A nonprofit organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating injured or ill marine mammals, this center northeast of town has a small staff and many volunteers who help nurse Orange County's rescued pinnipeds – mostly sea lions and seals – before releasing them back into the wild. Visitors can view outdoor pools and holding pens – but remember, this is a rescue center, not SeaWorld. Still, it’s educational and heartwarming. Admission is free, but donations and gift-shop purchases (say, a stuffed animal) help.
Pacific Marine Mammal Center
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
23.09 MILES
What started as a simple berry farm is now a sprawling 160-acre operation with rides, live shows and lovable Peanuts characters roaming the grounds. Knott…
7.57 MILES
Famous for its swallows that fly back to town every year on March 19 (though sometimes they’re just a bit early), San Juan Capistrano is home to the …
14.42 MILES
From its stately, Spanish Colonial–style shell, the Bowers Museum explodes onto the scene every year or so with remarkable exhibits that remind LA-centric…
15.16 MILES
Follow the giant 10-story cube – balanced on one of its points – to the county's best educational kiddie attraction. About 100 hands-on displays await,…
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18.55 MILES
After checking in at the Grizzly Peak Airfield, fasten your seat belt and take off (as if hang gliding) before a giant, 80ft projection screen that really…
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18.64 MILES
Formerly known as Space Mountain, Tomorrowland’s signature attraction (and one of the USA’s best roller coasters), has been given a Star Wars–themed…
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18.36 MILES
Paradise Pier's state-of-the-art roller coaster resembles an old wooden coaster, but it’s got a smooth-as-silk steel track: it feels like you’re being…
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18.32 MILES
This race-car ride bumps and jumps around a track painstakingly decked out like the Great American West. FastPass accepted.
Nearby attractions
2.56 MILES
Near downtown’s village, Main Beach has volleyball and basketball courts, a playground and restrooms. It's the first beach you see as you come down Laguna…
2.57 MILES
This breezy museum has changing exhibitions featuring contemporary California artists, and a permanent collection heavy on California landscapes, vintage…
2.65 MILES
The grassy, bluff-top Heisler Park offers vistas of craggy coves and deep-blue sea. Bring your camera – with its palm trees and bougainvillea-dotted…
2.73 MILES
Just north of Main Beach, Picnic Beach is too rocky to surf but has excellent tide pooling.
4.4 MILES
South of downtown Laguna Beach, the locals’ favorite Aliso Beach County Park is popular with surfers, boogie boarders and skimboarders. With picnic tables…
4.68 MILES
A few miles of open beach and 2400 acres of undeveloped woodland at this state park let you forget you're in a crowded metropolitan area, at least once…
4.78 MILES
South of central Laguna, this beach has long been a hangout for Laguna's (and the OC's) LGBT community (with an emphasis on the G). The eye candy can be…
5.3 MILES
Jealously guarded by locals, Thousand Steps Beach is about 1 mile south of Aliso Beach, hidden off Hwy 1 just south of Mission Hospital. At the south end…