The Pirate Tower, Laguna, CA
You may have heard about this legendary 60ft pirate tower in Southern California but perhaps never found it. A Senator built the tower in the 20s for easier access to the beach but later sold it to a pirate enthusiast who transformed it into a storytelling and treasure hunting castle. Getting to this place is a bit difficult, seeing as it’s hidden underneath a neighborhood!
Your best bet is to park your car along the highway next to the Montage hotel and follow the beach access stairs of the hotel to Victoria beach. From there, walk about 1/4 of a mile to get to the tower. The tower and the rocks surrounding it make the whole place look like you’re on a European beach somewhere. Since this is an obscure place, not too many people go here. You have the entire area to yourself to watch the sunset and enjoy the ocean.
6 thoughts on “11 US Places Only Locals Know About”
Once on the Victoria Beach, do you walk north or south along the beach to the tower?
OMG my school, the Fashion Institute of Technology took us here as field trip, I guess. I graduated in 1979. It was an art history course.
Interesting tidbits of information about each of these “finds” for those who travel around our country !
Huell Howser of Calgold once did a whole segment on this. Fascinating!
Discovered this place with a friend and Tourguide colleague, while touring downtown LA. I bought several books then.
During covid, they found a way to remain in business, by going online, which made me feel better, because I love the building and the store. Right across is an old building dating from the beginning of the Cinema, where stars like Charles Chaplin used to stay and they now have a French Restaurant, which I hope remained in business during covid. Too many Los Angelinos, don’t even know that part of Los Angeles where the Movie Industry really took off after escaping the Monopoly of Thomas Edison, with the silent version of the Count of Monte Christo.
An Iconic monument to visit.
I lived in Wilmette in 1966.
Chet Zaneski