San Clemente

The Acjachemen are the Indigenous people of the area. After Father Junípero Serra founded Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1776, local people were dubbed Juaneños and were conscripted to work for the mission. The northern part of today's city was part of Rancho Boca de la Playa, granted in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico to Emigdio Véjar. The rest was in Rancho Los Desechos. The Véjar land passed to Juan Ávila in 1860, then to his son-in-law Pablo Pryor, and later to another son-in-law, Marcus A. Forster.

In 1906, Cornelio Echenique sold the land to the Goldschmidt brothers, who planned to plant vineyards. Then in 1925, Ole Hanson, a former mayor of Seattle and a major land developer, bought it. With financial help from a syndicate headed by Henry Hamilton Cotton, he designed a 2,000-acre community. He named it after San Clemente Island, which Sebastián Vizcaino had named after Saint Clement in 1602.

Hanson pictured a Mediterranean-style coastal resort for Californians tired of big-city life. San Clemente is one of the country's first master planned communities. He added a clause to deeds requiring building plans to go before an architectural review board, hoping to keep red tile roofs and white exteriors. That did not last, and the oldest parts of town have a mixed bag of styles.

He built the Beach Club, the community center, the pier and San Clemente Plaza, now Max Berg Plaza Park. The area was incorporated as a city on February 27, 1928, with a council-manager government. Hanson put it this way: "I have a clean canvas and I am determined to paint a clean picture." The city's first newspaper, El Heraldo de San Clemente, reported in June 1928 that a fire station would be paid for by popular subscription, with gifts from $6.00 to $1,500.00.

Hanson lived in a house called Casa Romantica until the Great Depression, when Bank of America foreclosed on it. The Goldschmidts bought some parcels back and built the Goldschmidt House on one of them. The San Clemente Pier was first built in 1928 and rebuilt in 1939 and 1983.

In 1969, President Richard Nixon bought part of the estate of H. H. Cotton, one of Hanson's partners. Nixon called it La Casa Pacifica, and it was nicknamed the Western White House. It sits above Trestles, one of the West Coast's best surf spots, just north of the historic surfing beach San Onofre. World leaders who visited during his presidency included Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev, Mexican President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Japanese Prime Minister Eisaku Satō and Henry Kissinger.

After resigning, Nixon retired to San Clemente to write his memoirs, then sold the house in 1980 and moved to New York City. The property has Democratic history too. Before Nixon, Cotton hosted Franklin D. Roosevelt, who came to play cards in a small outbuilding overlooking the ocean.

The pier is the best-known landmark, and the San Clemente Beach Trail starts near it and runs 2.6 miles (4.2 km) along the coast between North Beach and Calafia State Beach. Locals walk and run it daily. North of the pier is a surfers-only beach, and south of the pier no surfers are allowed. Casa Romantica, above the pier, is now owned by the city and used as a cultural center with art exhibits, and it can be rented for weddings. Other listed historic sites are the Hotel San Clemente, the Goldschmidt House, the Oscar Easley Block and the San Clemente Beach Club.

Downtown buildings carry red tile roofs, cream stucco walls and dark wood doors and windows. The oldest homes are in Southwest San Clemente, south of downtown, and in North Beach, just north of it. Southwest Riviera has new Cape Cod and modern houses, and the Lasuen district near Lost Winds beach mixes many styles with Hanson's Spanish look. The North Beach area, home to the Miramar Theatre, the Casino Building and the Ole Hanson Beach Club, has seen a revival, and the last two were renovated in 2010 and 2016.

Avenida Del Mar is the main street of the downtown village, and Leslie Park offers a view down the coast as far as Dana Point.

Surfing spots include Trestles, Lowers, Middles and Uppers, Cotton's Point, Calafia Beach Park, Riviera, Lasuens (usually called Lost Winds), The Hole, T-Street, The Pier, Linda Lane, 204, North Beach and Poche Beach. Surfing Magazine, The Surfer's Journal and Longboard Magazine are based here, and there is a large concentration of surfboard shapers and manufacturers. Pro surfers Kolohe Andino and Shane Beschen grew up in town, and Caroline Marks, a 2024 Olympic gold medalist in surfing, is on the notable residents list.

San Clemente High School has won 6 out of 7 of the most recent NSSA national surfing titles. Trestles will host the surfing competition for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Tourism is a big part of the economy. Companies headquartered in town include the medical device makers Cameron Health and ICU Medical, the fast casual chain Pick Up Stix, and Rainbow Sandals. Many residents work as civilian employees at the Marine Corps base Camp Pendleton, just over the San Diego County line.

Shoppers go to Avenida Del Mar and the Outlets at San Clemente, which has big retail and food brands and a movie theater. A free trolley runs between the pier and the Outlets, stopping along Avenida Del Mar and El Camino Real, daily from Memorial Day to September and weekends year-round. The city offered free trolley service to residents starting in 2016.

The 2020 census found a median age of 43.9 years. There were 24,490 households, and 29.6% had children under 18. Married couples made up 57.5% of households, and the average household size was 2.61. Of 26,647 housing units, 91.9% were occupied, with 64.0% owner-occupied and 36.0% rented. The 2010 census counted 63,522 people.

The 2023 estimate for median household income was $134,735. Famous residents have ranged from actress Gloria Swanson to filmmaker Rian Johnson, who set his 2005 film Brick at San Clemente High School.

Interstate 5 runs through the city and has 7 exits here. John Wayne Airport is 25 miles north. San Clemente has two train stations, San Clemente station near North Beach and San Clemente Pier station. Metrolink's Orange County Line and Inland Empire-Orange County Line serve both, though Wikivoyage lists service only on weekends. Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner stops at the pier, with two trains south in the late morning and two north in the early evening, though most of its 12 daily trips through the area do not stop.

The Orange County Transportation Authority operates bus service. Walking around the center is possible, though the slope from the beach and pier up to Avenida Del Mar is noticeable. Free 2-hour parking is available around the village, but expect to pay near the beach.

The Capistrano Unified School District serves the city with five elementary schools, three middle schools and one high school, plus a virtual K-12 school, Capistrano Connections Academy. Las Palmas Elementary is known for its dual immersion program. Clarence Lobo Elementary, opened in 1994, is named for Clarence H. Lobo, chief of the Acjachemen people from 1946 to 1985, and was the first school in California named for an Indigenous leader.

San Clemente High School offers an International Baccalaureate program and many AP courses, and its groups have performed at Carnegie Hall. Since Avenida La Pata was extended in 2016, some students attend San Juan Hills High School. The nearest public college is Saddleback College in Mission Viejo.