Places to go

Capistrano Beach

Enjoy volleyball, basketball and other beach activities. During the summer months, a concession building offers fishing gear rental and sales, food and beverages, and beach supplies. Public restrooms, outside showers, seven volleyball courts, a basketball court with lighting and fire rings are offered. A paved parking lot for 140 cars is provided. Capistrano Beach is located approximately 2 miles south of Dana Point Harbor in Capistrano Beach at Pacific Coast Highway and Beach Road. Open: Daily 6:00a.m. until 10:00p.m. everyday of the year.

Doheny State Beach

Doheny State Beach is administered by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. The 62 acre site features over one mile of sandy beach and some of the best swimming and surfing in California. During Low Tide, the tide pools attract young and old for exploring. The campground features 120 developed family campsites and the picnic area has 170 picnic tables and 99 barbecue grills. At the entrance to Doheny there is a visitor center with five aquariums, an indoor tide pool, exhibits, displays, gift shop, and photo history of Doheny surfing days.

Salt Creek Beach Park

The long, sandy beach is a popular surfing spot. Both upland and beach facilities can be reached from Ritz Carlton Dr. off Pacific Coast Highway. Parking and wheelchair-accessible restrooms are available at a large metered parking lot, open 6 AM-midnight, on Ritz Carlton Drive.
From the west side of the lot, a paved path leads to the beach and to the grassy seven-acre Bluff Park, which has benches, barbecue grills, picnic tables, and wheelchair-accessible restrooms. Just south of Ritz Carlton Dr., a pedestrian gate, open 24 hours, leads through the Ritz Carlton Hotel grounds to a paved path along the bluff above Salt Creek Beach; the path, which skirts the southern perimeter of the grounds, has numerous benches and overlooks providing views of gray whale migration routes, Catalina Island, and the coastline.

Whale Watching

Come join the excitement as we celebrate the return of the Gray Whales off our coast. The opportunities to get up close and personal with these giants has never been better. Sightings of whales off Dana Point are way up this year and it is common to encounter large schools of dolphin as well.

Golf