Overview
About Sunset
Sunset takes in the South Laguna blocks between Coast Highway and the hillside, on Stonington Road, Virginia Way, Sunset, Ninth and Tenth and a set of streets that all begin Vista: Vista de Catalina, Vista de la Luna, Vista del Sol and Vista de San Clemente. The city draws it as evacuation zone 17. Across 96 acres the assessor counts 412 parcels on thirty-nine named streets, and the zoning is split between 197 parcels in the city's coastal village category and 182 in village commercial.
Forty-seven of the 96 acres fall inside the mapped coastal zone, close to half the area, and six acres belong to Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park at the inland edge. Two bus stops serve the highway. This is the stretch south of Aliso Creek, so the beaches below it close between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. rather than the later hours that apply north of the creek. Laguna Beach Unified serves it from four campuses and 2,291 students, with El Morro and Top of the World elementaries feeding Thurston Middle and then Laguna Beach High.
View available homes in SunsetHistory
How Sunset was built
This is thin, high ground on the seaward side of the San Joaquin Hills, and its history is the history of how Laguna Beach ended up shaped by who could not get here. Most of what became the city was one of the very few pieces of coastal Southern California never included in a Mexican land grant. That left it open to homesteaders after the 1862 Homestead Act, and more than forty homestead patents were granted in the Laguna, Arch Beach and Aliso areas between 1871 and 1916, beginning with Frederick Sievert in 1875 and George Thurston Sr., who took two in 1879.
The canyon road was the only way in until Coast Highway opened in 1926, and that isolation is why a town of a few hundred people turned into an art colony instead of a resort. Norman St. Clair arrived in 1903, the painters followed, the Art Association held its first exhibition in August 1918, and the city incorporated on 29 June 1927 largely to keep control of what was being built. Even now the city counts 8.84 square miles, about 23,000 residents and roughly six million visitors a year.
By the Numbers
Sunset by the numbers
Lifestyle
The Sunset lifestyle
Laguna Beach occupies 8.84 square miles with a population of about 23,000 and roughly six million visitors a year on the city's own count, and provides its own police, fire and marine safety protection.
Beaches north of Aliso Creek close between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.; beaches south of the creek close between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.; Thousand Steps Beach closes between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
The city permits surfing at Agate, Brooks, Rockpile and Thalia Street beaches. Smoking fines on city beaches, parks and trails run $100, then $200, then $500 within twelve months.
Schools
Schools serving Sunset
Laguna Beach Unified serves Sunset along with the rest of the city, from four campuses and 2,291 students on the 2024-25 federal count: El Morro Elementary 404, Top of the World Elementary 536, Thurston Middle 524 and Laguna Beach High 815. Attendance is set by the district and can change, so confirm the current assignment for a specific address with the district before relying on it.
K-5 · 404 students
K-5 · 536 students
6-8 · 524 students
9-12 · 815 students
FAQs
Common questions about Sunset
How big is Sunset and how is it laid out?
The city's published boundary encloses 96 acres, drawn as evacuation zone 17, in the South Laguna blocks between Coast Highway and the hillside. The assessor counts 412 parcels on thirty-nine named streets, among them Stonington Road, Virginia Way, Ninth and Tenth, and a set that all begin Vista: Vista de Catalina, Vista de la Luna, Vista del Sol and Vista de San Clemente.
Which schools serve Sunset?
Laguna Beach Unified serves the whole city from four campuses and 2,291 students on the 2024-25 federal count: El Morro Elementary 404, Top of the World Elementary 536, Thurston Middle 524 and Laguna Beach High 815. Elementary assignment is set by the district and can change, so confirm the current one for a specific address with the district office.
When was Sunset built?
Three tracts were recorded over these blocks, in 1936, 1946 and 1980. Just over a third of the structures inside the boundary predate 1950, the 1950s were the heaviest single decade, and the 1940s, 1960s and 1970s each contributed a similar share, so the housing spans the middle of the century fairly evenly.
What are the beach rules at this end of the city?
This is south of Aliso Creek, so the beaches below close between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., with Thousand Steps closing between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Leashed dogs are allowed before 9:00 a.m. and after 6:00 p.m. between June 15 and September 10, and at any hour the rest of the year, but never at Thousand Steps. No alcohol at any age, no fires at city beaches, and smoking fines run $100, then $200, then $500 within twelve months.
When did South Laguna become part of Laguna Beach?
In 1987, when Laguna Beach annexed South Laguna and Laguna Niguel lost its competing attempt. It is also worth knowing that there is no Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach: south of Nyes Place, which includes this whole area, the road is signed simply Coast Highway.