Find Your Neighborhood

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For Information about the city of Laguna Beach and helpful links please CLICK HERE.

Let’s start by understanding the City of Laguna Beach.

Laguna Beach is known for it’s beauty but also for it’s small town casual beach living with lots of art and things to do. Laguna Beach has about 23,000 residents living in 8.8 sq miles. There is a dramatic change in population depending on the season. Many residents live in town part time but the summer brings 3-6 million visitors every year. The only high school in Laguna beach has about 1,000 students. The schools are small and exceptional.

Laguna Beach is a great place to visit and an even better place to live. If you are a local, I understand the value of your home . If you are looking to buy a home in Laguna Beach, I can help you identify your perfect home in the right neighborhood for your specific needs.

If you live by a beach or park, you are almost certain to visit it often and run into your neighbors frequently, creating that village feel that the residents cherish. While other coastal Orange County cities boast ocean views, the best and most direct and expansive ocean views are found in Laguna Beach. The unique topography creates ocean breezes and such perfect temperatures that most homeowners do not add air conditioners. The unique Laguna Beach has some of the best and smallest public schools in Orange County with one local public High School (Laguna Beach High School), one local public middle school (Thurston Middle School), and two local public elementary schools (Top of the World Elementary and El Morro Elementary). Almost every local who grew up in town attended these schools and are happy to send their children there today. Laguna Beach is also home to the private schools of Anneliese preschool, St. Catherine of Siena Parish School, and The Laguna College of Art & Design (LCAD). The public high school is enjoyed not just for residents with children but also for those who want to enjoy the Laguna Beach High School’s track, tennis courts, and pool which are open to all. Residents attend the High School plays, concerts, and small-town football games. Let’s find which Laguna Beach lifestyle that fits your particular needs.

North Laguna Beach starts on Broadway and stretches north to Newport Beach. The north end of Laguna Beach offers it’s residents easy access to enter and exit the city using PCH North of downtown. It has closer proximity to John Wayne Airport and Newport along with other northern parts of OC increasing demand and making homes more expensive in this area. There are Historical Homes in North Laguna which provide the owners with a tax break as an incentive to preserve them. In North Laguna, you will find several choices of restaurants, galleries, stores, and the Laguna Art Museum which collects and displays only California art.  North Laguna offers access to the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and its 40 miles of trails connecting to the trails of Crystal Cove State Park.

In North Laguna, you will find the gated communities of Emerald Bay, Smithcliffs, and Irvine Cove at the very north end of Laguna Beach.  Smithcliffs consists of only 21 homes east of PCH and south of Emerald Bay. Crown Point consists of a small section with oceanside homes and condos west of PCH and south of Smithcliffs and Emerald Bay.  Emerald Bay residents have access to a tunnel that connects the residents from the east side of PCH to the west side for easy access to the private beaches and community amenities. High above the hills in North Laguna, you can enjoy panoramic views away from the hustle and bustle east of Crown Point in the Emerald Terrace and Victoria Highlands neighborhoods. On the Oceanside of PCH, you will find the rarely available homes of The Coves neighborhood.

North Laguna Beaches include Boat Canyon, Crescent Bay, Diver’s Cove, Emerald Bay, Fisherman’s Cove, Irvine Cove, Monument Beach, Picnic Beach, Rockpile Beach, Shaw’s Cove, and Twin Points Hidden Beach.  North Laguna Parks include Heisler Park, Irvine Bowl Park, Riddle Field Park, and Smithcliffs Park.

Laguna Village is the area between North Laguna and South Laguna which starts on Broadway and ends by Victoria Beach.  However, when people refer to The Village they are mainly referring to the Main Beach neighborhood which is the area close enough to downtown that they can enjoy walkability to the beaches, restaurants, and shopping.  Tourists mostly come to Laguna Beach to visit the downtown area so most vacation rentals are found in this neighborhood.  The downtown area of Laguna Village is home to the oldest historic homes in Laguna Beach.  Although Laguna Beach consists of an average of 23,000 residents, many of whom live here only part-time, the city is flooded with about 6,000,000 tourists a year, increasing traffic and pedestrians in the Main Beach neighborhood.  For this reason, some residents prefer to live at the outer edges of the city or up the hills.

