San Clemente State Beach

We arrived in San Clemente, California which is in Orange County on the Southern California coast. It's approximately half way between Los Angeles and San Diego. It is adjacent to the Camp Pendleton Marine Base, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. We feel really fortunate that we were selected to be Camp Hosts here for the next three months. What a gorgeous setting.

San Clemente State Beach is located  in the town of San Clemente and is one of the most popular beaches in California. The mile long beach stretches between the ocean surf and the foot of a steep bluff. Activities include hiking camping, swimming, surfing, snorkeling, beach combing, surf fishing, biking and whale watching. The pier is a short 1.25 mile walk along a wide easy trail along the beach.  Trestles surf beach is 2 miles south. 

Once we arrived, we met our new boss, the Camp Host Coordinator and received our welcome package. Once we had our fingerprinting done and the background check, we were ready to get on with our duties. For those who have wondered about camp hosting, you'll find it a wonderful opportunity to give back to some of the communities and parks you've taken for granted for so many years. I will devote an entire page to camp hosting in the coming days. Be sure to look for it. I'll also give you some pointers about questions to ask and what to look for so you'll find the right 'fit' when applying. Sometimes the work is tedious and boring, other times it's hectic and exciting. It's what you make it. We find it extremely rewarding. And if you get a great boss, it makes it doubly so.

Once we received our packets, we had to get our Park licenses to operate their vehicles. Here, Debi is impressing her instructor on the operation of the diesel Gator. I was following in another Gator. For those wondering, I had stopped to take this picture. (wink)

Licenses in my pocket, rig hooked up and everything put in it's proper place, it's time to relax with a beverage and enjoy the view. The campground sits on a large bluff overlooking the Pacific.

Looking south towards Cotton Point and the Trestles. Amtrak operates rail service along the beach between Los Angeles and San Diego. If you look really closely, you can see the tracks in the foreground of this picture. The Trestles is a world renown surfing beach. Cotton Point is the home of the Western White House as dubbed by Richard Nixon.

Looking north toward the pier. I have a closer shot below. The pier is 1.25 miles north of the park. San Clemente State Beach has 160 camping sites, 69 or which are full hookup sites with W/E/S. They can accommodate any size rigs despite what their web site says. It is big rig friendly with wide roadways and ample room in the sites. All hookup sites are pull thrus.

You can see the San Clemente Pier on the right side of this picture. The pier is 1296 feet long. It has been damaged several times during massive storms. It was last rebuilt in 1985 and is one of the few remaining all wood structures. There are restaurants, cafes and ice cream shops surrounding the pier bowl. It also serves as a stop for the Amtrak rail service.

The remaining pictures need no introductions. They were all taken from the campground and speak for themselves.

 My favorite picture, taken across from our campsite. Life is good!