Orange County Travel Information
To the south and east of Los Angeles sprawls Orange County (pop. 3
million), home to famous theme parks, pleasant residential
neighborhoods and popular beaches. Starting just below Long Beach and
stretching down the coast to San Clemente, this county finds its
inland edges in Cleveland National Forest, which flanks the Santa Ana
Mountains. Though an easy drive from downtown Los Angeles, Orange
County has its own identity, more laid-back, beach oriented and
well-prepared to handle the many thousands that descend annually to
visit Anaheim's amusement parks. Whether enjoying the
coastal bluffs and art
galleries of Laguna Beach, shopping in Old Town Orange, or watching
whales at Dana Point (or surfers at Huntington Beach),
Orange County offers the discerning traveler a good mix of surf and
turf. Most visitors to the area put a trip to Disneyland at the top
of any all-in agenda, but with time and cash to spare plan to do some
coaster comparisons at other local big-name venues. Volleyball and
surfing tournaments are a mainstay
at Huntington Beach, as is happy hour, but with a little determination
there are also a good clutch of cultural sights to catch while you're
in the area (and no, pitchers of beer don't count). Look for
interesting architecture and sandy beaches on Balboa Peninsula, near
Newport Beach, peruse the collection on exhibit at Orange County
Museum of Art and detour if you can out to Newport Bay Ecological
Reserve, good for a glimpse of the county's natural side. Laguna Beach
also has an art museum (Laguna Art Museum), but what really draws the
crowds is this seaside city's annual Festival of the Arts, which runs
through July and August and features, amongst other things, living
reproductions of famous paintings as part of the Pageant of the
Masters - mark this one on your calendar. San Juan Capistrano, near
the south end of the county, is best known for its swallows (they
return mid March each year) but it also boasts a lovely old Spanish
mission, the Mission San Juan Capistrano, the state's oldest
building.
In addition to this well-rounded selection of
museums and historic sights find on hand a long list of
conscientiously tended golf greens, a decent assortment of waterways
suitable for boaters or anglers and a reasonably good cultural events
calendar. For the most part, there's less traffic congestion here than
there is in L.A. proper, making a cruise down the curving boulevards
of Yorba Linda or the planned
streets of Mission Viejo a pleasant way to see a bit more of the area.
Convenient access to the Santa Ana Mountains provides outdoors
enthusiasts a peaceful alternative to urban activities, and though the
weather is relatively balmy in these parts winter ski resorts are an
easy drive north of San Bernardino. California's only island resort,
Catalina, is also readily accessible - ferries leave from Dana Point
and Newport Harbor.
Orange County is located in southwest
California in the L.A. metropolitan area. It is easily accessible on
the extensive freeway system. Go-California also offers extensive
coverage of Central Los Angeles and Coastal Los Angeles.
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