San Clemente State Beach
San Clemente, CA
San Clemente State Beach offers both day-use sand and a bluff-top campground with genuine ocean views, reached from Calafia Beach Park's controlled pedestrian crossing over the railroad tracks. It's a quieter, more residential stretch than the city beach further north.
A genuinely quieter alternative to the city beach with real bluff-top camping, worth it for the views alone.
How we score beachesThe bluff-top campground here has real ocean views, worth booking ahead if camping is part of the plan.
A fee lot serves the day-use area; camping requires a separate reservation.
A controlled pedestrian crossing at Calafia Beach Park connects the bluff to the sand.
Dogs are not allowed on the sand or in the water at San Clemente State Beach, though leashed dogs can use the multi-use trail and parking lots.
Orange County's water takes until late summer to really warm up, climbing into the low 70s by September.
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