Where does a San Clemente beach walk end now? For more than a year, the answer was the pier. Construction crews and a chain-link fence closed the stretch north of it.
The fence came down on Friday, Oct. 9. When it did, walkers got back more than a missing segment. The north end of the trail now has a destination that didn't exist when the closure started: Miramar Food Hall, inside the restored 1938 Miramar Theatre, with coffee poured until 10 p.m. Before the closure, the trail had one center at the pier. Now it has two, and they keep different hours.
What Replaced the Mariposa Bridge
The Orange County Register reported that the trail closed after a 2024 landslide knocked down the Mariposa Bridge. The bridge is gone for good. The rebuilt path now runs alongside the railroad, below a catchment wall nearly 1,400 feet long and 10 to 20 feet tall. The wall is meant to keep rock, soil and debris from the bluff off the tracks, and it is colored to match the hillside.
The Register put the whole project at $93 million. About $24 million of that went to removing the bridge and reconnecting the trail, and construction began in September 2025. OCTA CEO Darrell Johnson told the San Clemente Times that the work took about 13 months. Much of it was underground drainage that nobody walking past could see. He called the result "a down payment on the future of our investment in the rail corridor in San Clemente."
The Register spoke with Desiree Sarnowski and Tanya Larson, who walk the full 2.3 miles from the south end of town to the north. They found the fence down on reopening morning, and Larson said they texted their walking group right away. "We'll miss the cute little iconic rickety bridge," she said. "But how beautiful this is? It is amazing. I feel spoiled." Mayor Rick Loeffler, speaking to the same paper, said the trail is "the treasure of San Clemente, going from one end to the other."
The North End Gained a Destination While It Was Fenced Off
Miramar Food Hall opened on June 18, 2026, while the trail between the pier and North Beach was still closed. That gave it close to four months of business before anyone could walk to it along the water from the pier or from Calafia.
The building has a long history in town. Miramar's own history page describes it as a 1938 Spanish Colonial Revival landmark that housed the Miramar Theatre and the San Clemente Bowling Center, then sat closed for more than three decades. Restoration started in 2020. The Register reported that Tiger Hospitality Group operates the hall, which has 15 food vendors, two bars, communal seating and a patio with ocean views.
Many of the vendors are new to Orange County or brand new:
- Hen Haus, a new concept from Thyda Sieng, who founded Long Beach's Fire Bird Nashville Hot Chicken
- MOTO Pizza, the Seattle shop known for pies that mix Detroit, New York and Roman styles with Filipino influences, plus MOTO Swirl soft serve
- It's Allll Rice, a fried rice concept in its first brick-and-mortar location
- The Pita, from the husband-and-wife owners of San Clemente's Rocket Fizz soda and candy shop
- Immersion Coffee Co., which started as the Manivela Coffee Truck and has shops in San Diego's Little Italy and La Jolla
The rest of the lineup includes Cosmos Burger, El Puerto Street Tacos, Graciously Thai, La Vida, Lobster Lab, Norigiri, RolledUp SC, Sidelines Sandwiches and Egg&Out. Most of these brands come from Carlsbad, Oceanside, Temecula and San Diego. The north end of the trail now leads to a sampler of North County San Diego food.
The Trail Runs on Two Clocks
The opening hours at each end are what give the trail two centers. Near the pier, Bear Coast Coffee on Avenida Victoria opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 4 p.m. At North Beach, Immersion Coffee Co. inside Miramar opens at 8 a.m. and keeps pouring until 10 p.m. The trail has its own clock too. The City of San Clemente keeps the trail open from 4 a.m. to midnight, except the southern segment from the T-Street restrooms to Calafia, which opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m.
| Stop | Location on the trail | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| T-Street to Calafia segment | South end | 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Rest of the Beach Trail | North Beach to T-Street | 4 a.m. to midnight |
| Bear Coast Coffee, 618 1/2 Avenida Victoria | Across from the pier | 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily |
| Miramar Food Hall | North Beach | 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily |
| Miramar bar | North Beach | 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily |
| Egg&Out at Miramar | North Beach | 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily |
| Immersion Coffee Co. at Miramar | North Beach | 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily |
On these hours, the pier is the early stop. Bear Coast opens two hours before anything at Miramar, so a walker who starts at Calafia when the southern gate opens at 6 can have coffee at the pier at the halfway point. The north end runs later. After Bear Coast closes at 4, coffee and a meal on the trail come from Miramar, and its bar stays open until 10. The northern segment of the trail stays open two hours past the southern one, so an evening walk out of North Beach has more time than an evening walk out of Calafia.
The rules haven't changed with the reopening. The city bans e-bikes of every class on the trail and the beach, even with the motor off. Dogs must be on a leash of 6 feet or shorter and are not allowed on the sand. Everyone has to use the designated railroad crossings. With the rebuilt path now running directly beside the tracks, that last rule applies along a longer stretch than before.
The Middle of the Walk Has a Busy November
Casa Romantica sits on Avenida Granada above the trail, just north of the pier. On the reopened route, it is on the way to Miramar. Its November calendar includes two daytime events that fit a walk:
- Very Merry Marketplace, Sunday, Nov. 15, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Local artisans sell handmade goods. Admission is $8, and children and members get in free.
- Coffee Concert with High Tide Coffee, Friday, Nov. 20, 10 to 11 a.m. in the Main Salon, featuring Brandon Keeley. Admission is $8, and members get in free.
The Very Merry Marketplace runs Sunday, Nov. 15, so a morning walk from either end can include it. The coffee concert on Friday, Nov. 20, also falls between Bear Coast's opening and Miramar's lunch hour. Casa Romantica is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, according to its November–December calendar.
At the pier itself, The Fisherman's Restaurant & Bar has posted a Thanksgiving 2026 notice with reservation details on its website.
Thanksgiving Week Brings the Year's Highest Tides
The California King Tides Project lists Nov. 24 to 26, 2026, as statewide king tide dates. That window includes Thanksgiving Day. The next dates are Dec. 23 to 25 and Jan. 21 to 22, 2027. King tides are the highest predicted tides of the year. The project asks people to photograph the shoreline during them and post the photos to its statewide map, which tracks how high water reaches the coast. Times vary by location, and the project's tide map gives the local schedule.
The project also notes that this winter's El Niño conditions could push actual water levels above the predictions. It asks visitors to follow local safety guidance and obey any emergency closures. Late October showed how much the tides matter on this coast. The San Clemente Times reported that Metrolink stopped Orange County Line trains between Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo and Oceanside from Oct. 26 through 30 because of that week's high tides. A Thanksgiving walk on the new trail along the tracks will be right next to the water the project is asking people to document. Any posted closure on the trail that week takes priority over the walk.
At West Life Realty, we follow changes like the Mariposa reopening because they shape how San Clemente works day to day, from where a morning walk ends to when the north end of town stays open. If you've wondered how changes along the coast, from the new catchment wall to the revived Miramar block, affect what your home is worth, get your instant home valuation and we'll talk it through with you.
