San Clemente Beach Trail: North Beach to Pier Dining and Closures

Between June and September, both ends of San Clemente's coastal walk gained a place to eat. Miramar Food Hall opened at North Beach on June 18. Hook & Cook had its ribbon cutting at the end of the San Clemente Pier on Sept. 4. In between, the Beach Trail from El Portal to Linda Lane is still fenced off behind OCTA's new catchment wall. Then Hurricane Marie swells reached the coast in September, damaged the pier and flooded the beach underpasses. For now the two new spots are two separate outings. Once the trail segment reopens this fall, they become the start and finish of one walk.

The North Beach End Reopened After More Than Three Decades

Miramar Food Hall sits in a building that is older than most of what surrounds it. The Miramar property opened in 1938 as the San Clemente Theatre, designed by architect Clifford A. Balch in the Spanish Colonial Revival style tied to the city's early landmarks. The San Clemente Bowling Center was added next door in 1946. The Miramar closed in 1992 and stood vacant for more than 30 years.

The food hall is in the old bowling alley building. It has 12,600 square feet, an inside bar, an outside bar, ocean views and patio seating. The restored theater auditorium next door will host weddings and private events as the Miramar Event Center, operated by Wedgewood Weddings and expected to open this fall.

The hall's own site lists 150 W Avenida Pico as its address. It is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the bar runs 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Immersion Coffee Co. keeps the longest hours, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Egg&Out serves breakfast from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Before a walk south, the useful stops are:

• Immersion Coffee Co. for coffee before an early start
• Egg&Out for egg-forward burritos and sandwiches
• Norigiri for Japanese onigiri, the filled rice balls that pack easily
• Lobster Lab for lobster rolls, including a lobster grilled cheese
• MOTO Pizza for hybrid pizza that draws on Detroit, New York and Roman styles with Filipino flavors, and MOTO Swirl for vanilla soft-serve with flavor swirls
• Cosmos Burger, El Puerto Street Tacos, Graciously Thai, It's Allll Rice, La Vida, RolledUp SC, Sidelines Sandwiches, The Pita and Hen Haus, a new concept from the former owner of Long Beach's Fire Bird Nashville Hot Chicken

The Middle, Segment by Segment

The trail south of North Beach runs through OCTA's Coastal Rail Emergency Project, Area 3. Crews are building a 1,400-foot catchment wall on the bluff side of the tracks at Mariposa Point, from the El Portal beach access to Linda Lane, and restoring the San Clemente Beach Trail as part of the job. Construction started in September 2025. Going north to south, this is what you can use today:

1. North Beach parking lot to El Portal. Closed during work hours. It reopens at the end of each workday and is open all day on Sundays.
2. El Portal to Linda Lane. Closed until the project is finished. OCTA expects the restored trail to open to the public in Fall 2026.
3. Getting onto the sand. The Mariposa underpass is closed, and the Dije Court and El Portal access points are temporarily closed. The El Portal beach underpass and the Linda Lane beach underpass are open.

OCTA has not set a reopening day. Its Oct. 2 update says crews have taken down the temporary K-rail barriers next to the tracks. Landscaping, irrigation, handrail installation, trail surface preparation and site restoration are still underway. OCTA's flyer describes the finished segment as an elevated trail beside the tracks with unobstructed coastal views, a retaining wall and fencing. The flyer's "summer 2026" timeline has since been replaced by the Fall 2026 estimate on OCTA's project page.

The Pier End Has Food Again, on a Pier Waiting for Repairs

The city's Aug. 31 release announced Hook & Cook as the new concession at the end of the San Clemente Pier and scheduled a ribbon cutting for Friday, Sept. 4, at 11 a.m. Beaches, Parks and Recreation Director Samantha Wylie spoke about the location in the release:

"The end of the Pier is a special place for our community and an important part of the San Clemente experience."

The operators are San Clemente residents Nicholas and Lauren Rivard, who also run The Picnic Café on Del Mar. Their proposal beat nine others for a four-year city contract with a two-year extension option. The Register described the concept as an eatery combined with a bait and tackle shop. The proposed menu listed lobster rolls and lobster bisque, Baja-style tacos, burritos and fish and chips, plus acai bowls and breakfast burritos for early hours. For dessert it listed North Pole beignets dusted in powdered "snow" and "Shark Bite" shave ice. That menu comes from the proposal, and no current hours have been published, so check what's being served before making it your turnaround point.

The pier took the worst of September's swells. City Manager Andy Hall told the San Clemente Times the structure had lost one pylon and 17 bracings. A city staff report estimated the pier repairs alone could cost $300,000. Structural engineers found the pier safe for pedestrians and maintenance vehicles. The city has limited heavier loads, including a planned car show. Hall expects repairs in spring, after the king tides in December and January. On foot, the walk out to Hook & Cook is unaffected. The pier turns 100 in 2028.

September Showed Why the Underpasses Matter

With El Portal to Linda Lane closed, the underpasses beneath the tracks are the main way to reach the sand along this stretch, and September tested them. Hall said ocean water overtopped parts of the coastline and filled the pedestrian underpasses. Crews pumped them out, sometimes only for the next swell to fill them again the following night. Local reporting after the emergency vote described flooding at the Linda Lane and Riviera beach accesses. During a high-surf stretch, an underpass OCTA lists as open can still be under water.

The same swells shut the rail line. Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink service through San Clemente stopped on Sept. 6 and resumed Monday, Sept. 14, after stabilization work. OCTA said the worst slope erosion was near Cyprus Shore.

Sand is what has protected this stretch so far. Hall credited the city's recent beach nourishment for sand that remains around Marine Safety headquarters, the pier, Linda Lane and North Beach, which he said gave public infrastructure a buffer. On Sept. 15 the City Council declared a coastal emergency and authorized up to $1 million, including North Beach sand placement and protective berms. That vote approved the work. As of this writing, there is no report that the work is finished.

October Dates on and Near the Route

A few dates this month affect the walk or bring people onto it:

• Oct. 8–11: Carnival Colossal at Vista Hermosa Sport Park, 987 Avenida Vista Hermosa, with a sensory-friendly hour from 4 to 5 p.m. on Thursday.
• Oct. 10–11: Metrolink has a planned service suspension on the Orange County and Inland Empire–Orange County lines. Pacific Surfliner is affected too, with no alternate transportation. This is scheduled maintenance, not storm damage.
• Oct. 24: Monster Dash Fun Run downtown, with the 5K at 8 a.m. and the one-mile Creepy Crawl at 9:30 a.m.
• Oct. 27: The Red Ribbon Walk & Rally goes from Linda Lane Park to the Pier, covering the southern half of this route. The walk starts at 4 p.m. and the rally at 4:30 p.m.

When OCTA finishes the handrails and trail surface between El Portal and Linda Lane, the walk will run without a break from the Miramar's patio to the end of the Pier.

If you're thinking about how the coastline between North Beach and the Pier will look as this trail, the pier repairs and the sand work are finished, Kira Nimmer-Crabel follows these projects closely and is glad to talk through what they mean for your part of San Clemente. Schedule a consultation.