'Giggle Crack' At Diver's Cove: Laguna Beach History

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Laguna Beach is famous for its well-preserved coastline, vibrant community art and stunning ocean views. It comes as no surprise that one of Orange County's most scenic destinations has some of the most fascinating and well-preserved history.

Diver's Cove offers some of the best scuba diving and snorkeling in Laguna Beach, as it's protected from most large swells. Offshore, visitors can see garibaldi, sea stars, purple urchins and lobsters. Stingrays and leopard sharks are also occasionally seen swimming across the ocean floor.

Diver's Cove is also the home to the Giggle Crack, a large rock formation on the shore with a severe crevice, or "crack," down the middle.

Laguna Beach resident photographer Susana Cruciana visited the Giggle Crack mid-April, and since then, has been gathering accounts about the formation from Laguna Beach locals.

"From my many pics you can glimpse the depth. I was lucky not to have been swept away," Cruciana told Patch. "You can glimpse the bottom when waves recede... I used to dive off the far edge into the ocean as a teen. But never into the 'Crack.'"

Jumping into the crack is certainly not for the faint of heart. In 2015, The Daily Pilot reported that an Irvine man died while diving into the crevice with his friend.

On Mother’s Day in 1998, a mother and her boyfriend drowned while trying to save her daughter, who had fallen into Giggle Crack, The Daily Pilot reported. On May 10, 2009, three people were rescued after two good Samaritans attempted to rescue a teenage girl who had been pulled into the crack. All survived.

"This spectacular crevice was called the 'Devil's Blow Hole' throughout 1930-1970," Cruciana told Patch. "At Diver's, kids used to dive into the 'crack' from the rock ledge where I took pictures from. Scary! Many accidents and a few drownings occurred here. It’s still one of my favorite spots to visit my childhood."

Cruciana said that the crevice became known as the Giggle Crack thanks to John Cunningham, a founder of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach.

Cunningham also served as a faculty member at Laguna Beach High School, where he started an "Ocean Awareness" and "Ocean Survival Class" in the '70s, Cruciana said.

According to local lore, Cunningham started telling his students the story of the giant who laughed so hard he fell off the cliff and cracked the rocks, thus creating the crevice.

RELATED: Laguna Beach Pays Tribute To John Cunningham, Beloved Resident

He told this story to junior lifeguards preparing to jump or dive into the surging waves, Cruciana said.

Cunningham died last year at the age 0f 82. Laguna Beach residents mourned the loss in a paddle-out service near Heisler Park.

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