How to Visit Laguna Beach Sustainably

Leave No Trace

Visit Laguna partnered with the Leave no Trace Center in 2022, for outdoor ethics to institute a new set of principles protecting Laguna Beach’s natural resources. The Principles of Leave No Trace provide an easily understood framework of minimum impact practices for anyone visiting the outdoors. The principles can be applied anywhere — from remote wilderness areas to local parks and even in your backyard. Each principle covers a specific topic and provides detailed information to empower you to minimize your impacts.  

The principles are well-established and widely known but not static. Leave No Trace continually examines, evaluates, and reshapes the principles and conducts research to ensure that they are up to date with the latest insights from biologists, land managers, and other leaders in outdoor education.  

After a year of exploration, Leave No Trace developed six distinct principles specifically addressing Laguna Beach’s main environmental concerns and disruptors.  

The resulting principles are: Know Before You Go; Stick to Trails and Sand; Dispose of Trash Properly; Leave It as You Find It; Respect Wildlife and Sealife; and Be Considerate of Others on Beaches and Trails.

Sustainable Activities 

Buying locally is a sustainable activity. The Laguna Beach Farmer's Market is eco-friendly and open every Saturday from 8 am to Noon. All Farmer's Markets help reduce the costs of transportation, for both the consumer and producer.  

Art projects using repurposed materials.  Upcycling has a positive impact on the environment as it contributes to the reuse of waste. Upcycling art has a positive impact on the environment as it contributes to the reuse of waste. 

Picking up just a few pieces of trash in your neighborhood can have a big impact! Whether this means collecting litter when walking around the block or getting a group together to do a large-scale cleanup, your family’s efforts can make your area cleaner and more beautiful for everyone. 

Park your car and ride the free trolley. Laguna Beach offers two forms of free transportation via the trolleys or the Local Van Rides. Driving in town can be diminished or eliminated. This is a great way to cut down on emissions and traffic for residents and visitors. 

Shopping

Hobie's Surf Shop carries many clothing lines, such Fragile Ocean and Florence, that are made sustainably using recycled materials. 

The stores Laguna Exchange and Laguna Treasures have secondhand clothing and Twig has a selection of classic vintage clothes.  Buying secondhand is one less item heading to landfill and significantly reduces waste production.

Roots the Beauty Underground is devoted to serving the community through the education of clean cosmetics. 

Eco-Now & Ritual Refill are zero-waste shops & bulk refill stores. They offer over 50+ refillable products. Bring in your bottle or jar (clean & dry) and they will refill it! By refilling old bottles or containers you already have with the product you need, you’re helping to eliminate plastic waste that otherwise would’ve ended up in the ocean and landfills.  

Dining

Restaurants in Laguna Beach have also adopted social responsibility for the environment and community, and many are now Ocean Friendly through the Surfrider Foundation. 

At Harvest restaurant at The Ranch at Laguna Beach, many ingredients are harvested on the property. The Ranch also manages The Lost Pier Café at Aliso Beach Park. 

The Nirvana Kitchen + Pantry features organic, sustainable, grass-fed, free-range, seasonal, and local ingredients. 

Zinc Café is inspired by the quality food movement started by Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in Berkeley California.  

Maro Wood Grill is an Argentinian -inspired steakhouse that brings out the rich flavors of simple, seasonal, sustainable farm-to-table cuisine. 

Splashes has a view just 25 feet above the sea and features coastal-inspired fare with a mediterranean flair. Every dish is driven by fresh and local ingredients, and they approved ocean friendly through Surfrider.