Skip to content

About Thousand Steps Beach in Laguna Beach, California

Thousand Steps Beach is one of the largest beaches in south Laguna Beach, CA. It’s a wide sandy beach with volleyball courts, restrooms, and tide pools and even caves to discover. This is a popular beach so it helps that it’s large and the steps scare people off.

There is a large cave at the south end of Thousand Steps Beach that you can enter when the tide is out and the entrance is exposed. You can walk all the way through this cave (which is actually a tunnel) to a tiny rocky cove on the other side. There are enticing rocks to climb on beyond the cave and they lead to another sandy beach, but refrain from going farther. Deaths have occurred in this area as the rocks are slippery and there are holes to fall into.

At the north end of Thousand Steps Beach there is another rock tunnel, but this one leads to an excellent beach that you must see. This beach, known as Totuava Beach, is not accessible at high tide as the water around the rocky point will be too deep and the tunnel will be closed off. When the tide is low it’s easy to walk on sand around the point.

To get to Thousand Steps Beach, head to the intersection of 9th Avenue and Coast Highway and park in a legal spot. Laguna Police love to give out tickets to those who make parking mistakes. The beach access is across from 9th Ave and it leads to a long stairway.

There are enough steps in the stairs that it seems like 1000 steps (especially when returning to the top). The actual number is 223 which we have double-checked.

Address
Coast Highway and 9th Ave
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Other Names
1000 Steps Beach
Owner
City Beach
Pet Details
No dogs allowed on the beach
Fees
Free street parking
Activities
Sunbathing, Scuba Diving, Volleyball, Skimboarding, Snorkeling, Surfing, Beach Walking
Amenities
Lifeguard, Restrooms, Showers, Tide Pools, Caves, Rock Arch
Map
Laguna Niguel, US
10:53 am, March 26, 2023
temperature icon 58°F
L: 53° H: 58°
Feels like 57.11 °F clear sky
Wind gusts: 2 m/s
UV Index: 5.6
Precipitation: 0 inch
Visibility: 10 km
Sunrise: 6:46 am
Sunset: 7:06 pm
Humidity 69 %
Pressure1017 mb
Wind 2 m/s

Nearby Beaches

Totuava Beach

0.2 miles away

Totuava Beach is a locally-known cove between Thousand Steps Beach and Table Rock Beach in Laguna Beach, CA. Location...

View beach

Table Rock Beach

0.3 miles away

Table Rock Beach is a locally-known tucked away beach in south Laguna Beach, CA. This is an excellent sandy...

View beach

West Street Beach

0.6 miles away

West Street Beach is in a wide sandy cove south of Aliso Beach County Park in Laguna Beach, CA....

View beach

Nearby Attractions

Nearby Lodging

Reviews

Add your review

There are no reviews yet. Be the first one to write one.