12 micro-itineraries for Coastal Orange County

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<b>1. San Clemente:</b> Just about all of Southern California's sleepy little beach towns have been built up, priced up and, by many measures, messed up. But San Clemente's pier, beaches and red-tile roofs endure, and they're worth a look. The waves here offer some of North America's best surfing, including the spot known as Trestles (just south of town within San Onofre State Beach), which some people call "the Yosemite of surfing." San Clemente also has an Amtrak stop right by the pier -- which raises the tempting idea of a carless beach weekend -- and don't forget the beachside pedestrian path that leads north from the pier to a great playground at Linda Lane Park.<br>
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Pictured: A surfer pauses in front of the Beachcomber Motel in San Clemente. The pseudo-Spanish cottage style motel is like a trip back to the '50s, only with 2011 prices.

Beachcomber Motel

( Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times )

1. San Clemente: Just about all of Southern California's sleepy little beach towns have been built up, priced up and, by many measures, messed up. But San Clemente's pier, beaches and red-tile roofs endure, and they're worth a look. The waves here offer some of North America's best surfing, including the spot known as Trestles (just south of town within San Onofre State Beach), which some people call "the Yosemite of surfing." San Clemente also has an Amtrak stop right by the pier -- which raises the tempting idea of a carless beach weekend -- and don't forget the beachside pedestrian path that leads north from the pier to a great playground at Linda Lane Park.

Pictured: A surfer pauses in front of the Beachcomber Motel in San Clemente. The pseudo-Spanish cottage style motel is like a trip back to the '50s, only with 2011 prices.