Heisler Park | Informal Campsite

April 8th, 2024 by coddiwompledrive

Beautiful place to park along Cliff Drive very close to the ocean! We did some searching around town and this seemed to be the only place with free daytime parking on the coast (drive further down Cliff Drive past the parking meters). Overnight parking is allowed on residential streets with a permit, so you could stay on Cliff Drive the entire day and night with a permit. You can get a permit by going to the police station and asking for a 72 hour RV parking permit. The police station is right downtown, a mile or two from Cliff Drive. The police will ask if you have a street in mind already that you’re going to park on because that goes on the permit. You can get 2 72-hour parking permits in Laguna Beach per year. We got our 2 permits back-to-back and moved down the street halfway through our stay. We found out that a neighbour wasn’t very happy we were parked in front of their house for a few nights in a row, so I’d recommend moving your parking spot more frequently to keep the neighbours happy and keep the permit system open. There were beaches galore along this road and the main beach and Crescent beach have spray-down stations that you can use after taking a swim in the ocean 👌. There are lots of washrooms along the whole oceanfront too. Washrooms are only open during the day.
Enjoy this gorgeous place! :)

March 26th, 2024 by excellentbroker23

Stayed one night, payed parking is from 8am- 7pm. We didn’t realize until late that we needed a permit to stay there. We didn’t have a problem but read the other comments because you should get one. Quiet street, bathrooms nearby, beautiful park

February 27th, 2024 by roaminglovebirds

Stayed here a few nights with no problem. During the day we parked on Cypress Dr to avoid parking meters. Had a fun time at beer company close by.

December 14th, 2023 by rskt_

Oceanfront park on top of a cliff overlooking tide pools. Plenty of street parking, and the road is residential and not too busy.

September 1st, 2023 by theewinnievan

decent overnight spot overall. the view is a 10, but the entire street is so angled that it was impossible to get the van flat enough that we could sleep comfortably, even with leveling blocks. might not be an issue for those who don't have back issues.

went to the Police Dept first and got an RV permit, which is free. took all of 5 minutes. no issues.

June 17th, 2023 by madScientist777

Incredible coastal beach views, very clean, lots of people around on vacation. Park has musicians and kids and families barbequeing. City allows up to 10 days but must register with local PD. Police gave me a 5 hour warning on the second day, very friendly but required I register my Sprinter van. My impression is they are 100% open to vanlifers hanging out for a while but want to avoid long-term RV living in the area.

June 8th, 2023 by cotelegault

100% backing this.
Spent a night and entire day here. Arrived around 8h30pm and left the next day (you have to pay the parcometer between 8am and 7pm).
You wake up to the beach and ear waves all night.
Information center referred us here as well.

April 16th, 2023 by gabrielanwatts

Great place, lots of open spaces with a beautiful ocean view.
We parked around 9pm and left before 8

February 9th, 2023 by nunez359

This whole street (Cliff Dr) has plenty of spots to park and quick access to public restrooms. One of the best, safe, relatively quiet beachside towns I’ve stayed in. As mentioned, the meters are on from 8am - 7pm.

October 18th, 2022 by itsthemannamedjack

got a police knock. says residents don’t want people staying here.

October 10th, 2022 by amaranthsander

Bathrooms closed at night but open in the morning. Picnic tables are nice and the view of the ocean is wonderful! People walking around and talking in the morning, but no one bothered us. A very nice spot.

September 27th, 2022 by Judy

Beautiful spot, there are picnic tables. Restroom closed around 8pm. Next morning they were already open at around 7am. Lots of active people here doing yoga / jogging, everyone was friendly!

September 24th, 2022 by byeraubrey

Parked and paid for a few hours while we were at the beach, after 7 it’s free, no limits. No signs saying overnight isn’t allowed. Slept in the same spot, wasn’t bothered at all. Right in front of the lawn bowling facility. There were other vans/one RV who stayed as well.

September 22nd, 2022 by silencia707

Nice spot by the side of the road next to a park right by the beach. Free overnight parking in a quiet residential area. Residents don’t seem to mind. There were several other cars and a van that parked there overnight. There are public toilets and water fountains. Easy and quick access to the beach. The beach also has showers.
There was a movement/exercise class at 7:30am in the morning with lots of attendees and music. And a lot of people go for a run or walk their dogs in the area. For a quiet experience best to leave early in the morning.

