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    Shaws Cove

    4.7 (97 reviews)
    Closed 6:00 am - 10:00 pm

    Shaws Cove Photos

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    The end of a lovely night
    Sidney S.

    Sunset is the opening music of the night -- Mehmet Murat ildan A lovely little area of Laguna with great sunset views, rocks to explore, and crashing waves to capture on camera. Highly recommended for now while it is still a hidden gem :-)

    Ashley A.

    This a hidden gem in Laguna and beats the main beach crowd. Get here early during summer peak season. Slice of heaven!

    Scott S.

    Shaw's Cove is a truly spectacular location and one of the high points of all of the Laguna Beach coast line. What you will find here is a vast array of tide pools and ocean rock formations that run along the coast line. There is also a beach area for those people who want to prepare for their scuba dive, snorkeling, a dip in the water, or to simply sunbath on a warm summer day. It is very easy to get to Shaw's Cove. You simply need to turn off of the Coast Highway onto Fairview and proceed West. At the end of the street, there you are. There's a staircase that will take you straight to the water. There are many things to see at Shaw's Cove. Certainly, the tide pools are a high point. There is a vast array of ocean sea life that live in these tide pools. It is a great place to watch the ocean waves crashing giving life to all of these living creatures. Overall, a very beautiful location and a truly great place to experience the Southern California oceanscape.

    The entrance to beach is on the right.
    Tiff V.

    A nice little beach to sit and chill for a bit. Can walk your dog but be careful of the rocks. I came during a weekday morning and there was parking but mind and respect the residential area. Finding the steps that lead down to the beach can be tricky so keep a lookout for the stairway.

    Beautiful beach

    Nice place, good place to spend time with kids, especially when it is nice weather. Many things to explore around

    Entrance and sign with rules.
    Gavin S.

    Shaw's Cove is a series of beautiful, tiny cove beaches in Laguana Beach, CA. Walking distance from Diver's Cove, Fisherman's Cove, Rockpile Beach, Heisler Park, etc., unlike the other landmarks, Shaw's Cove is a treasure neatly tucked away in a residential neighborhood. The cove beaches are all really tiny (in terms of area) so you will be squeezed on a tiny strip of sand along other beachgoers. The coastline of the cove beaches tend to be more jagged than normal beaches. The geography also leads to incredible waves so you never feel completely safe from being splashed. I love the cove beaches for their beautiful shorelines, stunning cliffs, caves, and picturesque waves. Parking: There is metered parking near Heisler Park that is ~20 min walk to Shaw's Cove. (Good place to park if you intend to visit other nearby coves.) There is also a bus that will take you to Shaw's Cove. I'm not confident about the state of nearby residential street parking since I walked to Shaw's. Tips: * On low tide, you can walk over to Fisherman's Cove. This is a huge shortcut back to Heisler Park. * There is a lifeguard on duty * This is walking distance from Heisler Park, Main Beach, Fisherman's Cove, etc. If you are a tourist, I recommend budgeting 3+ hours and visiting more tnearby landmarks.

    Shaws cove
    Sara L.

    This is a very beautiful and peaceful beach spot. Get here early parking fills up super fast The lifeguards offer Wendy peppercorn level of life saving ability!

    Shaw's Cove
    Jessy T.

    Love this cove. Street parking isn't too bad. Bathroom walking distance if needed. The stairs down aren't terrible l, just be prepared for them.

    Alexandra P.

    Beautiful cove to relax with friends and family. There were people enjoying the sunset, taking walks, people watching, tide-pooling, and scuba diving. Parking can be tough, but the stairs are not too steep to access the cove which makes this a top stop for us.

    Nijole T.

    This is such a beautiful area in Laguna Beach, I'm surprised that it does not get busier here! There are rocky areas to explore, as well as a sandy beach area to lay out and relax and enjoy the waves crashing. Very clean and serene, this is one of our favorite areas in Laguna Beach! I deal for small children as it does not get very busy here. Highly recommended!

    Shaw's Cove

    Gorgeous spot with amazing tide pools . Best of both worlds , relaxing on the beach and climbing around rocks and seeing the anemones and crabs .

    Beautiful tropical looking beach
    Amber E.

