Above It All : From bluffs to sand, Crystal Cove Is wide open--for the price of a hike

Sometimes it’s good to shake up your routine. My husband, Brian, and I have often talked about camping together but never have. I recently discovered that there are three campgrounds at Crystal Cove State Park, which covers 3,000 acres of rolling, chaparral-covered hills just north of Laguna Beach. What better place to introduce our almost-3-year-old son, Travis, to camping and do something out of the ordinary ourselves?

Most state park campgrounds are booked weeks in advance during summer months, but you can always get a spot at Crystal Cove, according to the rangers there, because you do what is called “environmental camping.” There are hitching posts, picnic tables and state-of-the-art toilets at each campground, but you have to bring in water and hike (or bike) two to four miles to your site. Most campers would rather drive to their campsite, said T. Rodd, lifeguard supervisor at Crystal Cove. So the park’s three campgrounds--Lower Moro Ridge, Upper Moro Ridge and Deer Canyon--usually have only one or two groups of campers a weekend. The upside is delicious privacy.

As the hitching posts indicate, all 17 miles of trails also are horse trails, but it’s strictly BYOH (bring your own horse). There are no nearby horse rentals.

We drove into the Crystal Cover parking lot late Friday afternoon and picked up maps and fliers at the ranger station--about the back country, wildlife and mountain lions. Gulp! Earlier that week, for the first time in the park, a mountain biker had reported seeing what looked like a mother mountain lion with her cub. Rangers didn’t seem to think we had reason to worry. We took their word for it.

Two miles and two hours later, with eyes and ears open wide, we arrived at the Lower Moro campground, 800 feet above sea level. We schlepped in the basics: tent, sleeping bags, water, food. The hike follows an incline and, while the views of the ocean receding behind you are spectacular, it can be tiring, especially with a child. Next time, we’ll bring less and pull it in Travis’ red wagon. At first the silence and wilderness were unsettling, but I soon adapted and actually began wishing we’d planned to stay longer than one night.

We learned that most people camp at Deer Canyon, a four-mile hike from the ranger station. It has a stand of oaks, provides a sheltered feeling and attracts more deer. We preferred the ridge with a panoramic view of the ocean and the surrounding bluffs. (And it was closest to the parking lot.)

Brian and I picked our spot and then pitched our pup tent within sight of the solar-powered composting toilet. I lent a hand, kept an eye on Travis, and prepared dinner. That was a snap because on the way we had stopped at Zinc Cafe and Market in Laguna Beach for takeout: Mediterranean sandwich with pesto and smoked Gouda on La Brea Bakery rye; a baked eggplant with bell peppers and feta on an Il Fornaio seeded baguette; and macaroni and cheese. We shared chips and salsa. Simple, but superb alfresco dining. Then we opened a bottle of chardonnay and toasted our first camping trip together.

Later we started out on one of the trails snaking away from the campsite to explore our temporary home. A great horned owl swooped by. Turkey vultures circled over Emerald Canyon. Four years ago, the Laguna fires swept more than 90% of the park, but except for an occasional charred fence post, you’d never know it. The chaparral, sagebrush and other plant life was back. Hiking off-trail is discouraged--to protect the resources and to protect the public from snakes and ticks.

Another reason we wanted to get there sooner rather than later: Plans have been approved for expensive homes to go up on the Irvine Co. land to the northwest, which will bring the unmistakable signs of humans to the park’s pristine views.

As the sun began to set and the sky turned periwinkle, Travis explored the inside of the tent. We dialed in KLON-FM on our lantern/radio. A Latin jazz tune came on, and beside the picnic table we danced our own version of the mambo. We must have been having too much fun because our son soon joined in.

A hiker waved from the trail and staked a spot close by, but out of sight. The mauve sky gave way to darkness as two more campers arrived and pitched a tent. (The next day we learned that there were no other campers in the park that night.)

Lights flickered on: oil rigs out at sea, boats, the orange lights of Long Beach 40 miles away. To the south, houses on the hills of Laguna. Jets the size of fireflies circled John Wayne Airport seven miles away. The Big Dipper appeared over our heads.

Fires aren’t allowed. According to Supervising Ranger Mike Eaton, “the place is a tinderbox,” so we brought warm clothing. The full moon moved in and out of clouds, keeping our eyes busy, but the night air was chillier than we expected.

We awoke at 7:30 to an overcast sky. The Crystal Cove Interpretive Center offers nature hikes and tide pool hikes that begin at 9 a.m. We were interested, but we didn’t want to leave just yet. Brian made strong black coffee, and I cooked buckwheat pancakes on a camping stove. Too soon it was time to pack up if we wanted to get down to the beach before noon. We vowed to return soon, and made our way down.

Half a mile north on Pacific Coast Highway, we stopped for a shake at the Shake Shack, a fixture for 57 years on a coastal bluff overlooking the Crystal Cove Historic District. Then another brief drive north on PCH, and a left on State Park. It’s a trek to the beach, then south to the cottage community, but the end result is well worth it. (And, like us, you may get to see a roadrunner on the way.)

Described by the National Register of Historic Places as “the last intact examples of vernacular beach architecture” in Southern California, the 45 cottages, which began as camping places, were built between 1921 and 1940 by the Irvine Co. Tenants continued to modify them into the ‘90s, making the homes more permanent, but bit by bit, without plans or approval. But the state had bought the land in 1979, the residents’ current ironclad lease is up early next year, and plans are going forward to evict the tenants and refurbish and rent the cottages to vacationers.

We love beaches like this one, with no concession stands, no boomboxes, no piers or jetties. Just locals visiting with each other and basking in the sun, swimmers on Boogie boards, sailboats and motorboats tooling across the water and itinerant beach dwellers like us. The difficult access to this 3.5 miles of unobstructed coastline may be why it’s so peaceful and sparsely populated.

But the reward, before it disappears, is experiencing a bit of coastal Old California.

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Budget for Three

Groceries and supplies: $28.39

Zinc Cafe, take-out dinner: 21.60

Campsite, one night: 11.00

Shake Shack: 6.23

Beach parking: 6.00

Village Market & Cafe: 33.70

FINAL TAB: $106.92

Crystal Cove State Park, 8471 Pacific Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, CA 92651; tel. (714) 494-3539.