Within the Laguna Village area, there are other clearly defined neighborhoods with their own unique characteristics and price points.  The Temple Hills neighborhood is defined as the hilly and windy residential area between Thalia and Top of the World.  Temple Hills is desirable to many residents because it consists mostly of custom homes, on larger size lots, and many enjoy the ocean and the best sunset views in town.  The hill and lack of sidewalks along the road make it more of a hike than a walk to town and the beaches but residents appreciate that the neighborhood is very central and close to Thalia Beach, downtown, and an easy drive to local public schools and Alta Laguna Park.  The Top of the World neighborhood is found up from Thalia through Temple Hills or Park Ave to Top of the World.  This area is flat and home to Alta Laguna Park which has tennis courts, playgrounds, and a large field that has hiking trails connecting to Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park.  Just down from Top of the World to Park Ave, you will find the Park Avenue Estates neighborhood which enjoys mostly canyon views with newer larger homes on larger lots.  The Mystic Hills neighborhood is a favorite because it sits above downtown and provides exceptional and expansive ocean views with more single-level homes available than in most other parts of Laguna Beach.

The Lower Bluebird neighborhood is near Bluebird Park which has a large playground and grounds nice enough for regularly held open summer concerts where residents come together to enjoy the music, fresh air, picnic, and a little dancing.  Up the winding and narrow streets of Bluebird, you will find yourself in a woodsy area that many say feels like some European landscape they once visited.  The homes in this area don’t typically have panoramic ocean views but may enjoy the advantage of more backyard space, and being surrounded by lush green hills.  Up Bluebird, you will find the Rancho Laguna neighborhood which is one of the highest hillside points of Laguna Beach and is actually home to a local farm.

Bluebird splits and leads to the coveted Woods Cove neighborhood known for its cottages, custom homes, walkability, and panoramic ocean views.  From Woods Cove, you can access Alta Vista, which is the neighborhood between Summit Ridge to Arch Beach Heights. The Summit Ridge neighborhood has mostly smaller to mid-sized custom homes perched on the hills with excellent ocean views as does the Alta Vista neighborhood.  The residents in this area enjoy the quietness provided by being far enough away from visitors and traffic.  The homes in these hills are often multi-level to take full advantage of the views.  The Upper Diamond neighborhood is below this hill and enjoys some of the same perks with more walkability which is highly desirable to many.  The Arch Beach Heights neighborhood is at the top of the hill near Moulton Meadows Park which offers trails, tennis courts, basketball courts, a playground and a soccer field.  The homes in this area have the most similarity of Laguna Beach neighborhoods, having a standard lot size of 2,500 sq ft. and double lots of 5,000 sq ft.  The homes are mostly built above the garage with the kitchen and living space on the second or third floor to maximize views.  The southern entrance or exit of Arch Beach Heights is through the Portafina neighborhood which consists mostly of larger custom homes, on larger lots, with ocean views.  The high incline of the street and sidewalks make it a favorite daily hike or weekend bike challenge for many.  Towards the bottom of the hill, you will find the Upper Victoria Beach neighborhood and the oceanside Victoria Beach neighborhood whose residents basically live at the beach.

The Laguna Village beaches include Agate, Bluebird, Brooks, Cleo, Cress, Oak, Main Beach, Moss Point, Mountain Rd, Pearl, Sleepy Hollow, St. Ann’s, Thalia, Victoria Beach, and Woods Cove. The parks include Bluebird and Moulton Meadows Park.

