San Clemente Beaches

San Clemente’s Coastline at a Glance

San Clemente has about five miles of coastline, with 15 public ways down to the sand, according to the city. The city beaches run from North Beach past T-Street to Lasuen, the state beach holds Riviera, Calafia and the south end, and gated Cyprus Shore and Cotton’s Point sit between the state beach and Trestles. The Beach Trail ties the public beaches together for 2.3 miles, from North Beach to Calafia, beside the rail line the Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink trains use. This guide runs north to south, then covers the rules, the trail and the neighborhoods closest to the water.

San Clemente Beaches From North to South

Poche Beach

Poche sits at Pacific Coast Highway and Camino Capistrano, on the line between Dana Point and San Clemente; official sources disagree on which city holds it. You reach the sand by a stairway and an underpass beneath the highway and the tracks. The beach is the outlet of the Prima Deshecha watershed, and the City of San Clemente is designing a system to divert its dry-weather runoff before it reaches the sand. Between Poche and North Beach, about a mile of private beachfront belongs to the Shorecliffs Beach Club and Capistrano Shores, though the beach seaward of the mean high tide line stays public.

North Beach

North Beach, at 1850 Avenida Estacion, shares its metered lot with the Metrolink station, so you can ride the train to the sand. It has a fire ring, restrooms and the start of the Beach Trail. Above it on Avenida Pico stands the Ole Hanson Beach Club, a 1928 pool building listed on the National Register of Historic Places: it is a city pool with a 25-yard lap pool and a lesson pool, not a private stretch of beach. The beach itself runs narrow; the city added about 37,000 cubic yards of sand here in 2024.

Linda Lane

Linda Lane, at 400 Linda Lane, pairs a metered beach lot and restrooms with a park that has a play area, lawn and picnic tables, linked to the sand by an underpass. Leashed dogs may use the park, not the beach below it. Linda Lane marks the north edge of the Pier Bowl.

San Clemente Pier and the Pier Bowl

The pier, at 622 Avenida Del Mar, dates to 1928 and reaches about 1,300 feet into the ocean, the length the California Coastal Commission gives. It holds restaurants, a bait and tackle shop and a lifeguard tower, and stays open from 4 a.m. to midnight. The beach on either side is the center of the Pier Bowl, with fire rings, barbecues, restrooms and the Marine Safety headquarters just north of the pier. The Amtrak and Metrolink platform sits at the base of the pier, and a pedestrian tunnel passes under the tracks.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the city widened the beach between Linda Lane and T-Street in 2023 and 2024, the first placement of a federal project planned to renourish this stretch every five to six years. Up the bluff, the Pier Bowl’s roughly 56 acres hold Casa Romantica, hotels, restaurants and homes within a walk of the sand.

T-Street

T-Street, at 339 W. Paseo De Cristobal, is one of the city’s main surf spots, just south of the pier. A footbridge crosses the tracks, and the beach has restrooms, a cafe, a fire ring, metered parking and street parking. In summer the city closes the water to board surfing here through the middle of the day, so check the posted hours before you paddle out.

Riviera and Calafia

Riviera and Calafia are part of the state beach, so State Parks rules apply. Riviera, reached by stairs from Plaza a La Playa, has street parking only and no facilities, and it is popular with surfers. Calafia, at the foot of Avenida Calafia, is the south end of the Beach Trail, with restrooms and a parking lot off the same entrance road as the state beach. The Calafia beach cafe building has been empty since 2019; State Parks took proposals for a new restaurant operator in 2026.

San Clemente State Beach

California State Parks runs San Clemente State Beach, at 225 W. Calafia Avenue: about a mile of sand below a campground of 160 sites on the bluff, roughly 150 feet above the water. Two trails follow ravines down from the day-use parking area to the beach, and both are steep. The Nature Trail and the Butterfly Trail run along the edge of the park. Swimmers, bodysurfers and surf fishers use the beach, and tide pools appear on the rocks at the north end at low tide. Day use cost $15 a vehicle, $20 on summer weekends and holidays, as of October 2026, and fires are allowed only in State Parks’ designated fire rings; makeshift fire pits are banned.

Cyprus Shore and Cotton’s Point

South of the state beach, the gated communities of Cyprus Shore, Cyprus Cove and Cotton’s Point Estates have no public path to the sand. Residents of Cyprus Shore and Cyprus Cove reach their beach by a private road and an underpass beneath the tracks. Cotton’s Point Estates, just south of Cyprus Shore, is the southernmost part of the city and borders San Diego County, and its point break sits at the north end of the Trestles surf zone.