    A small beach, but very striking, with rocks, tidepools, on the other side of the palm trees on the buff that you see from Crescent Bay Beach. Popular with the scuba divers - we saw several going in and coming out in the short time we were there, and the waves were much calmer than some of the other beaches we had been to. Saw lots of sea anemones, fish and pretty shells in the tide pools, and enjoyed swimming and body-surfing; we could even see some fish without the benefit of a mask and snorkel.

    Shaw's Cove. The waters fine!
    Annmarie M.

    Lots of people :( after 12:30 or so. Mobs at 1:30. Watch out for beach tar and the obscenely rich. We got there right before noon on Sunday and were able to eek out a spot on the beach. It was crowded, but what did I expect? Everyone and their father has found this spot (haha get it, Father's Day... eh, I know) Even though it was a teensy more congested than I typically like, the crowd was polite, and happy, and there were plenty of places to explore on either side of this picturesque cove. There is no natural shade, so bring your sunscreen and umbrella There is no bathroom facilities, so empty your bladder first. There IS, however, a lifeguard on duty and he will tell you get outta the shallow tide pool area, you can't snorkle there in the rocky part apparently. There are many snorkelers and scuba divers as well- never seen so many in one area of SoCal, honestly. You can catch some smallish waves for boogie or body boarders, too.

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    6 years ago

    Very cool for seeing little ocean critters! So much to discover on a walk along the cove. Lovely waves to swim in also.

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    6 years ago

    Snorkling was ok here but the kids had a blast and that is ALL THAT REALLY MATTERS RIGHT. ?

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    Page 1 of 3

    Ask the Community - Shaws Cove

    Is this a good place to take family photos?

    Yes!

    What time is the best time to go snorkeling?

    The best time to go snorkeling is usually during low tide. When that is varies. You can use a website like surf-forecast to find the high and low peaks. https://www.surf-forecast.com/breaks/Laguna-Beach/tides/latest

    Do you know if Shaw's Cove allow pet?

    Yes they do but only as long as they are on a leash and you bring your own bags to clean up after them.

    Can anyone tell me what the waves are like here? I'm looking for a beach with small waves, safe for little kids.

    Hi so the best Beach for toddlers is baby Beach In Dana Point.. I went last year with my then 18mo old and it was perfect- easy free parking , no waves , clean bathrooms it's the best for a Mom venturing out with the kids

    Is there starfish here, if so are they hard to find?

    We were on the small beach by Shaws Cove and exploring some of the tide pools on the left and right of it, we didn't see any starfish so I'm guessing if there are they may not be very common.

    View All 8 Questions

    Review Highlights - Shaws Cove

    What you will find here is a vast array of tide pools and ocean rock formations that run along the coast line.

    Mentioned in 31 reviews

    Read more highlights

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    Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching

    Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching

    4.2
    (1.1k reviews)
    8.5 mi
    Certified professionals
    64 years in business

    So this was part of my husband's surprise birthday Sunday, where he had no idea where we were going…read morestop after stop. This will stop number three and my thought is even if we never see a whale. It's always a pleasant way to spend a few hours out on the water.. Everyone on the boat was super professional and informative. We really appreciate Laura spitting facts at us and making sure we knew what was going on. At one point, I was standing in front of the boat and I was about to go sit back down, but Laura told me to stay because she knew we would see something soon and we saw a Fin whale, which we stopped for a while to watch come up and down and no matter what it's always magical. We ran into a bunch of dolphins and watching them chop and play as always fulfilling. There's no way you can go wrong with this excursion, especially with a discount. They seem to always be offering. They also give all the birthday people a drink cozy. Highly recommend a great way to spend a few hours..

