43 Best Sights in Orange County and Catalina Island, California

This peaceful state beach offers 121 sandy acres and 200 firepits, so it's popular during the day and evening. There are changing rooms, and two new concession stands---the Huntington Beach House and Sahara Sandbar. There are year-round surf lessons, lifeguards, Wi-Fi access, and ample parking. An 8½-mile bike path connects Huntington to Bolsa Chica State Beach. Picnic areas can be reserved in advance for a fee depending on location; otherwise it's first come, first served. On hot days, expect crowds at this broad, soft-sand beach. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: sunset; surfing; swimming; walking.

Just up Main Street from Huntington Pier, in an iconic art deco building, the International Surfing Museum pays tribute to the sport's greats with an impressive collection of surfboards and related memorabilia. Exhibits are designed to encourage families to learn about the history of surfing. Highlights include Duke Kahanamoku's surfboard and the "World's Largest Surfboard" measuring 42 feet long, 11 feet wide, 16 inches thick, and weighing 1,300 pounds.

This lively amusement park is fun for all ages. Once a 160-acre boysenberry farm, it's now an entertainment complex with close to 40 rides, dozens of restaurants and shops, arcade games, live shows, and a brick-by-brick replica of Philadelphia's Independence Hall. Take a step back into the 1880s while walking through Knott's Old West Ghost Town. Ride on a horse-drawn stagecoach or board a steam engine to start your journey into the park; just keep your valuables close to you, as bandits might enter your train car and put on quite a humorous show. Camp Snoopy has 15 kid-friendly attractions. There are awesome thrill rides including the exhilarating steel coaster Pony Express that goes from zero to 35 mph in less than three seconds.

Be sure to get a slice of boysenberry pie, as well as boysenberry soft-serve ice cream, jam, juice—you name it. There's even a Boysenberry Food Festival once a year. In the fall, part of the park is turned into Knott's Scary Farm, a popular activity for teens and adults. FastLane wristbands give you quicker access to the most popular rides. Purchase tickets online for a savings on single tickets, dining bundle and purchase four or more single day tickets for an even better discount.

Fun fact: In 1934, Cordelia Knott began serving chicken dinners on her wedding china to supplement her family's income. The dinners and her boysenberry pies proved more profitable than her husband Walter's berry farm, so the two moved first into the restaurant business and then into the entertainment business.

Knott’s Soak City Waterpark is directly across from Knott's Berry Farm on 15 acres offering speed tubes, family rafting, a lazy river, and body slides. Pacific Spin is an oversize waterslide that drops riders 75 feet into a catch pool. There’s also a children’s pool, a 750,000-gallon wave pool, and a fun house. Soak City’s season runs mid-May through September and is a separate admission ticket.

This museum displays work by California artists from all time periods, representing scenery in Laguna, and the life and history of the Golden State in general. Special exhibits change quarterly.

Hikers enjoy over 40 miles of trails spread over 7,000 acres of canyon to coastal territory. Trails open daily at 7 am and stay open until sunset, weather permitting. No dogs are allowed in the park.

Jutting out into the ocean near 21st Street, Newport Pier is a popular fishing spot. Below is 5 miles of sandy beach for sunbathing, surfing, and walking. Street parking is difficult, so grab the first space you find and be prepared to walk. On weekends the area is alive with kids on in-line skates, skateboards, and bikes dodging pedestrians and whizzing past fast-food joints and classic dive bars.

Marine science and history are the focus at the Ocean Institute, where you'll find indoor tanks with touchable sea creatures, an accessible man-made tide pool, and the complete skeleton of a gray whale. Take a two hour enlightening tide pool hike or a weekend sea cruise to explore the local marine environment with (hopefully) dolphin spotting year-round, and whales from February through May.

Founded by 13 visionary women in 1962 and one of the earliest contemporary art museums in California, the OCMA opened in 2022 in its new home at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa. Designed by award-winning architect Thom Mayne, OCMA's striking 53,000-square-foot building has 25,000 square feet of free-flowing gallery space to house its extensive collection of more than 4,500 works produced in the 20th and 21st centuries by artists with ties to California. Outside, a grand staircase provides amphitheater seating and serves as a community gathering point, inspired by the steps at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. There is a bar, café, and sculpture terrace on Level 2. 

History buffs will want to make a trip to the city of Yorba Linda (8 miles northeast of Anaheim, 37 miles southeast of Downtown L.A.) to learn more about President Richard Milhous Nixon, the 37th President of the United States. The library is an archival space, housing millions of photographs, documents, and artifacts related to Nixon's life starting in 1913. Now a National Historic Landmark, the museum sheds light to Nixon's early life in Yorba Linda, his early political career, and his tumultuous presidency. There are displays about the Watergate scandal and his resignation in 1974, as well as his role in foreign policy with China and the Soviet Union.

One of the largest retail gardens in Southern California, Roger's showcases some of the best garden ideas and holiday decorations during Easter, Halloween, and Christmas. The on-site Farmhouse at Roger's Gardens restaurant is popular with visitors and locals during lunchtime and dinner. The chefs prepare locally sourced menu items to enjoy while overlooking the bucolic gardens.

This outdoor "museum without walls" is a favorite walking spot for locals and visitors. Located in the Newport Beach Civic Center, there is a car-free walking path displaying meaningful and whimsical public art sculptures. Take a self-guided walking tour by downloading the MyNB app in advance of your visit.

Off South Coast Highway, Wood's Cove is especially quiet during the week. Big rock formations hide lurking crabs. This is a prime scuba-diving spot, and at high tide much of the beach is underwater. Climbing the steps to leave, you can see a Tudor-style mansion that was once home to Bette Davis. Street parking is free yet limited. Amenities: none. Best for: snorkeling; sunset.