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San Clemente is Orange County’s southernmost city and includes five miles of beaches, three of which are open to the public.
- A city-owned beach stretches two miles from Avenida Pico south to Avenida Calafia.
- A state-owned beach stretches south about one mile from Avenida Calafia.
- There’s also a small county-owned beach at Camino Capistrano and Pacific Coast Highway.
- San Onofre State Beach, just south of the county line, includes more than three miles of beaches, six access trails and a campground. The beach is widely used by surfers, campers and beachgoers from Orange County. The beaches catch swells all year long.
- Good surf spots, listed from south to north, include Trestles (technically just south of the city line), North Gate, State Park, Riviera, Lost Winds, Lasuen, The Hole, Beach House, T-Street, The Pier, 204, North Beach, and Poche.
| Culture |  |
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- San Clemente has a small-town feel and a surfing culture that extends beyond the beach. Surf media giants Surfing Magazine, The Surfer’s Journal and Longboard Magazine are based in San Clemente. The town has been home to world-class surfers such as Shane Beschen, Matt Archbold, Christian Fletcher and Mike Parsons (originally from Laguna Beach). It’s also headquarters to surfboard shapers and manufacturers such as Steward Surfboard Manufacturing. And San Clemente High School has won six of the seven most recent NSSA national surfing titles, according to the city’s Web site.
- Architecture downtown resembles a Spanish village, and many residents have lived there for years, maintaining a feeling that everyone knows everyone. A new beach trail opened this year, which lifeguards say has become another popular meeting spot for walkers and joggers.
San Onofre State Beach is just south of San Clemente and has one of the most popular surf breaks along California’s coast: Trestles. Surfers have to carry their boards down a hill, under a train track and across the sand to get to the break, which offers the feeling of being away from suburban life. The state beach also has a popular camping spot. - A fight to “Save Trestles” started about four years ago, when surfers caught wind of a plan calling for a nearby toll road. Surfers say the development will ruin a world-class break, and lawsuits have been filed. More than 80,000 bumper stickers have been handed out in the fight. The Transportation Corridor Agencies has voted to approve the 16-mile, $875 million extension of the Foothill (241) Toll Road, which would connect Rancho Santa Margarita to the San Diego (I-5) Freeway south of San Clemente. Opponents say this will destroy one of Southern California’s last pristine coastal watersheds and the surf at Trestles, an area with 12 surf breaks for every kind of surfer. The TCA says the road will not change the surf or ruin the watershed. Activists have been to Sacramento several times, and even the governor was given a tour and a surfboard with 2,000 surfer signatures. The TCA recently said construction likely won’t start until 2011, 2 1/2 years later than originally planned.
| Recreation | |
Just south of city limits is Trestles, where surfers can escape the suburban life of Orange County. Paddling out at the world-famous break requires a walk down a path, under the Surfline train tracks and over a rocky beach. But the waves — and the wildlife — in the area are worth the walk. Farther north, in San Clemente, a coastal walking trail opened earlier this year. And the city is planning even more improvements. An annual Ocean Festival features ocean sports competitions and family-friendly events.
Beach Trail
A coastal walking trail running from North Beach to Calafia Beach opened this year. The 2.3-mile path draws walkers and runners who enjoy the cool ocean breeze and tolerate the clanking sound of a train that passes frequently. Parking along the trail is available at Linda Lane, the pier and at P Street.
Ocean Festival
It started out as a friendly competition among local lifeguards to see who could claim to be the toughest and quickest around. Three decades later, San Clemente Ocean Festivalhas turned into a full-blown summer ritual. Events include a lifeguard competition, a pancake breakfast, an art show, a dory boat competition, surfing contests, bodysurfing clinics and competition, sandcastle contests, a display of classic “woody” beach cruisers and a fishing derby.
Camping
- Camping at San Onofre State Beachis popular among Southern Californians and travelers across the nation.
- Overnight camping is available at San Clemente State Beachfor $20-$34. The mile-long stretch, at the south end of the city off Basilone Road, is popular for surfing and picnics.
Fishing
Surf fishing available for species such as spotfin croaker, yellowfin croaker, barred perch and corbina on the beach north and south of San Clemente Pier and at T Street, Calafia, San Onofre and Old Man’s Beach. The latter two spots can also be good for halibut. San Clemente Pier anglers can catch the same species along with sargo, queenfish, halibut, surf perch and rays, guitarfish and small sharks near the end.
- Most popular baits: ghost shrimp, lugg worms, blood worms, sand crabs, mussels, razor clams, cut mackerel, anchovies, squid, smelt, plastic jigs, Berkley Gulp.
- Surf, pier and harbor fishing contacts: From Laguna Beach to San Clemente: Hogan’s Bait and Tackle in Dana Point at 949-493-3528, The Jig Stop in Dana Point at 949-496-3555, Dana Wharf Sportfishing at 949-496-5794, Embarcadero Marina in Dana Point Harbor at 949-496-6177.
Surf spots
- The Pier: Hollow left and kind of mushy right. Best with medium northwest to south swell.
- T Street: Good left and right that are best in summer and winter. Crowded. Respect the locals.
- Trestles: World-class high-performance break. Solid left and solid, longer right over cobblestone bottom. Best in summer and early fall. Experts only and locals are fierce.
- Old Man’s: World-class longboard break. Good all year with northwest to south swells, but summer is best. Can be crowded but break is spread out and has a great vibe.
