ORANGE COUNTY
Beyond magnificent beaches and Mickey Mouse lies an ethnic melting pot with artistic energy
TOP CITIES
Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Orange, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, San Clemente
INTERNATIONAL GATEWAY
John Wayne/orange County Airport (SNA), located at the juncture of Costa Mesa, Santa Ana and Newport Beach near I-405
TOURISM WEBSITES travelcostamesa.com/visittheoc visitanaheim.org visitbuenapark.com travelcostamesa.com surfcityusa.com destinationirvine.com visitlagunabeach.com visitnewportbeach.com sanjuancapistrano.org
POPULATION 3,170,000
Days when Disneyland, 42 miles of idyllic beaches and swaths of orange groves were all that lifted “The O.C.” out of Los Angeles’ shadow are long gone. Orange County today is a diverse collection of cities counting famous surf breaks, historic missions, art colonies and scenic marinas among its attractions.
While beach towns—from surf-centric Huntington Beach to tony Newport to artsy Laguna to serene San Clemente—still embody the casual, creative California of popular imagination, inland cities have grown into shopping, entertainment and sports meccas. Irvine—encompassing a University of California campus, the evolving Orange County Great Park and several “villages”—was the vanguard of a trend toward master-planned communities in recent decades.
Defying the suburban stereotype, Orange County cities possess distinct personalities. Even Anaheim, with its modern convention center, revival of the historic Center Street Promenade commerce district, and bustling Packing District, has distinguished itself from the Magic Kingdom. About 30 percent of OC residents hail from another country, and English is a second language for more than 45 percent; Little Saigon is the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam. A true melting pot, the county hosts a dizzying array of ethnic food, festivals, markets and cultural events.
Performance venues such as the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and the South Coast Repertory are sprinkled throughout the county. Destination shopping malls, including Irvine Spectrum, Costa Mesa’s South Coast Plaza
and Fashion Island in Newport Beach, vie with dozens of local shopping districts.
Sports fans cheer the Los Angeles Angels at the Angel Stadium of Anaheim and the Anaheim Ducks hockey team at Honda Center, which doubles as a big-name concert venue. Fifty courses and a temperate climate await golfers, while hotel and day spas stand ready to soothe aches and tone muscles.
City & Town
By population, Anaheim is the largest of Orange County’s 34 cities. None has a typical downtown, though Huntington Beach offers a vibrant seaside city center. History buffs gravitate to San Juan Capistrano’s beautifully preserved 18th-century mission, Yorba Linda’s Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum and the restored Victorian homes and historic city centers in Santa Ana and Orange.
The Great Outdoors
The coastline with its world-famous surf spots (Huntington Beach, the Wedge at Newport Beach, Trestles in San Clemente), yacht harbors (Newport Beach, Dana Point) and protected areas (Crystal Cove State Park’s underwater reserve, the wetlands of California’s first state beach, Doheny) are just the beginning of Orange County’s natural wonders. Inland canyons and parks teem with wildlife and hiking and biking trails, such as Irvine’s 300-acre San Joaquin Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary.
Family Fun
Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm are a given, but don’t overlook Sky Zone Trampoline Park in Anaheim and Pretend City Children’s Museum in Irvine, where kids go to “work,” collect their pay from ATMS and buy groceries. Santa Ana’s Discovery Cube Orange County offers hands-on science activities, and Dana Point’s Ocean Institute runs marine science and history expeditions on a tall ship or a research vessel.