Since Friday, Oct. 9, you can walk the full 2.3 miles of San Clemente's Beach Trail from North Beach to Calafia without a detour. That hasn't been possible since a January 2024 landslide at Mariposa Point destroyed the city's pedestrian bridge and cut the trail in two. The rebuilt stretch was part of a rail-protection project run by the Orange County Transportation Authority, and the agency's plans for the tracks will shape the next round of work along this shoreline too.
A trail that rides along with a railroad project changes when the railroad's needs change. Less than a month after the ribbon cutting, the walk passes three stages of repair. Mariposa Point is finished. The bluff below Casa Romantica is partly reopened. A large sand project for the beach north of the pier has been authorized but has no start date yet.
A $24 million trail inside a $93 million wall
OCTA calls the Mariposa Point work an approximately $93 million project. Its centerpiece is a catchment wall nearly 1,400 feet long, built to keep rocks, soil and debris from the coastal bluff off the railroad tracks. The trail part of the work, which includes a new pedestrian bridge at Mariposa Channel, new handrail fencing and landscaping, is estimated at about $24 million and was funded mostly by state and federal sources. So the walkway accounts for roughly a quarter of the total cost. The rest went to protecting the line that carries Metrolink, Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, freight and military traffic through town.
The wall is the first thing you notice on the walk. The Orange County Register reported that it ranges from 10 to 20 feet tall and is colored to blend with the hillside. The old elevated crossing is gone, and a ground-level path now runs beside the railroad. The Register's photos from Oct. 5 show the new section just north of Casa Romantica. OCTA's project page puts the work zone between the El Portal Beach access point and Linda Lane. Construction started in September 2025, and the agency lists the project as complete as of October 2026.
Speaking to the Register at the ceremony, Mayor Rick Loeffler called the full shoreline route "the jewel, the treasure" of the city, "going from one end to the other, looking at this beautiful ocean."
The full 2.3 miles, north to south
The City of San Clemente describes the trail as connecting North Beach to Calafia Beach, with stops at the Pier and T-Street. Here is the route in order, with places to eat along the way.
- North Beach. The trail starts near the Metrolink station. Miramar Food Hall at 150 W. Avenida Pico has 15 vendors, including Immersion Coffee Co., Egg&Out, MOTO Pizza, Sidelines Sandwiches, The Pita, Cosmos Burger and Lobster Lab.
- Mariposa Point, El Portal to Linda Lane. This is the rebuilt stretch, with the new wall on the bluff side and the new bridge at Mariposa Channel.
- The Pier. This is about the halfway point. Bear Coast Coffee sits across from the pier at 618½ Avenida Victoria and is open daily from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nick's at 213 Avenida Del Mar opens daily at 11 a.m. The Fisherman's Restaurant & Bar on the pier will take Thanksgiving reservations starting Nov. 2 at 8 a.m.
- T-Street. The city lists West Toast Cafe as the beach concessionaire here.
- Calafia. The south end is at 243 Avenida Calafia, where California State Parks lists San Clemente State Beach as open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
If you're using a stroller or wheelchair, the city lists two ADA-accessible portions: North Beach to Mariposa, and Linda Lane to the Pier.
Rules written for a shared corridor
Most of the trail runs right next to active track, and the city's rules reflect that. The Beach Trail page lists them:
- Bikes: Pedal bikes must yield to pedestrians, stay under 10 mph and be walked in marked zones.
- E-bikes: E-bikes are not allowed, whatever their class, even with the motor turned off.
- Dogs: Dogs must be on a leash 6 feet or shorter and are not allowed on the beach. Waste bags and bins are provided along the trail.
- Smoking: Smoking is not allowed on the trail or the beach.
- The tracks: Cross only at designated railroad crossings and stay on the trail. The rail corridor belongs to OCTA, and trespassers can be cited.
- Hours: The trail is open 4 a.m. to midnight. The segment from the south T-Street restrooms to Calafia is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The different hours on the south end match the state beach schedule at Calafia, so a late walk heading south has an earlier cutoff than one heading north.
Arriving by train, the reason the wall exists
The same rail line the wall protects also gives you a car-free way to reach the north end and the middle of the trail. Metrolink's trail guide names San Clemente/North Beach as the northern station and San Clemente Pier as the stop in the middle.
| Station | Place on the trail | Parking | Rates |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Clemente/North Beach | North end | 142 spaces, 13 accessible | $1 for the day if you arrive 4 to 9 a.m., $1.50 per hour after 9 a.m.; annual pass $50 residents, $100 nonresidents |
| San Clemente Pier | Midpoint; Metrolink stops here on weekends only | 144 spaces, 2 accessible plus 4 nearby beach spaces | $1.50 per hour, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily |
Amtrak also stops at the Pier on a platform-only station at 615 Avenida Victoria. For a one-way walk, you can park at North Beach in the morning, walk south to the pier, and ride back on a weekend train.
Check service before you count on that return trip. According to OCTA, rail operations through San Clemente have been interrupted several times since 2021 by bluff failures, beach loss and erosion. In September 2026, high waves and tides overtopped the tracks, and passenger service was briefly suspended while crews stabilized the slope. Look at Metrolink's service updates the morning you go.
Above the pier, the bluff is on its own schedule
Casa Romantica, on the bluff above the trail, shows the next stage of repair. Its landslide came first, on April 27, 2023, and took out about half an acre of garden, including the Ocean Terrace and the Native Bowl. The Main Salon and interior rooms reopened on Oct. 4, 2024. The city announced that Phase I of its cliff stabilization was finished on June 16, 2026.
Since Sept. 1, 2026, the Ocean Terrace and nearby gardens have been partly reopened. Those gardens are the Native American Garden, Spanky Chang Children's Garden, Story Circle and Roscoe Chang Edible Garden. The Amphitheater, Woodland Garden and Native Bowl are still closed. Phase II, which rebuilds structures damaged by the landslide, is in the Coastal Commission approval and planning stage, and Casa Romantica notes that the reopened terrace and gardens could close again while that work happens. No reopening date has been published for the three closed areas.
If you want to add the terrace to a trail walk, plan around the visiting hours: Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed Mondays and federal holidays. Weekend hours end at 2 p.m., so on a Saturday, see the terrace before your walk rather than after.
The next change will come by sea
The next big change to the trail's surroundings is the beach between North Beach and Mariposa Point, the same stretch as the new wall. On Sept. 28, the OCTA Board declared an emergency along the coastal rail line in San Clemente and approved steps to speed up placement of about 690,000 cubic yards of sand. About 240,000 cubic yards are planned between North Beach and Mariposa Point. The other 450,000 are planned south of San Clemente State Beach, along with an engineered shoreline protection structure and riprap repair over about three-quarters of a mile.
There's no date yet. The emergency status lets OCTA move faster on contracting, but it doesn't skip environmental review or permits from the California Coastal Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. OCTA has identified Surfside-Sunset as a source of beach-compatible sand. Because the railroad sits between the bluff and the ocean and land access is limited, the sand has to arrive by hopper dredge and be pumped ashore. OCTA also notes that few U.S.-qualified dredges can do this work, and many are booked months ahead.
The agency says it has secured more than $300 million in state and federal funding for coastal rail stabilization in San Clemente. That puts the Mariposa Point wall at less than a third of the money already lined up for this coastline. So the trail you walk today is the first finished piece of a much larger program, and the next visible change will be a dredge working off North Beach.
If you're weighing a home within walking distance of the North Beach, Pier or T-Street access points, I'm glad to walk you through how the trail and the coastal work around it fit into the decision. Gregory Schnitzer is here when you're ready. Let's Connect.
