A section of the popular beach trail in San Clemente closed off a week ago following a small landslide on the bluff has been reopened, the city announced.
Walkers, joggers and bikers on Friday, Dec. 8, enjoyed the length of the seaside trail, which spans from North Beach to Calafia State Beach and offers ocean views up to the Dana Point headlands and down to the San Clemente Pier and beyond.
The bridge had been closed from Mariposa Point to El Portal on the beach trail since Thursday, Nov. 30, as the city assessed the hillside’s stability.
There have been several landslides in the area in the past year-plus, including ones at the south end of the city that caused the rail line to be closed for months because of track damage and another earlier this year at the north end of town that caused apartment buildings to be temporarily red tagged.
A hillslide at the historic Casa Romantica prompted emergency repairs by the city and the Orange County Transportation Authority.
The trail bridge has been closed in the past; the longest stint was in 2019 when a larger landslide damaged the wooden structure. The pathway was then closed for seven months while it was repaired.
The bridge along the 2.3-mile coastal walkway – created in 2007 from North Beach to San Clemente State Beach – was built because planners knew it was an area with erosion issues. It is designed for the sand to flow down under the bridge during hillslides.
San Clemente resident Gordon Selkirk has been enjoying the pathway since it opened, he said, logging hundreds, maybe even thousands of miles running the beachfront trail.
He was pleasantly surprised when he saw the gates open again on Friday.
“I’m stoked,” he said. “I can imagine loads and loads of people drive long distances just walk or run on the path…I absolutely love it.”
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