Overview
About South Coast
South Coast runs from Victoria Beach down through Rockledge, Ocean Way and Lagunita to Aliso Creek, on La Senda Drive, Victoria Drive, Lagunita Drive, Ocean Way, Agate and Solana Way either side of Coast Highway. The city draws it as evacuation zone 9c. Across 356 acres the assessor counts 1,663 parcels on ninety-five named streets, the largest parcel count of any named area, and zones 760 of them R1 with a further 328 in the R2 and R3 categories.
Two hundred and sixty-nine of the 356 acres fall inside the mapped coastal zone, the highest share in the city, and nineteen bus stops serve the highway, more than anywhere else. Aliso Beach Park sits at the south end with 258 parking spaces, a playground, outdoor showers and restrooms, and Agate Street beach is one of the four the city designates for surfing. The city's Historic Resources Inventory lists 151 resources here. Laguna Beach Unified serves the neighborhood from four campuses and 2,291 students, with El Morro and Top of the World elementaries feeding Thurston Middle and then Laguna Beach High.
View available homes in South CoastHistory
How South Coast was built
South Laguna started as somebody else’s claim. Eugene Salter took land down here in 1871 and left soon after; George and Sarah Thurston picked up his ground and stayed, and their name is now on a middle school and a park. The town below was called Three Arches for the rock arches at the bay, and it was a write in vote that changed the name to South Laguna. Aliso Creek, whose name is the Spanish for alder, was long taken as the boundary between the Tongva to the north and the Acjachemen to the south.
Subdivision came early: Arch Beach Block 22 was filed in 1889, Rockledge by the Sea in 1900 and Terry Cliff in 1902, and Three Arch Bay followed from the mid 1920s. South Laguna stayed outside the city until Laguna Beach annexed it in 1987. The city’s Historic Resources Inventory records 151 resources inside this boundary, on 356 acres, and nineteen of the sixty two bus stops the city maps sit here, more than any other zone.
By the Numbers
South Coast by the numbers
Lifestyle
The South Coast lifestyle
Laguna Beach occupies 8.84 square miles with a population of about 23,000 and roughly six million visitors a year on the city's own count, and provides its own police, fire and marine safety protection.
Beaches north of Aliso Creek close between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.; beaches south of the creek close between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.; Thousand Steps Beach closes between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
The city permits surfing at Agate, Brooks, Rockpile and Thalia Street beaches. Smoking fines on city beaches, parks and trails run $100, then $200, then $500 within twelve months.
Schools
Schools serving South Coast
Laguna Beach Unified serves South Coast along with the rest of the city, from four campuses and 2,291 students on the 2024-25 federal count: El Morro Elementary 404, Top of the World Elementary 536, Thurston Middle 524 and Laguna Beach High 815. Attendance is set by the district and can change, so confirm the current assignment for a specific address with the district before relying on it.
K-5 · 404 students
K-5 · 536 students
6-8 · 524 students
9-12 · 815 students
FAQs
Common questions about South Coast
What area does South Coast cover?
The city's published boundary encloses 356 acres, drawn as evacuation zone 9c, running from Victoria Beach through Rockledge, Ocean Way and Lagunita down to Aliso Creek. The assessor counts 1,663 parcels on ninety-five named streets, the largest parcel count of any of the twenty-two named areas, and 269 of the 356 acres fall inside the mapped coastal zone.
Which schools serve South Coast?
Laguna Beach Unified serves the whole city from four campuses and 2,291 students on the 2024-25 federal count: El Morro Elementary 404, Top of the World Elementary 536, Thurston Middle 524 and Laguna Beach High 815. Elementary assignment is set by the district and can change, so confirm the current one for a specific address with the district office.
What is the Pirate Tower?
A sixty-foot Norman-style tower built into the cliff at Victoria Beach in 1926 by former California state senator William Edward Brown, as a staircase from his blufftop house down to the sand. It is also called the Norman House tower, and a concrete swimming pool was built into the rocks at the property just to the south. The house at 2683 Victoria Drive is on the city's Historic Register.
How old is South Coast?
It holds the oldest recorded ground in the city. Arch Beach Block 22 was filed in 1889, Rockledge by the Sea in 1900, Terry Cliff in 1902 and Seawood in 1907, and twenty-eight tracts went on record between 1889 and 2002. The house at 154 Pearl Street, built in 1883, is one of the three oldest remaining in Laguna Beach, and more than half the structures inside the boundary predate 1950.
What are the beach rules at this end of the city?
Beaches south of Aliso Creek close between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., except Thousand Steps Beach, which closes between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Dogs are not allowed at Thousand Steps at any time; elsewhere leashed dogs are allowed before 9:00 a.m. and after 6:00 p.m. between June 15 and September 10, and at any hour the rest of the year. No alcohol at any age, no fires at city beaches, and smoking fines run $100, then $200, then $500 within twelve months.