primary homes for some families up to four generations. In 2006, after 26 years of litigation, the California Coastal Commission, who purchased the property in 1979, evicted the tenants and demolished the El Morro Village mobile home park converting the private community into a day-use and overnight campground. The area was renovated to also include a visitors center for tourist information, dining areas along the beachfront, cultural center, museums and the Park and Marine Research Facility. The Crystal Cove Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places site, inside the park contains 46 beach cottages from the 1920s and 1930s, of which 29 have been restored. 21 of these cottages are available for rent. The house from the Bette Midler movie Beaches is located in Crystal Cove. Crystal Cove has long been a source of inspiration for plein air painters, a type of landscape painting that originated in France. Early plein air painters documented Orange County's coastline, and Crystal Cove, in particular, with their paintings. In homage to the movement, one of the cottages at Crystal Cove is called "Painter's Cottage." Recreation Crystal Cove is used by mountain bikers inland and scuba and skin divers underwater. The beach is popular with swimmers and surfers. Lifeguard services at Crystal Cove are provided by the California State Parks Lifeguard Service. Lifeguards patrol the beach year-round while lifeguard towers are staffed roughly Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. The offshore waters are designated as a Marine Conservation area as well as a underwater park. Visitors can explore tidepools and sandy coves. In addition to the beach, the park has of undeveloped woodland inland of the coast highway, which is popular for hiking and horseback riding. The park has a total of 17 different trails. The grounds are also available for camping. There are 34 different lots spread across the 3 designated backpacking camping areas, including the Upper Morro, Lower Moro & Deer Canyon campsites. None are accessible by car, only by hike, and are for up to 4 people per site. No pets are allowed. No fires are allowed in the backcountry campsites. Wildlife of Crystal Cove State Park Crystal Cove State Park has a registered 180 different species of birds that can be observed throughout the entire year, seasonally, or a few times per year. Some of the birds seen regularly include the Turkey vulture, Mourning dove, Ring-billed gull, the Common