Trestles

Trestles sits just past the city limit in San Onofre State Beach, in San Diego County, on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton land that State Parks leases. San Onofre State Beach draws almost 2.5 million visitors a year, and Lower Trestles is set to host surfing at the 2028 Olympic Games. No road reaches the beach: you walk in on the trail from the lot at Cristianitos Road and El Camino Real, or take the 1.5-mile Nature Trail from San Mateo Campground, passing under the railroad trestle that gave the breaks their name.

The San Clemente Beach Trail

The Beach Trail runs 2.3 miles from North Beach to Calafia, with stops at the pier and T-Street. It runs on the ocean side of the tracks from Corto Lane to T-Street and inland of them elsewhere, so use the marked crossings: walking in the rail corridor brings a citation. A bluff slide at Mariposa Point stopped the trains in January 2024, and the Orange County Transportation Authority built a catchment wall of nearly 1,400 feet there; the trail reopened in October 2026. Leashed dogs may walk the trail, e-bikes are banned on all of it, and bicycles are barred between the pier and the Trafalgar Canyon bridge in summer.

Beach Rules: Dogs, Fires, Parking and Lifeguards

Dogs. Dogs are banned on the city’s beaches and the pier at all hours, and on the sand at the state beach and Trestles. The Beach Trail and the city’s parks allow them on a leash.

Fires and alcohol. City beaches allow fires only in the city’s fire rings or in self-contained barbecues off the sand. Alcohol, glass and smoking are banned on the sand.

Parking. The city meters its lots at North Beach, Linda Lane, the Pier Bowl and T-Street from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., and an annual city permit covers the meters. The state beach charges its own day-use fee.

Lifeguards. San Clemente Marine Safety staffs the city beaches from 8 a.m. to dusk every day of the year, with more towers open in summer. Rip currents cause most rescues, so swim near an open tower. City beaches are open from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Living Near the Beach in San Clemente

The neighborhoods closest to the sand differ more than the distance suggests. North Beach sits around the train station and Avenida Pico, and Sea Summit rises on the Marblehead bluff above it, at the north end of the city. The Pier Bowl puts condos and homes on the slope above the pier, within a walk of Avenida Del Mar. Southwest San Clemente covers the streets near T-Street, Riviera and the state beach, and the gated Cyprus Shore and Cotton Point hold the south end, with Shorecliffs at the north edge behind its private beach club.

San Clemente’s beaches lose sand: dams and development have largely cut off the natural supply, so the city, the Army Corps and the transportation authority all place sand to hold the shoreline. Buyers of homes near the bluff or the tracks should read the Natural Hazard Disclosure, which shows whether a home sits in a mapped landslide or flood zone (many reports also add the state’s tsunami maps), and ask about any erosion work near the property. See the ocean-view homes for sale in San Clemente or the full San Clemente search.

Oceanfront Homes for Sale in San Clemente

These are the six newest San Clemente listings that their agents mark as oceanfront or beachfront in the MLS. See every one on the San Clemente oceanfront homes page.

More About San Clemente

Our San Clemente real estate page covers every community and its homes for sale, living in San Clemente covers the climate, commute and daily life, and the San Clemente housing market page tracks prices month by month. Compare the city with Dana Point and Laguna Beach, or read selling a home in San Clemente. Realatrends Real Estate has sold homes on the south Orange County coast since 1983; talk with us about homes near the beach.

Frequently Asked Questions About San Clemente Beaches

Are dogs allowed on San Clemente beaches?

No. San Clemente bans dogs on its beaches and the pier at all hours, and dogs are not allowed on the sand at San Clemente State Beach or Trestles. Leashed dogs may use the Beach Trail and the city’s parks.

Is Trestles in San Clemente?

No. Trestles is in San Onofre State Beach, in San Diego County, just south of the San Clemente city limit. You reach it on foot from Cristianitos Road; no road goes to the beach.

How long is the San Clemente Beach Trail?

The trail runs 2.3 miles, from North Beach to Calafia, past the pier and T-Street. It reopened in October 2026 after the rail protection work at Mariposa Point.

Where do you park for the San Clemente Pier?

The city’s metered lots and street meters around the Pier Bowl serve the pier, metered from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. You can also arrive by train: the Amtrak and Metrolink platform sits at the foot of the pier. Check rider alerts first, since coastal work sometimes pauses service.

Which San Clemente beaches have fire rings?

The city lists fire rings at North Beach, the pier beach and T-Street. City beaches allow fires only in the city’s fire rings or in barbecues off the sand, and the state beach allows them only in its designated fire rings.