WHERE: Crystal Cove, Calif.

WHAT IT IS: Crystal Cove is both a state park and a historical district off the Pacific Coast Highway that extends from a 3-mile stretch of Southern California coastline inland 2,000 acres to camping and hiking preserves. In June 2006, the Crystal Cove State Park Historic District opened 13 '50s-era beach cottages for vacation rentals ($165-plus a night, a steal on this pricey coastline) and they've not gone empty a night since. Californians and others who manage to land one consider themselves winners in a once-in-a-lifetime lottery.

WHY GO THERE: To visit Crystal Cove is to step back in time. The simple, rustic beach houses, once used summers and weekends by middle-class families, now sit on real estate that, if it hadn't been saved by a preservation effort, would cost millions to build on. But you don't have to stay there to go there: You can park across the street in the Los Trancos Parking Lot, enter the tunnel under the highway, walk down the hill, play on the beach and eat at the open-air Beachcomber Cafe (or stay atop the bluff and visit the historic Shake Shack, observing the view while you sip an old-fashioned malt).

The park, which extends out into the water, is valued by divers, snorkelers, kayakers, anglers, surfers, campers, hikers, mountain bikers and folks who enjoy messing about in the tidepools.

TO GO THERE: If you want to stay at Crystal Cove, good luck. You have to dial in to the park's toll-free number, 800-444-7275, at 8 a.m. California time on the first of the month and hope, hope, hope to get through. But just to walk the beach, see the interpretive center, enjoy the restaurant, you can go there from sunrise to sunset daily. The park is between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach.

INFORMATION: www.crystalcovestatepark.com; www.crystalcovebeachcottages.org.