The Mysterious Pirate Tower at Victoria Beach
Ever since seeing this place on the Internet, we’ve been wanting to pay a visit here as what’s more mysterious than “pirate” when it comes to the ocean. Jokes aside, we were genuinely attracted by this architecture that resides at Victoria Beach, Laguna Beach, and decided to explore the place ourselves and see if we could meet the pirates in person.
Parking here could be tough because the available street parking is some distance away, and the stairs to Victoria Beach is also well hidden in a residential neighborhood. But once you find the entrance, it’s a short walk down to the beach and you can see the Pirate Tower on your right hand side almost immediately.
The story of Pirate Tower is after all not that mysterious, it is actually a private staircase built in 1926 by a senator, William E. Brown, to provide his family easy access to the beach from their house up on the cliff. The name “Pirate Tower” came from the second owner of the house, Harold Kendrick, where he was known to dress up as a pirate frequently to entertain neighborhood kids with games such as treasure hunt.
Right next to the tower, there is also a tidal pool and a stairway that offers great photo opportunities and lots of fun. It may not seem like it from the photos, but there was actually quite a crowd at this place during our visit, and there was a line for almost every single good photo spot since this has now become a super popular location for professional photography services.
Many people refer this place as a hidden gem of Southern California, but gems are meant to be discovered and appreciated, and with its increasing popularity and traffic, we truly doubt it will stay “hidden” for long.
Nevertheless, this is an absolutely adorable place to visit and definitely one of the most unique beaches in Southern California!
