourself at the horizon. Set the umbrella while the sun is still high; the twist-in sand anchor holds against the onshore breeze that tends to come up in the late afternoon. As the sun drops you can collapse the umbrella and let the last of the light reach you directly.

the light, and where the sun goes

In summer the sun sets out over the open ocean to the west, and from Crystal Cove there is nothing between you and it. The bluffs behind you catch the warm light first, glowing tan and gold, and then the water lights up. The half hour before sunset is when the whole beach turns the color of the name. Stay through the actual set and a few minutes after, because the sky often does its prettiest work once the sun is already down, in the afterglow.

Low tide in the evening also opens up the tide pools at the rocky points, worth a slow wander if the timing lines up. Check the tide before you go.

making a day of it

Crystal Cove pairs well with the rest of the coast. Corona del Mar is a few minutes north, Laguna's coves a few minutes south, and we mapped the whole stretch in our California coast guide if you want to build a longer day around it. You can also start with a morning somewhere else and end here, letting the cove be the last and quietest stop.

When the light is gone and the air turns cool, you will be a little sandy and ready to go. A towel that lets the sand fall off instead of carrying it into the car is the easy end to a golden hour. Tag us @sunyvibesig with your sunset.