    We went on a family trip together for this Independence Day weekend. My dad suffered a stroke in…read moremid-December last year, and luckily he has recovered quite a bit since then. However, since he still can't travel too far, we decided to visit somewhere close by. So, we booked a hotel in Dana Point and had a wonderful two-night trip. On Saturday, July 4th, we all booked tickets for a whale/dolphin-watching cruise. When I booked the tickets, I asked how long the tour would be, and they said it would be two hours. The ticket prices were $78 for adults and $68 for seniors. At first, my brother accidentally bought all five tickets at the adult rate when three of them should have been seniors. I noticed this on the receipt, so I managed to get a refund for the price difference for the three senior tickets. We bought five tickets for the 12:00 PM cruise and were told to wait at Dock 6 starting from 11:45 AM, but the boat arrived a bit late. Once we got on board, the wind was blowing incredibly hard, and the waves were quite high, causing the boat to rock violently. After boarding, a friendly female crew member gave us a briefing at the front. She kindly advised everyone on board not to run, and said that if anyone felt seasick, it would be better to stay towards the back of the boat rather than the front. She also mentioned that if the motion sickness got too bad, they could provide peppermint or ginger candies, and added that there was a bar and snack counter inside the boat. Come to think of it, I once went sailing on a yacht with my friends a long time ago. For the first 30 minutes, I was clapping, taking photos, and having a great time, but then I got so severely seasick that I had a truly miserable time (the same thing happened to me on a cruise trip before). Still, when I rode a boat at Lake Arrowhead last year, I didn't experience any seasickness at all, so I thought I would be fine this time too--though looking back, that was probably because the lake was so calm. But during this cruise on July 4th, I ended up getting so incredibly seasick that I felt like I was dying. About 10 minutes before we docked, the seasickness got so severe that I even started dry-heaving, and it was just awful. I was dizzy, and my stomach kept churning. Even so, it was really wonderful to see so many dolphins during the cruise, and the crew members were all so kind. When I was struggling with severe seasickness, my brother went to inform the crew. A crew member came over and asked if I wanted a peppermint, ginger, or ginger ale candy. I asked for a peppermint candy, and they handed it to me, saying it was free. When I asked, "Does it work?" she assured me it would. I sucked on the candy while sitting at the back of the boat and fell asleep, but later on, the seasickness became so overwhelmingly intense that I ended up throwing up everything and had a horrible time. Anyone who gets easily seasick should definitely take this into consideration before going on a cruise. Still, seeing so many dolphins was a huge highlight.

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    Dana Wharf Fleet
    Dana Wharf Fleet
    Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching
    Playful offshore bottlenose dolphin

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    Playful offshore bottlenose dolphin
    Hogan's Bait & Tackle

    Hogan's Bait & Tackle

    4.8
    (108 reviews)
    8.6 mi
    $$

    OMG! I hafta laugh at those leaving dismal reviews. I've been shopping here for decades (since they…read moreopened) and never had a bad experience. If you are buying $3.99 in bait and cannot pull out cash or an ATM...that's no reason to leave a one star review loser. Maybe keep a $5. bill in your wallet. LOL Hogan and his family hire exceptionally well and if you leave a bad review because they greeted you within 45 seconds of entering the business...that's no reason to leave a negative review. It's called customer service pinhead! Jeez...this is what ya deal with when providing service to the General Public nowadays. Most people are alright but the General Public can be a general pain in the arse. Look...if you need fishing tackle, whatever it is, Hogan's has it. If you need your gear serviced, Hogan's does it quickly and properly. If you need four dollar bait, Hogan's has it. If you think four dollar bait is too expensive...you have serious issues and need to either make more money or see a shrink...maybe both. This is THE TACKLE SHOP for serious anglers. Need a special hook in a specific size, shape and color? They have it. A particular shape & weight sinker...they have it. It's a fully stocked store with so much stuff new customers struggle to locate what they are needing so the staff welcomes you upon entry and seeks to help you find whatever you are looking for. OMG...how audacious of them! LOL Normal fishermen & women love this place and always find the experience positive. Those who are broke, wearing invisible tiaras and generally despondent are the reason all the collective review score is a hair under 5 star. We all know these people...they are never happy and the harder you try to please them, the more miserable they act. Clearly they are not fishing often enough. Probably spool their coffee-grinders backwards and hold the thing upside-down. You know...the guy who won the jackpot on the cattleboat and stiffed the crew. Hogan's Tackle sets the customer care bar so high...other tackle shop staffers need to charter a plane just to see it. Zero room for improvement! Take it from a dedicated tackleho who has been coming here for decades. The majority of reviewers agree.

    This tackle is the best one i been to yet. Every single staff member is helpful and has jokes. They…read moreare very knowledgeable about all fishing needs. I just came in for some warbait hooks and walked out with a lot more and a smile. This shop I would say has a little bit of every brand. Also looks like they offer other services like custom rod making. Overall I would highly recommend this place!!

    Photos
    Thx for the advice!
    Thx for the advice!
    Hogan's Bait & Tackle
    Hogan's Bait & Tackle

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    Shaws Cove - beaches - Updated July 2026

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