Crystal Cove State Park

Paul Clinton CORONA DEL MAR -- Last time, it was an ambush. This time, cooperation was in the air at a public meeting about the historic district in Crystal Cove. More than three months after hundreds of locals packed Lincoln Elementary School's auditorium to oppose plans for a luxury resort on the state-owned land, a less ornery group revisited the place to discuss the future of the 46 historic bungalows in Crystal Cove State Park. Leaders of environmental groups, concerned citizens and even those living in the cottages voiced their opinions at the first in a series of workshops scheduled by California State Parks.

Paul Clinton CRYSTAL COVE -- A member of the Sierra Club who is fighting for an environmentally sensitive project for Crystal Cove State Park spent Wednesday in Sacramento lobbying for changes in state law to ensure a luxury resort will not be built there. Jeannette Merrilees, one of a cadre of environmentalists mobilized against a San Francisco developer's $35-million resort plan, said she met with staff members of state Sen. Ross Johnson (R-Irvine)

Even with a marine layer, a gorgeous view beats a Monday morning at the office any day. Crystal Cove State Park's celebration of the area's designation as a State and National Landmark on June 28 provides the ideal excuse to start the week with fresh air and an ocean breeze. The dedication of a new overlook, Reef Point, will be commemorated on Monday with a ribbon cutting ceremony and an opportunity for visitors to partake in a guided hike with park naturalists, take pictures and speak with those involved in earning the unique designation for Crystal Cove.

A Laguna Beach author will sign copies of her new guidebook about Orange County hiking trails at Crystal Cove State Park on Saturday. Karin Klein, author of "50 Hikes in Orange County," will sign copies at the Store (Cottage No. 45), in Crystal Cove's historic cottage district near the Beachcomber Café, according to a news release. Proceeds from the 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. event will go toward the Crystal Cove Alliance, a nonprofit that supports the state park. Klein works as an editor at the Los Angeles Times.

Construction of the long-awaited El Moro Campground at Crystal Cove State Park is expected to begin after the weekend, Crystal Cove State Park Supt. Ken Kramer said. State Parks officials recently awarded a $12-million public works project contract to Los Angeles Engineering Inc. for the conversion of the former El Morro Village trailer park to a state park campground, beach and picnic area. The project is set to begin in mid-July and is expected to be open to the public by early 2010.

The release of the Historic Cottages at Crystal Cove State Park for overnight reservations generated unprecedented response by those wanting to spend a few nights at Crystal Cove State Park. The demand obviously far exceeded our inventory of available cottages. We ask that those who wish to stay overnight at the Crystal Cove State Park Historic District to be patient and hopefully everyone will get the opportunity to experience this exceptional resource. In the meantime, please come to the park for the day and discover the natural and cultural wonders of your beautiful park.

CRYSTAL COVE STATE PARK ? A Westminster man hiking with his girlfriend Wednesday at Crystal Cove State Park was rescued by helicopter after falling about 30 feet from a cliff, officials said. Officials said the man was 49 but they did not release his name or information on his condition. He was flown to Mission Trauma Center in Mission Viejo with head and arm injuries, Crystal Cove State Park Superintendent Ken Kramer said. Authorities are still investigating whether drugs or alcohol were involved in the incident.

Crystal Cove State Park will celebrate the dedication of its newly renovated historic district visitor centers and educational exhibits with an open house from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The free event hosted by the Crystal Cove Alliance will include guided walking tours and a plein air painting demonstration. Visitors can also explore the park’s tide pools, picnic areas and whale watching from the cultural center patio deck. Free parking will be available at the Los Trancos parking lot. For more information, call the park office at (949)

Bicyclist injured in hit-and-run accident A 38-year-old Huntington Beach man was hospitalized Sunday afternoon after he was injured in a hit-and-run crash while biking in Crystal Cove State Park, officials said. The man was traveling in the bike lane eastbound on Coast Highway from Corona del Mar toward Laguna Beach when he was hit from behind, Newport Beach Police Sgt. Ron Vallercamp said. "The driver made no attempt to stop," he said. The only description available of the vehicle was that it was a gold compact, Vallercamp said.

