Laguna Beach beach rules

Hours

The city says beaches north of Aliso Creek close from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. Beaches south of Aliso Creek close from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., except Thousand Steps Beach, which closes from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. The municipal code leaves closing times to a city council resolution and sets its own curfew of midnight to 5 a.m. at Crescent Bay Point Park. It exempts walking, jogging, licensed fishing, grunion hunting, scuba diving, surfing and swimming on wet sand or within 20 feet inland of it.

Alcohol, smoking, glass and litter

• Alcohol. The city says no alcohol is allowed on its beaches, even if you are 21. Municipal code 8.04.010 also bars drinking on any public place, including a beach.
• Smoking. The city says there is no smoking in any public area, including its beaches. Fines at city beaches, parks and trails are $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second within 12 months and $500 for a third and later.
• Glass. No one may have, possess or use a glass container on a city beach (code 18.10.003).
• Litter and plastic. Take your trash or use the public bins. The city says disposable plastic food service ware is not permitted at beaches, parks and trails, and balloons may not be used in public areas such as beaches.

Fires

The city’s Marine Safety page says fires are prohibited at all city beaches. The municipal code allows a beach fire only in a fire pit the city council has designated by resolution, and bars open beach fires everywhere else (18.04.065). Cooking fires are allowed only in city barbecues and picnic stoves, and portable wood or charcoal fire pits are strictly prohibited on parks and beaches.

Dogs

Dogs must be leashed at all times. From June 15 to September 10, they may be on the beach only before 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m. The rest of the year they may be on the beach at any hour. Dogs are barred every day of the year at Thousand Steps Beach. For parks, trails and the off-leash Dog Park, see dog-friendly places.

Umbrellas, tents and canopies

The city’s Marine Safety page says shade is umbrellas only, except in designated canopy and easy-up zones. Code 18.04.020 sets the details:

• Shade other than a standard umbrella is prohibited on city beaches except at Main Beach and Aliso Beach, unless the city manager approves it.
• At those two beaches, larger shade may be up to 8 feet wide, 8 feet deep and 6 feet tall, in zones in line with or behind the lifeguard towers. The city posts maps of the zones.
• Shade may not block a lifeguard’s view of the water, may not sit within 20 feet of a public or emergency access path and must be 5 feet from other shade.
• Tables over 6 by 3 feet and volleyball nets or courts need city approval.

Drones

Municipal code 7.80.040(f) bars operating a drone or model aircraft over Heisler Park, Main Beach Park, Treasure Island Park, Irvine Bowl Park, Crescent Bay Park, Bluebird Park during its summer Sunday concerts, or a city beach, except over the ocean, without a valid FAA Remote Pilot Certificate. The same section bars flying over City Hall and city marine safety, police and fire facilities. A permit is required to use a drone to film or photograph for business (7.80.030). Hang gliders, paragliders and parasails cannot take off or land on city-owned land (18.04.130).

Other conduct on the sand

• Holes may not be deeper than two feet, and you must fill any hole you dig before leaving it (18.10.005).
• Removing sand needs written permission from the marine safety chief (18.10.010).
• Games that endanger others are barred, and the code names sand throwing and hard-ball, bat, football, paddleball, Frisbee and boomerang play when hazardous (18.10.015).
• Diving or jumping from rocks is allowed only at places posted for it (18.10.025).
• No one may climb, hang from or sit on a lifeguard tower (18.10.030).
• Surfing is allowed at Agate, Brooks, Rockpile and Thalia Street beaches, per the city.

Marine protected area

Three state marine protected areas cover the shoreline. The Laguna Beach reserve and the no-take conservation area run from Abalone Point, the northern city limit, to Table Rock, about 5.6 miles of shoreline. There the state says it is unlawful to injure, damage, take or possess any living, geological or cultural marine resource, and fishing is not allowed. South of Table Rock, the Dana Point conservation area covers the rest of the city’s shore. It allows some fishing but bars taking living marine resources from tide pools. City code 18.29.020 adds that no one may take, possess or disturb live or dead intertidal marine animals or plants. Swimmers and kayakers may not go onto Seal Rock off Crescent Bay. Boundaries and what stays legal are on the marine reserves page, and tide pool etiquette is on the tide pools page.