San Onofre State Beach:
Whale-watching
The season for blue whale sightings begins in June. Two-hour tours take spectators out to see the world’s largest mammal, which can grow to 100 feet in length. Gray whale watching runs December through April, with mid-January to early February the peak for sightings. About 20,000 gray whales make the 6,000-mile migration from a feeding ground in Alaska to Baja California. Whales often come close to shore. If whales are a no-show, pods of dolphins also play alongside tour boats.
Give back to the beach
- USLA: Want to be a lifeguard? The United States Lifesaving Association is the country’s professional association of beach lifeguards. The association works to reduce water-related injury and death through public education, promoting rescue standards and creating training programs. Learn about dangerous surf conditions to safety tips to starting salaries at marine safety agencies across the country and junior lifeguard opportunities.
- Surfrider Foundation: This nonprofit is dedicated to protecting oceans, waves and beaches throughout the world through conservation, activism, research and education. If a local development threatens a beach, chances are this coalition spawned by surfers is fighting it in the courts. The group also monitors water quality and hosts quarterly beach cleanup events. Want to join? Orange County’s got two local chapters. South O.C.and the South Baychapter, which includes some north Orange County beaches.
- Orange County Coastkeeper:Newport Beach nonprofit protects and preserves marine wildlife and habitats in Orange County through education, restoration and enforcement programs and advocacy. Projects include teaching schoolchildren about whales, testing water running from Newport Beach storm drains and working with nursery companies to reduce pollutants in runoff. Publishes a magazine to promote its mission.
| Tourism &Access | |
The city is hoping to transform San Clemente into a regional magnet for visitors, the city’s director of public works and economic development David Lund said in March 2007.
- More than two miles of a new coastal trail opened in February, and the city refurbished its downtown more than two years ago to lure visitors.
- Plans to boost tourism include an upscale hotel, retail and residential project and possibly partnering with developers of Costa Mesa’s The Camp and The Lab to build a retail and restaurant center on the north side of town.
- Click herefor information about access to smaller beaches within San Clemente.
Information
- City of San Clemente: 949-361-8200
- OC Beach Info
- San Onofre State Beach: 949-492-4872
Beach Restrictions
- No dogs allowed on any city beach. San Onofre State Beach allows dogs in two areas.
- Dogs must be on a 6-foot leash when being walked on a trail adjacent to the beach.
- No alcohol on beaches and pier.
- Surfing on city beaches is only allowed in designated areas: At T Street, surfing is prohibited from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends during the summer. Surfing is permitted on the north side of the pier year-round and at 204, which is between Mariposa Point and North Beach.
- Camping is prohibited on beaches within San Clemente city limits. Camping is permitted at the San Onofre State Beach.
Annual Visitors
More than 2.7 million people visited San Clemente city beaches in 2006, and lifeguards logged 3,836 rescues. San Clemente State Beach had 913,000 visitors last year and 2,117 rescues. San Onofre State Beach had about 2.5 million visitors in 2006 and 209 rescues.
Revenue
The city hasn’t attempted to analyze the effect of tourism on the local economy since 2002, so no current information is available. Generally, San Clemente is not a tourist destination. Instead, the town serves people visiting the beach for the day. The city is home to two large timeshare developments — San Clemente Cove and Resorts International — that attract international tourists.
Tourism news
- A three-star business class hotel and retail center is planned for the Marblehead Coastal area. It will include a 600,000-square-foot shopping center with ocean views, a 130-room hotel and conference center and 313 homes near the San Diego (I-5) Freeway between Avenida Vista Hermosa and Avenida Pico. The first phase of construction, which includes the hotel, is expected to be completed in early 2009.
- The city is in talks with the developer of The Lab and The Camp shopping centers in Costa Mesa for a 65,000-square-foot restaurant and retail facility in the North Beach area.
- A meandering beach trail running from North Beach to Calafia Beach opened in February. A second phase of construction to extend a boardwalk beyond Mariposa Point, create a beach underpass and install pedestrian crossing signals is still in the works. In all, the city expects to invest well over $12 million in the trail.
Locals have walked on an unmaintained dirt trail along the same stretch for years, crossing railroad tracks illegally at random points. The new trail, made largely of decomposed granite, enhances safety and includes access for people with disabilities.
- About a year and a half ago, the city spent some $3 million refurbishing the downtown, adding landscaping and upscale restaurants, as a way to lure visitors.
| Water Quality | |
Ocean water quality consistently has been very good at San Clemente during dry weather, although discharges from storm drains can mar the near-shore ocean after rains. San Clemente has lost much sand over the years, often to large winter swells that strip sand from the beach. It was once replenished by San Juan Creek, but modern development has sealed much of the creek in concrete and reduced the flow of sand. Sand replenishment programs have helped keep beaches stable. A recent report on ocean water quality from the Orange County Health Care Agency.
| Wildlife | |
Just south of San Clemente and the Orange County line, San Onofre Creek empties into the ocean, and the streamside woodlands there are home to a spectacular variety of birds, including yellow-breasted chats, red-winged blackbirds and several species of swallow. Yellowfin tuna can be caught on the fishing piers, along with mahi mahi, a warm-water species that usually doesn’t live much farther north. Tidewater gobies, an endangered fish, inhabit the creek mouth, and steelhead trout have been known to pass through on their way upstream or out to sea. Activists are worried that the proposed Foothill South toll road could disrupt water flow in the creek, especially during construction, although toll road builders say they can design the project to avoid harmful effects.
Did you know?
All city beaches have banned smoking on the sand, with San Clemente the first to crack down in March 2004. Recently, the county decided to not support a ban, so smoking is allowed on county-run beaches, and the state has yet to impose a ban on its beaches.
