Top of the World Trail Head, Laguna Beach CA

Top of the World's Moulton Meadows Park starts a paved path that turns to dirt. It's a bit of a hike & and can be uneven, plus very dark at night. Spooky! A good flashlight is a must. Very hot ir can be during the day. This is the canyon that splits land from sea. I call it the SoCal Divide.
One side is rolling canyons & Aliso Viejo city lights covering land below. Turn around & the sea is in the distance. It's worth the somewhat level hike if not too foggy. Shown here mostly is the hike from the northern access trail. That's why I'm mentioning the park coming from the south. It has a bathroom! If anybody doesn't want to go, they can hang out on a bench. On the trail, you'll get different views of both sides. Depending on where you rest (no trail benches here, so BYO), time of day, weather/temps, etc. Now you can claim that you’ve been to the Top of the World.

Great hike, was tough in some spots and shade is a luxury. Bring lots of water and calories it can be long hike.

This is a really good hike with plenty of scenic views, even in the fog!

The hike is pretty moderate in difficulty with the exception of the beginning and end. The uphill and downhill are quite steep, but a majority of the time the hike is relatively flat. Most of the paths are pretty well maintained, but there are still pretty sketchy sections where the road has been eroded from the recent rain. If you have hiking poles, they will probably help, especially for certain parts of Meadows and Car Wreck trails.

The trails dont seem to get very muddy. I only encountered wet sand.

Along the trails, there was only one bathroom (a porta potty) at the end of Meadows down one of the roads that links up to Dripping Cave. So be sure to use the restroom in advance.

Regarding parking, there is plenty available free of charge. It is impossible not to find a spot; there is a parking lot near a park as well as certain streets. If you wish to park in the lot near the park, you will probably need to leave early in the morning as it tends to get pretty full. There always seems to be room on the streets, though.

The weather was pretty foggy in the very early morning, so prepare to get a little wet. For the beginning and end of the hike, you are basically in the clouds, so the moisture drenches your hair and can make it hard to see out of your glasses. The upside is that it helps keep you cool at the end of the hike! There is little to no breeze on these trails.

Overall, I highly recommend the hikes here! I personally prefer them over crystal cove.

The route I took that was roughly 2.5 hour hike and around 7 miles:

Top of the World Trailhead > Meadows > Dripping Cave > Car Wreck > Top of the World

The starting point of a very pleasant path.
There is a paved road.
There is no dedicated parking lot. Finding access routes is also part of the fun.

This is a beautiful sight to see. You can see all of Laguna Beach and more. There is only one real steep location at the beginning. Rest is a piece of cake

My go-to place to hike when I visit Orange County each year. It is a good workout hiking to the top. My only issue is that too many people bring dogs in the middle of a hot and sunny afternoon. I wonder if they would want to hike up a steep hill in a fur coat.