After years of legal battles and political wrangling, Crystal Cove State Park will finally have its crowning touch: a 60-space RV park atop the ocean-view site where a private mobile home park stood for many years. Just in time for the Fourth of July, this spectacular spot will be open to the public at affordable rates. There should be wonderful views of the Independence Day pyrotechnics along the coast. The opening of Moro Campground, said to be the last oceanfront park to be built in the state of California, will no doubt mean a burst of fresh economic activity for Newport Beach, Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach and other local communities that will benefit from the added influx of vacationers.

A Laguna Beach author will sign copies of her new guidebook about Orange County hiking trails at Crystal Cove State Park on Saturday. Karin Klein, author of "50 Hikes in Orange County," will sign copies at the Store (Cottage No. 45), in Crystal Cove's historic cottage district near the Beachcomber Café, according to a news release. Proceeds from the 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. event will go toward the Crystal Cove Alliance, a nonprofit that supports the state park. Klein works as an editor at the Los Angeles Times.

CRYSTAL COVE STATE PARK — He fought powerful interests: Caltrans, Orange County, the state parks system and the Irvine Co., all in the name of ocean views. Dale Ghere, then a high school biology teacher, spent the late 1990s eradicating a towering brush from swaths of Crystal Cove State Park. The saltbrush was blocking views — not from his home — but from Coast Highway, where he rode his bike each day. Everything was clear until May, when a cell phone company stuck a pole next to the state-owned highway.

An environmental group that studied beach litter in Crystal Cove State Park for seven years has found less trash over time and that most debris comes from inland or is dumped onto the beach, rather than washing up from the sea. Volunteers from Coastkeeper Orange County surveyed a 200-yard stretch of beach just south of Pelican Point. Starting in 2003, they collected trash many times a year and analyzed results. While they found everything from lobster traps to condoms, the most common items were made of plastic and came from landlubbers.

Even with a marine layer, a gorgeous view beats a Monday morning at the office any day. Crystal Cove State Park's celebration of the area's designation as a State and National Landmark on June 28 provides the ideal excuse to start the week with fresh air and an ocean breeze. The dedication of a new overlook, Reef Point, will be commemorated on Monday with a ribbon cutting ceremony and an opportunity for visitors to partake in a guided hike with park naturalists, take pictures and speak with those involved in earning the unique designation for Crystal Cove.

A nyone around here knows that getting one of those beach cottages that creak with charm and memories in the making at Crystal Cove State Park can be a challenge. Rental spots open at 8 a.m. the first of every month for a period of seven months out. Bargain-hunting would-be guests rush online to book them, and the better weekends go especially quick. My wife and I know a couple who have mastered the online reservation system. They consistently book choice cottages on seemingly perfect days.

The new superintendent of Crystal Cove State Park is striving to complete the RV park by spring of next year. Todd Lewis, who most recently worked for the park system in Northern California, said he is busy but so far hasn’t had any difficulty in handling everything that is going on in the park. According to him, the transition to his new job has been smooth. “I’m from San Diego County,” Lewis said. “Lived down there for many years. And so I knew what I was getting into.

Turtles often mistake floating plastic bags in the ocean for jellyfish, and they eat them in their entirety. Sea birds think those tiny blue beads of pre-manufactured plastic are actually fish eggs, and they swallow them whole. Their digestive systems can’t take it, and the creatures end up starving to death. The end result is dead fish and more dead sea birds as plastic pollution in the Pacific Ocean mounts. As many as 1 million sea birds die each year and up to 100,000 sea turtles die from the consumption of plastic, that inanimate object that has frustrated environmentalists for decades.

Anywhere from four to six funnel clouds formed about 1 1/2 miles off Crystal Cove State Park on Saturday morning, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service said. Several witnesses reported spotting the funnel clouds from the beach around 10 a.m. on Saturday, said meteorologist Tina Spall, who works for the National Weather Service. A Newport Beach police helicopter that was in the area confirmed the sightings, she said. The unusual rotating cloud formations are created by unstable air, Spall said.