San Clemente Beach Trail Reopening: Your Mariposa Point Walking Guide
October 15, 2026
October 15, 2026
The San Clemente Beach Trail has had a gap north of the pier since January 2024, when a landslide destroyed the Mariposa Bridge and cut the route in two. The Orange County Transportation Authority says that gap closes this week. A ribbon-cutting is set for 9 a.m. Friday, October 9, at Linda Lane Park, with remarks from transportation and community leaders followed by a ceremonial reopening of the trail.
Plenty of coverage will call this a repaired walking path. The bigger change is what the trail now connects. While the route was cut, North Beach got a new gathering place. Miramar Food Hall opened June 18 with more than a dozen vendors, and it sat on the far side of the gap from the Pier all summer. Starting this week, San Clemente's two busiest food-and-gathering ends sit on one walk along the sand.
If you knew the old crossing, the first thing you'll notice is that it's gone. OCTA took out the large steel bridge and leveled the trail so it meets the rest of the 2.3-mile path, which runs from North Beach to Calafia State Beach. The new stretch is a flat, ground-level path. Rock boulders line the ocean side, and a catchment wall runs along the bluff side.
The wall is nearly 1,400 feet long, and it's there to keep falling rock, soil and debris off the railroad tracks. It runs from the El Portal Beach access to Linda Lane. Construction started in September 2025. The whole Mariposa Point project is estimated at about $93 million. About $24 million of that went to the trail itself, paid for mostly with state and federal money.
OCTA Chair Jamey M. Federico described the project this way in the agency's October 6 announcement:
"This project is another example of OCTA delivering our commitment to protect this vital rail connection while also returning a popular recreational amenity to the community."
On timing, OCTA said public access might resume midweek once final work is done, and Friday's ceremony is the official reopening. If you want to walk the new section before Friday, check for open fencing at El Portal or Linda Lane before you head out.
The 2024 slide did more than break a bridge. It cut off the end of town where the historic Miramar block was being rebuilt. In January, the San Clemente Times reported that the beach path near North Beach was still closed while the wall and new pathway went in. That same report said the trail once ran continuously from the San Clemente Pier to North Beach.
Then Miramar Food Hall opened in June, while the gap was still there. We covered how it shifted the town's summer food scene north in our San Clemente summer guide. The hall's site now lists 15 vendors:
The hours suit a trail walk at either end of the day. The hall is open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Egg&Out serves 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Immersion Coffee Co. stays open until 10 p.m. For a sunrise walk, coffee waits at the north end. For a sunset walk, dinner does.
With the Mariposa section back, the whole route is one continuous line again, assuming the south end is clear. The City's Beach Trail page lists North Beach, the Pier, T-Street and Calafia as its named stops. Here's how it lays out heading south:
Hours change partway down. The City lists the trail as open from 4 a.m. to midnight, except for the stretch from the south T-Street restrooms to Calafia Beach, which is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. If you're out on an early run or a late walk, it's easiest to turn around at T-Street.
One caveat about the far south end. In February, the City closed the trail near Lasuen Beach because of possible slope movement, with weather in the forecast. We haven't found a later notice saying that section reopened. The City's Alert Center currently shows no active alerts. Check it before you plan a full North Beach to Calafia walk.
The rules make the trail a walking path first, and that matters more now that more people may use it to get between the two ends. Per the City of San Clemente:
Because e-bikes are banned, getting from the food hall to the Pier on the trail means walking or riding a pedal bike. That pace fits a stretch that now runs along a 1,400-foot wall with the ocean on the other side.
The rail line OCTA has spent years protecting also makes the trail easier to use one way. Metrolink's San Clemente station is at the North Beach end. San Clemente Pier station is in the middle of the route but open only on weekends. On a Saturday or Sunday, you can walk one direction between North Beach and the Pier and take the train back.
Parking is also split between the two stations. The North Beach station lot has 142 general spaces, 13 of them accessible. Selected commuter spaces cost $1 a day if you arrive between 4 and 9 a.m., then $1.50 an hour after 9 a.m. The Pier station has 144 general spaces and two accessible spaces nearby, at $1.50 an hour from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, holidays included. For a weekday walk that starts before 9 a.m., the North Beach lot costs less.
Work along the corridor isn't finished. The Register reports that OCTA has emergency projects underway at several other spots in San Clemente, including riprap repair and up to 690,000 cubic yards of sand to buffer the tracks. In September, the OCTA board declared an emergency along the corridor to speed up that work ahead of the El Niño conditions forecast for this winter. That makes October and November a calm window to walk the newly reconnected route before winter weather arrives.
These events are within a short walk of the trail.
Casa Romantica, above the trail near the Pier. The Casa Romantica calendar lists:
Downtown, up the hill from the Pier. The City's fourth annual Día de los Muertos celebration is Monday, November 2, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Max Berg Plaza Park, 1100 Calle Puente. A community altar will be on display October 30 through November 3.
North Beach. The food hall is open every day, which makes it a dependable start or finish for any of these.
If the reconnected trail has you thinking about which end of town you'd like your mornings to start from, I'm glad to walk through the North Beach and Pier Bowl pockets with you, at whatever pace suits you. You can reach me through Erica Lupori or my San Clemente neighborhood page. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
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