Orange County is home to a variety of gorgeous beaches, great for swimming, surfing, laying out, and watching the sunset. The northern beaches feature long sandy stretches of beach while the central and southern beaches tend to have more cliffs and coves. If you're looking to enjoy one of these nice wide sandy beaches, you'll want to visit Sunset Beach, Huntington Beach, or Newport Beach. If you want to visit some cool looking coves that also have sand, you'll want to visit Laguna Beach. Dana Point has a harbor that encompasses most of the area but you can still find a nice beach there called Doheny State Beach. South of that is San Clemente which has a cool small town vibe and nice sandy beaches with a hilly backdrop.

If you're looking for a walk on a pier, you'll want to visit Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, or San Clemente. Each one of these piers offers a unique experience. Huntington Beach Pier is the most well-known pier in Orange County and is typically the place most tourists like to visit. Seal Beach Pier has kind of a smaller town vibe and a classic wooden pier with views of Downtown Long Beach, you can often find windsurfers around here during the evenings when the wind picks up in this area. Newport Beach has 2 piers which are both pretty undesirable due to the amount of fishing on them but Newport Pier is wooden and Balboa Pier is cement with a Ruby's Diner on the end. San Clemente Pier is a classic wooden pier and features a great view of the area.

Orange County's beaches are monitored for water quality which you can check out here: OC Beach Info

is a list of some great beaches in alphabetical order. this list is still being updated with more beaches and more information coming soon.