The Best Beach Weeks of the Year Are the Ones Right After Summer

Labor Day weekend, the beach lots near us were full by 9am and it felt like all of Orange County had the same idea. Two weeks later, with school back and the kids gone by 8, a weekday beach run is a completely different thing: half-empty sand at Doheny, easy parking, and warmer water than we had in July.

This is the SoCal beach secret nobody tells visitors: the best beach weeks of the year are the ones right after summer ends. The ocean takes all summer to warm up and doesn't peak until now, and the “June Gloom” that greys out the coast from May through July is long gone. Clear mornings, warm water and empty parking lots at the same time — and it holds through October.

Why September beats July

• Warmest water of the year. Our own beaches guide puts the best beach weather at late August through October — the water temperature lags the air by about two months, so it's warmest well after the hottest days.
• No June Gloom. The marine layer that keeps the coast grey until midday in early summer mostly burns off by Labor Day.
• Weekday beaches are empty again. With school back, the crowds and the 9am parking scramble go back to being a summer-weekend thing.
• Warm evenings. A fire pit at Corona del Mar at 6pm in September is one of the best cheap nights out we do all year.

Where we go

For little kids, the calm, gentle-surf beaches are the move: Doheny in Dana Point, Corona del Mar in Newport Beach, or La Jolla Shores in La Jolla if you're making a whole day of it down in San Diego. Soft sand and water that won't knock a six-year-old over.

If your kids are past the sandcastle stage, go at low tide instead. Crystal Cove and Corona del Mar both have real tide pools — check a tide chart first (our tide pools guide has the timing) and aim for a morning low. A bucket and a low tide will keep a curious kid busy for an hour.

One honest caveat

Rip currents don't care what month it is, and lifeguard coverage thins out after Labor Day — some towers go weekend-only. Swim near an open tower, ask the guard about the day's conditions, and don't let an empty beach talk you into a spot nobody is watching.

Same idea as last week's pumpkin patch guide: go in the shoulder window and you get the exact same thing with a fraction of the crowd. More beaches, sorted by distance from you, are on the beaches page, and whatever else is on this month is on the calendar.

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