Beaches and Parks in Southern California: Counties Included: Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego (Volume 3) (Experience the California Coast) Paperback – Illustrated, May 18, 2009

This is one of four books purchased for our upcoming Southern California trip. It covers the coastline of the three most Southern California counties starting in LA and heading south to Mexico. This is the best one of the four. What I take from it the most is how I now understand that all of the beaches are unique to themselves with their own personalities, not just a long band of sand for a couple hundred miles. Written by the California Coastal Commission, it is completely objective. It appears with this guide we can navigate our way up or down the coast and know what the heck we're doing, and what looks best to do next.

The publisher assembled this book incorrectly. The book cover is upside down in relation to the book contents (see picture 1). And to top it off, the pages are also put together in reverse order!! (see picture 2 with page 22 on the right and page 23 on the left).I thought it was just a one-time error and so I returned and asked for a replacement book; and to my utter surprise the second book that arrived had the exact same problem, which is pictured here.This time around, I am returning with a full refund request and posting this message in hopes that the publisher does something about this gross negligence. I hope nobody else purchases this book until the publisher fixes the problem.

Authoritative

I bought this book in advance of a trip to San Diego, hoping to get a sense of the beaches my family and I would enjoy. With that purpose in mind, I'm disappointed.This book is highly detailed, in the sense that it is a thorough, but very flat, survey of what looks to be all publicly-accessible beaches along the coast. It includes listings of facilities for each entry, including in some cases detailed information about the locations of access points, stairways to beaches, etc. The maps are also quite nicely done.However, the narrative descriptions of the beaches are exceedingly bland. There is very little effort put into differentiating one beach from another, other than describing in a very neutral way whether it's sandy or rocky, or providing a bland list of what it's often used for (e.g., "fishing, swimming"). While I don't necessarily need a book like this to rank or even rate the beaches (though that can help), it would at least be nice to have some subjective discussion geared towards helping the reader choose the beaches best suited to their interests. There really is none of that, here. I honestly don't get the sense that the authors have much enthusiasm for any of the beaches - which can't really be the case. After reading through many dozens of entries, I have no better sense of which beaches my family and I should visit.

This is a great guide! I was born and raised in Southern CA where I spent countless hours at the beaches as a young person and adult. I received this book as a gift and have been thrilled. The book contains detailed and accurate maps of the entire southern California coastline, together with web sites and phone numbers of parks and other area resources. It has given us a chance to go to beaches we would not have otherwise, and lists numerous beach access points we did not even know existed. (It appears to contain a list of every single public access point along this stretch of the coast.) A huge bonus is that the book provides a ton of useful and interesting coastal information that will help me teach my girls about the natural coastal environment as we enjoy the beach. It is packed with information beyond your standard travel guide (and it is accurate!). Additionally, I love all the great coastal pictures. Unlike many travel guides, I plan to keep this one to use for many years to come and will definitely buy the book as gifts for my friends and family.

These well researched California coastal guide books are outstanding! Published by the California Coastal Commission, these guides are an update of the old California Coastal Access Guide. They contain the most accurate and up-to-date maps and directions for coastal access and beaches, as well as a good amount of natural history. The guides also contain beautiful photos and illustrations. Local attractions with contact phone numbers are also included. The books are compact and rugged and easy to pack around. I would highly recommend these guides to anyone wishing to explore the California coast!Beaches and Parks in Southern California (Experience the California Coast)Experience the California Coast: A Guide to Beaches and Parks in Northern CaliforniaBeaches and Parks from Monterey to Ventura (Experience the California Coast)

If there's anything the gorgeous California coast could use more of, it's information on how to get to ALL the beaches and other public lands--and the Coastal Commission's SoCal installment in its guide series does the job brilliantly, with all the info anyone needs to find and hang out at the most hidden and the most well-known places alike. The sidebars on history and natural history make a fabulous summer read, too, while you're soaking up the sun on that empty beach you sort of knew was there but could never find before.

This one is ok. We did not use it as much as some others