Save Our Beaches San Clemente

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San Clemente, CA
Save Our Beaches San Clemente

Our mission is simple: to restore and preserve San Clemente’s beaches through practical, cost-effective, nature-based solutions.

05/20/2026

🌊 Volunteers Needed at the Pier!

With the Sand & Fire Initiative signature campaign officially wrapped up, we’re shifting our focus back to community outreach and education — and we’d love your help.

Join us at the San Clemente Pier every other Sunday from 9–11 AM for our outreach pop-ups featuring the crowd-favorite “Where in the World” sand quiz 🏖️🌎

It’s a fun way to connect with the community, spread awareness, and support local beach preservation efforts.

Interested in volunteering? Reach out to Gary Walsh ([email protected]) to sign up for a shift!

05/15/2026

In March, the City’s consultant, Coastal Frontiers, presented the results of the Fall 2025 Shoreline Monitoring Program. The graph on the second slide summarizes the data — the blue line represents beach widths ranging from 0 to 200 feet wide; beaches are shown from north (on the right) to south (on the left).

The GREAT news is: beach widths from Linda Lane, T-Street, Lost Winds and State Beach have widened and are near their historical high widths (the historical width “envelope” is shown as the gray shaded area).

This increase in width is directly attributable to the 251,000 cubic yards of sand placed on the beach through the Federal project.

The bad news is:
Beach widths at Shorecliffs and North Beach are near their historical lows.
Beach widths at Capistrano Shores, Dije Court, and Cyprus Shores are zero.

Additionally, the third slide shows illustrates the “year over year” change in beach width, highlighting how the sand replenished near the pier has moved southwards and replenished those beaches.

We need to keep placing sand on our beaches — including the north and south sides of town — so we can maintain our beautiful beaches and beach town!

05/13/2026

🌊 The future of San Clemente’s beaches may depend on what’s hidden beneath the ocean floor.

The City’s consultant recently completed Phase 1 of the Offshore Borrow Site Study, focused on identifying high-quality sand deposits close to San Clemente that could support future beach nourishment projects.

After exploring multiple locations across Orange County, the most promising sites were found offshore from:

• San Onofre State Beach
• Newport Beach (Santa Ana River)
• Huntington Beach
• Surfside-Sunset (potentially)

Unfortunately, no suitable sand deposits were found directly offshore from San Clemente, Dana Point, or San Mateo Point.

City Council has approved Phase 2 of the study, with additional sampling scheduled for Summer 2026 and a final report expected by December 2026.

Protecting our coastline takes long-term planning, research, and community support — and we’ll continue sharing updates as they come in.

05/11/2026

Another Sunday on the pier 🌊☀️

Don’t forget, we’re out at the pier every other Sunday from 9–11 AM! Stop by, say hi, and play our resident favorite: “Guess the Sand” for a chance to win a free shirt 👕🏖️

04/16/2026

Breaking News: OCTA has agreed to place 150,000 cubic yards of sand on the Cyprus Shores beach at the south end of town. This is mitigation required by the Coastal Commission for the loss of beach caused by OCTA's placement of 20,000+ tons of riprap on this beach.

When we first started our advocacy, OCTA was proposing to pay the Commission $250,000 as "in lieu" mitigation fees" and walk away from the destruction caused by these boulders. They had already successfully negotiated with the federal government for the same amount -- and the feds used that money to remove weeds from a river in San Diego County.

SOB-SC has relentlessly lobbied the Coastal Commission to require placement of sand at the location where the harm occurred. We have met with Commission staff, CEO, and Commissioners numerous times. We have advocated at almost every single Coastal Commission meeting -- monthly -- for the last four years. Advocacy works!

This project represents approximately $15M+ (depending on the borrow site situation). We understand that the sand will be obtained via offshore dredging and placed along 1000 feet of shoreline north of the rock revetment (so roughly north of the Cyprus Shores pedestrian access tunnel). The timeline has not been determined, but OCTA is slating 2027/28 for the other sand placement projects. The Coastal Commission has already issued emergency permits for the projects and the Army Corps has promised an expedited permitting process.

Of course, we will be advocating for continued maintenance of this beach, so while this battle is won, more work remains to be done.

More info to come in the future. Meanwhile, join us to advocate against more riprap being placed on our beaches -- together our voices are being heard!

03/01/2026

The recent storms with northwest and southwest winds and associated swell have made a significant impact on beach width in South San Clemente. These images show the narrowing of the beach in the State Park/Cypress Shores region yesterday afternoon, along with a 4-6’ berm.

Check out how the small strip of beach remaining in front of Cypress Cove scours away to zero, right where the expanded boulder revetment juts out.

It’s not uncommon for large amounts of sand to be washed into the nearshore area during winter, returning to the beach in Spring and Summer via milder southerly swells and current, but some is typically lost to deep water. The loss here appears extreme because the beach was already narrow due to long term erosion.

Up until recent decades the lost sand was replaced naturally via rivers, streams and bluff erosion, but inland blockages have dramatically lessened this replacement flow; ergo, the need for significant beach replenishment to replenish the overall sand system. Save Our Beaches-SC is keenly focused on replenishment efforts to help solve this unnatural imbalance.

Be sure to stay tuned… we’ll continue keeping our community informed about decisions that impact our beaches.

02/25/2026

🪨Here’s what happened at Riviera Beach: several years ago, rock (riprap) was placed over about 1,600 square feet of beach sand without proper approval at the time. The Coastal Commission has now approved that placement retroactively.

As part of that approval, OCTA must pay $300,000 to the City to support future work identifying offshore sand sources for replenishment.

SOB-SC raised concerns about how the decision was handled and the lack of public discussion before approval.

We’ll continue keeping our community informed about decisions that impact our beaches.

02/23/2026

🚨 Cyprus Shores Update
The Coastal Commission approved the emergency placement of an additional 360 tons of riprap at Cyprus Shores — adding to the 24,000+ tons already placed.

SOB-SC representatives testified against the permit. It was approved without discussion from Commissioners.

Cyprus Shores serves as vital public access between San Clemente and San Onofre State Beach — and preserving beach width here is critical.

02/20/2026

Volunteer Spotlight: David Belove 🌟 David grew up surfing in Santa Cruz and, after a 44-year career in high-tech sales and marketing, retired to San Clemente with his wife, Laurie. Now living in Talega, they’ve fully embraced the active, outdoor lifestyle that makes our community so special.

Soon after settling here, David recognized two urgent challenges facing our city: accelerating beach erosion and increasing wildfire risk. We’re incredibly grateful for David's dedication, leadership, and enthusiasm!

02/18/2026

🌊 OCTA Activity Update: OCTA continues major work along our coastline — with both positive and troubling impacts.

✅ Construction of the Landslide Debris Retention Wall on the east side of the tracks at Mariposa is ongoing. The project includes reconstruction of the Pedestrian Trail — helping maintain public access.

⚠️ At the same time, additional rock armoring decisions raise concerns about long-term beach loss.
We’ll continue to keep our community informed.

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San Clemente, CA

Website

https://www.saveourbeachessc.org/

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