What to Know
- Eight historic Crystal Cove Beach Cottages are reopening after a gentle but major restoration
- The cottages, constructed between 1920 and 1940, are part of the North Beach Cottage Restoration Project, helmed by Crystal Cove Conservancy
- Seventeen additional cottages should be restored by 2026
The soft and sandy pleasures of Crystal Cove State Park are as numerous as the waves that wash ashore, but regular visitors to the Newport Beach-close destination can surely list more than a few favorites sights.
The teeming-with-life tidepools are filled with wonders if you like making friends with anemones and watching for whales and other ocean icons from a bluff?
That's also a cherished Crystal Cove pastime.
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And if you have a predilection for painting, especially the plein air style that's long been associated with the California coast, you may have put brush to canvas and captured the area's decades-old cottages, the sea-salted, ultra-charming structures that have become symbols of the area.
Now eight of those colorful cottages have been carefully restored, meaning you can book a beachside overnight that boasts some serious vintage vibes.
The North Beach Cottage Restoration Project, which is overseen by the Crystal Cove Conservancy, unveiled the atmospheric octet's fresh look earlier in November 2023, with the hope that travelers would be staying in the cottages by Thanksgiving.
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An investment by Bank of America made the restoration possible, but the project isn't done, yet: The restoration of seventeen more cottages will have a concluding date by 2026.
Historians for the California State Parks assisted with the preservation project, all to make sure that the cottages retained their timeless and quirky characters; the effort had several champions and supporters, including Assembly Member Cottie Petrie-Norris.
"Crystal Cove is a true gem along the California coast, and I'm thrilled to have helped preserve these unique pieces of history, so that visitors from all over can experience the magic of Crystal Cove State Park with a getaway at the beach cottages," said Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris.
"It's places like this that offer lifelong memories and experiences for people of all backgrounds, and it is imperative that they be saved for generations to come."
How to choose, though, among the eight delightful cottages?
Each has a distinctive name and nature-inspired or nautical-cool theme: Shell Crafter's Cottage indeed features a shell-inspired design motif while Little Grass Shack, with its bright exterior and "light and bright" space, has flavor to spare.
Read more about reserving a cottage, find prices, and learn about the ongoing restoration project at the Crystal Cove Conservancy site now. As for the main reservation site? That's ReserveCalifornia.com.
