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Showing posts with label Dana Point. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

【Hike】Dana Point Headlands - Dana Point, CA

Dana Cove

As I mentioned in my previous entry, I purchased this book, 50 Hikes in Orange County, to enjoy Orange County hikes. This book has information on 50 hiking trails in Orange County.

During my previous hike, my husband and I were able to watch endangered green sea turtles in San Gabriel River located in Seal Beach. :) This time, we decided to hike Dana Point Headlands. It's been a while since we visited Dana Point last time. Two years ago, we went to Dana Point for whale watching and were able to see a large school of common dolphins swimming along with our boat, and we were also able to see some whales in 2013.

Parking
Dana Point has many free parking spaces. We wanted to find a parking space near Harbor Point Conservation Park, but the road near the park was closed that day, so we eventually parked at Dana Dr Parking, a free parking lot, and we walked up to Harbor Point Park for 30 minutes or so.

Dana Cove (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

While heading to Harbor Point Conservation Park, we enjoyed this beautiful views of Dana Point.

Dana Point Headlands

Tips for Hiking Dana Point Headlands
・Apply sunscreen on entire body.
・Wear sunglasses and hat.
・Drink water often.
・You cannot bring your dog.

This time, we brought our cameras, Canon EOS Rebel SL1 with telephoto zoom lens, Canon EF-S 55-250mm and my iPhone to take photos.

Harbor Point Conservation Park

Harbor Point Conservation Park (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Harbor Point Conservation Park
24138 Cove Rd
Dana Point, CA 92629
U.S.A.

Harbor Point Conservation Park (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Harbor Point Conservation Park is a very short trail.

Harbor Point Conservation Park (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

View from Harbor Point Conservation Park (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

You can enjoy very beautiful views of the Dana Point Harbor.

Dana Point Nature Interpretive Center

Dana Point Nature Interpretive Center (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Dana Point Nature Interpretive Center

34558 Scenic Dr

Dana Point, CA 92629

U.S.A.

You can hike the trail in Dana Point Headlands Conservation Area starting from the Dana Point Nature Interpretive Center.

Dana Point Headlands Conservation Area

Dana Point Headlands Conservation Area (Apple iPhone 6s)

This trail is mostly sand.

Dana Point Headlands Conservation Area (Apple iPhone 6s)

Dana Point Headlands Conservation Area (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Dana Point is the best place for whale watching in all of Orange County. You might able to see whales or dolphins from this area.

Dana Point Headlands Conservation Area (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Dana Point Headlands Conservation Area (Apple iPhone 6s)

Strands Revetment Trail / Dana Strands Beach

Dana Strands Beach (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Then, we headed to Dana Strands Beach and hiked Strands Revetment Trail. This beach is popular with surfers.

Strands Revetment Trail (Apple iPhone 6s)

The walkway changes from pavement to wood deck.

Strands Revetment Trail (Apple iPhone 6s)

A lot of stairs! (Apple iPhone 6s)

Then, we climbed the stairs to the cliff top.

Passage des Palmiers

Passage des Palmiers (Apple iPhone 6s)

Then, we walked up this alley, named Passage des Palmiers.

Passage des Palmiers (Apple iPhone 6s)

PCH & Shoreline Drive (Apple iPhone 6s)

At the end of the alley, there is the intersection of PCH and Shoreline Drive.

Hilltop Conservation Park

Hilltop Conservation Park (Apple iPhone 6s)

Hilltop Conservation Park is a short trail (0.5 miles).

Hilltop Conservation Park (Apple iPhone 6s)

Hilltop Conservation Park (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

You can enjoy great views of Dana Point from the hill.

Dana Cove, View from Hilltop Conservation Park (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Dana Point Harbor

Dana Point Harbor (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Then, we walked around Dana Point Harbor.

Dana Point Harbor (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Squirrel (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Rabbit (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

Cormorants (Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

(Canon EOS Rebel SL1)

We really enjoyed hiking in Dana Point. That day, I walked over 15,000 steps (6 miles). It was a great exercise for me. Next time, I would like to hike here in spring. It must be very beautiful with wildflowers blooming on the Dana Point Headlands. :)

50 Hikes in Orange County

I thought this book was great and am looking forward to trying more hikes. These are my entries related to hikes we have tried from the book.

1. San Gabriel River to Turtle Overlook

2. Dana Point Headlands

3. Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve

4. Bayview Trail

5. Crystal Cove Tide Pools

6. Aliso Peak

7. Pecten Reef Loop

8. Bommer Canyon

9. Laurel Loop

10. Mariposa Trail Loop

11. Little Sycamore Canyon Loop

12. San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary

      These are my entries you might like.
■Green Sea Turtles in San Gabriel River - Seal Beach / Long Beach (August 2019)

■Quail Hill Loop Trail in Irvine, CA (April 2019)

■La Jolla Cove in San Diego (March 2019)

■San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine (February 2019)

■Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach (January 2019)

■Swimming with Wild Dolphins (Big Island, Hawaii, January 2015)

■Dolphin Watching in Dana Point (July 2017)

■Our Whale Watching Trip (Dana Point, August 2013)

■San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine (March 2017)

■La Jolla Cove - Beautiful Spring Wildflowers and Wild Animals (2018)

       My entries related to wild animals can be seen here.

       My entries related to Orange County Hikes can be seen here.

       My entries related to sunset can be seen here.

   My entries related to hiking and walking can be seen here.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Dolphin Watching in Dana Point

As I mentioned in my previous entry, my husband and I went to Dana Point for whale watching. We purchased whale watching tickets from Groupon this month. The two tickets for 2-hour evening whale watching cruise were originally $58, but they were $22.40 with a 20% off coupon code. In addition, I will get $2.67 cash back from ibotta, which is a smartphone app to earn cash back on in-store and mobile purchases. That's why my purchase will end up being $19.73 for two tickets after everything. I thought it was a pretty great deal! :)

It was our third time to go whale watching. During our previous two whale watching trips (Dana Point and Newport Beach whale watching tours), we were able to see huge whales, so we hoped to see whales again. I also hoped to see grate white sharks because since May, many juvenile grate white sharks has been spotted around many beaches in Orange county. A few months ago, I read Orange County news that two beaches in Dana Point were closed temporarily because a 10-feet shark has been seen. However, this time, we were not able to see whales nor sharks, yet we were able to see so many schools of common dolphins! Anyway, I'm going to share our dolphin watching tour with you. :)

Dana Wharf Whale Watching
34675 Street of the Golden Lantern,
Dana Point, CA 92629

The free parking lot was busy but not very crowded. We were able to find a parking space easily. We checked-in and received the tickets at the front desk. I was expecting that it would be really cold during the tour, so I brought a cardigan to keep me warm even though it was a beautiful sunny day. The ocean was pretty calm, and the wind wasn't as cold as I had expected. :)

Around the harbor, we found many pelicans, seagulls and California sea lions!

Pelican

Seagull

Brown Pelicans

After 30 minutes, we saw a large school of common dolphins swimming along with our boat. I had seen some wild dolphins before but it was my first time to see such a great number of dolphins at a time! I thought that it was more than 100 dolphins! I was really amazed at how beautiful they were! They swam very fast and jumped again and again!

It was difficult to take pictures because they moved very fast. See the dolphin photos below, she jumped very high!

We were able to see many schools of dolphins during our trip.

California Sea Lions

I uploaded our dolphin watching videos on my YouTube channel. :)

This video was recorded by my husband. He used Canon EOS Rebel SL1 and Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS II Telephoto Zoom Lens.