{"id":734,"date":"2026-06-18T12:02:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T12:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=734"},"modified":"2026-06-18T12:02:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T12:02:14","slug":"ultra-rare-calif-beach-cottages-spared-from-coastal-flooding-for-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=734","title":{"rendered":"Ultra-rare Calif. beach cottages spared from coastal flooding for now"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As powerful king tides pummeled the California coast this week, it seemed for a moment as though Crystal Cove State Park, one of Orange County\u2019s crown jewels of public land, was getting hit particularly hard.\u00a0<\/p>

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\u201cCarnage at Crystal Cove,\u201d proclaimed one video on\u00a0Instagram, showing a lifeguard tower toppling into the sea and a Bobcat construction vehicle bobbing in the waves. In separate shots, water flowed through a pedestrian tunnel under the Pacific Coast Highway that connects the parking lot to the beach. The large waves were\u00a0also seen running up to the sides of the historic, hard-to-book public cottages as the park\u2019s wide, sandy beach shrank away under the expanding tides.<\/p><\/div>

Thankfully, despite all the online worry, Crystal Cove is doing OK.<\/p><\/div>

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Over the past week, the National Weather Service has warned that \u201clife threatening rip currents are likely\u201d along a large swath of the coast, and at least three people\u00a0have died in the past week after getting pulled into the waves, including a 5-year-old girl in Laguna Beach. The tides have also wreaked havoc on coastal infrastructure and have stripped sand from popular beaches.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

King tides are an informal name for the highest tides of the year, but they also\u00a0serve as an example of what California\u2019s beaches could look like in the future as climate change causes sea-level rise. The extreme pictures of waves hitting expensive coastal homes and toppling coastal infrastructure during king tides \u201cwill become the new norm,\u201d Crystal Cove State Park warned in a Facebook post several years ago.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

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For now, at least, it appears that the historic cottages at Crystal Cove State Park have survived the latest test of how they\u2019ll withstand the coming years of climate change-driven sea-level rise, after a careful restoration process planned for a 50-inch rise in sea level.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

\u201cFortunately, none of our cottages sustained any damage,\u201d said Scott Kibbey, the district superintendent for the Orange Coast District of California State Parks. Waves did run up to one cottage and to the nearby Beachcomber Cafe, and \u201cthe high water mark was a bit higher than we\u2019re used to seeing it,\u201d but overall, damages were limited, Kibbey said.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

Crystal Cove State Park covers 3.2 miles of coastline between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, and it\u2019s unique among Orange County\u2019s beaches for its attached 2,400 acres of backcountry wilderness, a favorite for area hikers and first-time backpackers. It\u2019s also unique for its historic seaside cottages, built in the 1930s and 1940s and now part of the Crystal Cove Historic District. The cottages are extremely popular, with six-month-out dates immediately fully booked each morning when they\u2019re released. Occupancy is above 98% year-round, according to the Crystal Cove Conservancy, and the cottages see over 24,000 annual visitors.\u00a0<\/p>

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\u201cOver several days, an unusually large south swell brought powerful surf, beach erosion, and challenging conditions throughout the Orange Coast District. Crystal Cove certainly felt its effects,\u201d Kate Wheeler, president and CEO of the conservancy, wrote in a statement on Monday. \u201cBeaches lost sand, infrastructure took some hits, and conditions changed quickly as the ocean reminded us of who is really in charge.\u201d\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

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The conservancy was formed in 1999 to save the historic cottages from a planned resort development, and the group now serves as the nonprofit partner of Crystal Cove State Park. In the years since, the conservancy has restored 41 of the 45 historic cottages, with an eye toward surviving the uncertain future of Orange County\u2019s coastline. The other cottages are currently under construction, part of a $55 million project focused on 17 cottages in the North Beach area.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

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