South Laguna Beach starts after Victoria Beach and stretches all the way to Dana Point.  Residents of South Laguna Beach have easy inland access via Crown Valley Parkway and PCH.  While Laguna Beach became more of a real full-time residential town around 1887, South Laguna didn’t become part of Laguna Beach until 1987.  Some of the older streets and homes in South Laguna show evidence of being constructed using different building regulations than the rest of Laguna Beach.  Victoria Beach is connected to the oceanfront gated community of the townhomes in the Blue Lagoon neighborhood.  The Lagunita neighborhood is a smaller gated community of larger custom homes with ocean views that enjoy private beach access.

Other residents enjoy panoramic ocean views and amenities east of PCH as do the gated condos of Aliso Laguna.  Some residents have to compromise by ignoring the street traffic to enjoy the proximity to the beach as do the residents along the coast on the ocean side in the South Laguna Bluffs.  South of Aliso Laguna and above Aliso Creek Beach on the east side of PCH is the Coast Royal neighborhood which has become very popular with mostly mid-sized homes.  On the lower west side of South Laguna residents enjoy great walkability to the beaches as do the residents of the Ocean Vista Custom neighborhood around Wesley Park and Aliso Creek which is truly an eclectic variety of homes and condos.

Aliso Beach is the only local beach that allows bonfires and has a large public parking lot.  While the homes higher up the hill above the beaches won’t enjoy this easy beach accessibility, they may enjoy more expansive ocean views.  The South Laguna Village neighborhood consists of a mix from luxury homes on the oceanside to multi-units above PCH.  This area is famous for it’s Thousand Steps Beach which most residents discover is not actually a thousand steps but still feels like it.  South Laguna has some of the most exclusive and expensive homes in all of Laguna Beach in the Montage Ocean Estates neighborhood.  However, the grounds and beaches of The Montage Hotel can be enjoyed by all residents.  Another exclusive community that has been around since the 1920’s is the gated Three Arch Bay neighborhood which expands to both sides of Coast Pacific Highway.  In South Laguna, you will also find more options for condominiums from more affordable to full-on luxury with amenities, ocean views, and beach access in communities such as Creekside condos, Laguna Lido luxury condos, Laguna Ocean Vista condos, and Laguna Royale condos, and the rarely available Montage Beach Villas highly exclusive condos.  If you think you found a home in Laguna Beach under the $500,000 range then it is probably a mobile home in Laguna Terrace Mobile Park neighborhood where the land leases alone can be over $3,000 a month.  South Laguna residents enjoy their own local favorite restaurants and bars including Ben Brown’s Golf Course at The Ranch in South Laguna Beach, and the Montage with the public beaches and landscaped grounds.

South Laguna Beach includes Aliso Beach Park, Christmas Cove, Goff Cove, Lagunita, Table Rock, Thousand Steps Beach, Three Arch Bay, Totuava Beach, Treasure Island Park, Victoria Beach, and West Street Beach.  The parks of South Laguna Beach include  Aliso Beach Park, Lang Park, Treasure Island Park, and Village Green Park.

You can exit Laguna Beach through the Laguna Canyon neighborhood which has its own neighborhood of very unique homes and residents that may choose to give up ocean view to enjoy the flatness, walkability, and lush landscape the area offers. The homes are along the Canyon Rd. is really a unique area with a mix of very unique homes, businesses, apartments, and lofts. The Canyon stretches beyond the 73 highway and includes the more affordable homes of the California Cove neighborhood, and the townhomes and condos in the Terraces Laguna Beach neighborhood. These are planned communities which have the advantage of being part of the Laguna Beach School district but may be too far down the often congested canyon for some to truly enjoy the lifestyle of living within the city. However, for others, it may be close enough and a perfect fit.

The Canyon is home to the  Anneliese pre-school, Blue Bell Foundation for Cat’s, Laguna Beach Animal Shelter, Laguna Beach Dog Park, Laguna Playhouse, The Laguna College of Art & Design, Pacific Marine Mammal Center, Pageant of the Masters Festival, and the Sawdust Art Festival.

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