Exciting Laguna Beach, CA

by Kyle Smith
(Laguna Beach, CA)

Hugging the cliffs and shoreline of south Orange County, Laguna Beach is one of the most prestigious and diverse cities in the region. This resort town and artist enclave is a small spattering of galleries, hotels, beach cottages, luxurious estates and gated-communities situated on seven miles of coast between the high San Joaquin Hills and the Pacific Ocean. Stay in a luxurious vacation rental at The Retreat in Laguna to make the most of your relaxing beach vacation.

With the opening of Laguna Canyon Road, the few homesteaders struggling to make a living on the coast were able to make additional income renting sections of the beaches out to farmers looking to beat the summer heat. Along the breezy coast, tents sprang up on the beaches and the first hostel was opened at Arch Beach. To this day, families from inland cities and states return to The Retreat in Laguna on the same week each year for a private summer vacation.

Vacation goers returned home with reports of breathtaking landscapes along the coastline and inspired artists from all around the country to descend upon the town with easels and paint boxes. By the 1920’s, these landscape artists banded together to put on their first exhibition - a tradition that continues to this day. Year round, Laguna Beach is host to visiting and local art shows, galleries and community events. Then, each summer, several million visitors come to Laguna Beach for the summer art festivals: Festival of the Arts/Pageant of the Masters, Sawdust Art Festival and Art-A-Fair.

This sleepy artist village is no stranger to fame however. In 2004, Laguna Beach became a sensation when MTV produced a reality TV show around a group of local high school residents in Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. The success of the show made stars out the students and exposed the best the beach has to offer in order to bolstered the local tourism. Despite its hip, fashionable and affluent residents, influx of commercialism, and refined art culture, Laguna Beach remains a “small town” offering a well-preserved ocean-side environment with contemporary tastes and amenities. Read More