We have already told you how we reserved a beach cottage in the historic district of Crystal Cove State Park (and how you can too) and we detailed the experience of our arrival day. In this post, we are sharing some insight into how we spent our time during our three night stay at Crystal Cove State Park.
Plunged Into the Ocean
We love wading, splash, body-surfing and swimming in the ocean, so we took full advantage of our beach side accommodations and spent most of our time in the water. There are lifeguards at Crystal Cove State Park. Be sure to check the schedule if this is important to you.
Played in the Sand
Having our own private shower steps from the beach made it easy to clean-up after spending lots of time digging in the sand and building sand castles. We first used the provided sand-brush by our front door plush some corn starch to clean-off before going inside.
Explored the Tide Pools
There are some tide pools on the south end of the historic district at Crystal Cove State Park. We explored this special spot many times over our visit. We consulted tide charts for the best times, but we also discovered plenty of colorful creatures even on our unscheduled stops at the tide pools. Here’s a peak at the amazing inhabitants of these tide pools.
Visited the Museums
The Crystal Cove Conservancy has turned several of the cottages into public museums or visitor centers covering the history and natural setting of the historic district. We had a hard time pulling ourselves away from our own cottage and the natural beauty around us, but we did spend some time exploring these.
Feasted in Our Crystal Cove Cottage
We used our sweet yellow cottage kitchen and our outdoor grilling spot to prepare some delicious food. We enjoyed our snacks and meals at our dining table and on our porch. (For details on what cooking supplies were provided, be sure to read this post.)
We could have also visited the popular Beachcomber restaurant or Shake Shack, but we preferred to stay closer to “home” for our meals.
And More!
There were even more options for how we could have spent our days at our cottage at Crystal Cove State Park. There are some lovely hiking trails in the area and a gift shop in the historic district. We are planning to return to do even more.
Thank you for reading about how we spent our time while staying in a cottage at Crystal Cove State Park.
Be sure to read our advice on booking your own stay at a Crystal Cove State Park beach cottage and our post on checking-in and what we found in our Crystal Cove cottage. To get future posts (including advice on what to pack), please subscribe below.