Welcome to Doheny State Beach
California’s first state beach, Doheny covers 62 acres of scenic oceanfront. Located in picturesque Orange County, this beach beckons to all those seeking sun, sand and surf. Doheny State Beach enjoys mild weather year-round, with generally fine air quality and coastal breezes. Average summer temperatures range in the high 70s, while winter ushers in fog and slightly cooler mid-60-degree weather.
The Dana Point area was primarily inhabited by the Juaneño (Acjachemen) tribe. For over 10,000 years, these natives lived in coastal or valley villages from Long Beach to Oceanside. The first recorded contact between the Juaneño and Europeans came in 1769 when Gaspar de Portolá led an expedition of Spanish soldiers and Franciscan padres to the area
now called Orange County.
By 1776 Mission San Juan Capistrano had been constructed upon a Juaneño sacred site and the tribesmen were then named San Juaneños by the padres. Juaneño customs and population rapidly declined as the natives lost their lands and succumbed to European diseases to which they had no immunity. Today the Juaneño tribe’s culture and language survive in traditional ceremonies and song, and the tribe is pursuing recognition from the federal government.