August 10th, 2022 by shaderfx

Parking still as advertised. Beautiful view. Busy with lots of spot taken by 8pm. A few spots are even free all day because the meter is broken.

July 26th, 2022 by jehsonhughes

As describe. Slept by park, no problems, public works passed numerous times, didn’t bother us overnight.

Driving a Chevy express camper van, with modified top. 9 feet tall, not super discreet

June 14th, 2022 by Kristina

There’s parallel parking all around the park in addition to some regular spots. My rig is about 23’ and I just made it into a parallel spot, but felt too long to park in the regular spots. (You can’t back in to those.)

Good for an overnight and amazing views, but there’s definitely a decent amount of foot traffic all day so I didn’t feel comfortable staying to work from my van.

June 3rd, 2022 by michaelcrostar

cute little beach spot with tons of beautiful flowers and plants . Stayed over night no issues, paid for parking as i arrived at 6pm the meters are off 7pm till 8am( left before then ) . Hard to find a private spot to poke smot. bbq and picnic tables for a cool little picnic area . great for the in rest between LA and SD.

April 21st, 2022 by tatasun

You can park anywhere here on this street for free after 7pm. i got there at 6:30 pm, didn’t need to pay because it was almost 7pm, I stayed in my car just in case. Nice spot. Ocean views, restroom access too, nice view . Paid parking starts at 8 am, so if you don’t want to pay for parking, leave before 8 am.

February 16th, 2022 by Rodger Obley

After reading another reviewer’s post I stopped at the Laguna PD and got a free RV pass. The pass is good for 7 days, though after talking to another van dweller on the street it sounds like it’s not totally necessary - get it or don’t - your choice - and risk. Bathrooms nearby. It doesn’t feel like you need to be super stealthy but definitely be respectful of the community members and don’t be obnoxious. But I cooked dinner in the van with the window open and nobody seemed to mind.

Paid $5 for an hour pass ($15 for a day pass) at the nearby state park and took a cold outdoor shower.

February 16th, 2022 by La_Fordtuga

This is an awesome spot! No issues in our not-stealth pop up truck camper for one night. Arrived around 8pm and left at 8am. Public toilets are opened at dawn and closed at dusk. RVs need to get a permit at the police station during work hours.

February 8th, 2022 by /blogs/109774

Nice area to park overnight. No, no parking signs.

January 16th, 2022 by thisisfr33dom

Parked in front of Lawn Bowling club overnight and into the morning without issue. As we were leaving, beach patrol stopped by and said there was a 5 hour limit for RVs in the area but we can grab free 72 hour passes from the PD down the road and can have up to 3 a year

January 15th, 2022 by thisisfr33dom

So far so good! Beautiful view of the beach, few other vans here too

December 9th, 2021 by gatherer

Great spot, was worried I'd draw attention as I was the only car let alone van there, but no issues. got a 7am alarm from thr landscapers to remind me move as parking is enforced 8-7. Went to try bathroom around midnight and it was locked, but was open again when I got up

July 12th, 2021 by mrsmrdunn

Right on Laguna Beach. Followed the other camper’s advice because all of the other campsites around were booked and we needed a place on the beach to stay. Plenty of restaurants shops and stores around walking distance. Have a roof nest camper and we popped in up at dusk. Nobody bothered us and another camper parked on the side of us. No worries. Great place to camp!!

June 19th, 2021 by John

Stayed here one night, couldn’t find parking until late Saturday night because of people going out. One other van there. Worked well for the night. Park and public restroom nearby.

June 4th, 2021 by fmiletello

Great little spot, many vans stayed. Easy walk to Laguna and the beach and no one seemed to mind. Someone did set off fireworks late at night which was scary, and a lot of people do walk by as it is a busy area. Have to pay 8 am - 7 pm

June 4th, 2021 by fmiletello

Quiet area, paid parking during day but free 7 pm - 8 am. We stayed and saw a few other vans, perfect place to walk downtown Laguna and great views of ocean. Some one set fireworks off in the middle of the night which was very scary. People walked by a lot but no one seemed to mind.

May 5th, 2021 by instagram.com/pandaspelomundo

Car parking spots by the street at Heisler Park right in front of Laguna Beach with a great view of the sea. No “no overnight” signs. The place is in a residential street area and there is a parking meter that needs to be paid for between 8am - 7pm (we left before 8am) There is a public toilet next to it. Two other campervans stayed at the same place for overnight and no one bothered us. Very silent place with only a few joggers in the morning. Good for one night.