San Clemente has watched surfers at Lower Trestles for generations, and in less than two years the whole world will watch with them. This guide is for people who live here, people planning to visit, and people thinking about buying or owning a home near the coast. It sticks to what official and well-sourced reporting says today. Where something is still a plan, a hope or a single report, we say so. The Games are 20 months out, and many of the details that matter most have not been published yet.
A note on sources. We relied on California State Parks, LA28's own pages, the City of San Clemente, and local and regional reporting from LAist, Spectrum News, San Clemente Times, Orange County Business Journal and The Inertia. We read each page rather than a search summary. Several of the news stories are from 2025 and early 2026, so check the links at the end for newer updates before you plan anything around a specific day.
When is Olympic surfing at Lower Trestles?
The 2028 Summer Games open on July 14, 2028 and run through July 30. LA28 announced Lower Trestles as the surfing venue on April 15, 2025, as part of a batch of venue announcements, and the surfing competition window is July 15 to 18. Here is what the official hospitality page lists for Trestles State Beach.
| Date | Session | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, July 15, 2028 | Preliminary Round 1 (men's and women's) | 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM |
| Sunday, July 16, 2028 | Preliminary Round 2 | 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM |
| Monday, July 17, 2028 | Preliminary Round 3 | 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM |
| Tuesday, July 18, 2028 | Final sessions: quarterfinals, semifinals, bronze and gold | 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM |
One caution: surfing is decided by waves, not a clock. Surf Canada, a national federation, reported in November 2025 that July 19 and July 23 are held as contingency days, in case conditions force a delay. That is a federation report relaying the LA28 structure, and we could not find a contingency schedule on an LA28 page, so we treat it as likely but not confirmed. In practice, plan for the competition to move around inside the window.
The athletes are not chosen yet. Spectrum News reported in February 2026 that the Olympic surfers are not expected to be selected until early 2028. Surfing has been on the Olympic program since Tokyo 2020, where Italo Ferreira of Brazil and Carissa Moore of the United States won gold. At Paris 2024, held at Teahupo'o in Tahiti, Kauli Vaast of France and Caroline Marks of the United States took gold. Lower Trestles will be the third Olympic surfing venue.
Want to live close to the coast before 2028? Start with Downtown and the Pier Bowl. See Downtown & Pier Bowl
Why Lower Trestles, and who is in charge of it?
Lower Trestles, known as Lowers, is one of several breaks inside San Onofre State Beach. It sits just outside San Clemente's city limits, between the south end of town and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, and California State Parks manages it. LAist reported that the state has held a long-term lease to operate the park since 1971. That matters, because decisions about the venue are State Parks decisions, with the City, LA28 and others at the table, not the City acting alone. LAist reported that the World Surf League submitted the Olympic bid on State Parks' behalf, according to Superintendent Kevin Pearsall.
The break is a cobblestone reef that produces consistent waves that peel both left and right, which is why the World Surf League has used it for decades. The Rip Curl WSL Finals, which decide the world champions, have been held there in recent years, including 2021 and 2022 per LAist's photo captions. LAist reported that LA28 describes Lowers as having the best and most consistent waves for competition in Southern California. The name comes from the wooden railroad trestle that once crossed near the break. It has since been replaced by a concrete bridge that carries the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner.
LAist and others also note something that gets less attention in the sports coverage. The land is the ancestral home of the Acjachemen people, and the village site of Panhe lies a couple of miles inland. The Inertia reported in January 2026 that tribal partners are among the groups whose input any access change would need. If you want to understand why the approval process for anything at Trestles takes time, that history is a large part of the answer.
Can you drive to Trestles, and how will spectators get in?
You cannot drive to Trestles today, and that is unlikely to change. California State Parks says on its San Onofre State Beach page that Trestles is "inaccessible by vehicle" and is reached by a long walk from the north or south end, passing under the Trestles Bridge. The same page lists a 1.5-mile nature trail connecting San Mateo Campground to Trestles.
The most common route for everyday visitors, according to LAist and the Trestles entry on Wikipedia, is the paved path from a parking lot south of a Carl's Jr. near the Cristianitos Road area, which is about a mile each way. Another option is to park at the main San Onofre State Beach lot, often called Old Man's, to the south and walk from there, which is a longer hike. Neither of these is an Olympic plan. They are how people reach Trestles on an ordinary day.
| Route | What the sources say | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Paved path from the Cristianitos Road area | About a mile each way, paved. Most visitors use it. A pay lot is near the Carl's Jr. on Coast Highway | Check current parking fees and any lot closures before you go |
| San Onofre State Beach (Surf Beach) lot, then walk | A longer hike. State Parks lists a $15 day-use fee, $20 on special holiday, seasonal or weekend rates | State Parks notes lower dirt lots at Surf Beach were closed due to surf damage as of its October 2026 update |
| Nature trail from San Mateo Campground | 1.5 miles per State Parks | Part of the park's own trail network |
| Dirt trail across the railroad tracks | Reported as the shortcut many people use, but crossing the tracks is illegal | The Inertia reported about 200,000 crossings a year. Do not do it |
That last row is the real access problem. The Inertia, citing an Orange County Register report from January 2026, said State Parks is exploring ways to make access to Trestles safer before the Games. The article says the commonly used dirt trail requires crossing the train tracks, which is illegal, and that park officials estimate about 200,000 crossings each year. A 2010 plan for a wooden boardwalk over the tracks was estimated at $4 million and shelved because the future of the land lease was uncertain. The lease has since been renewed for 25 years, and State Parks Superintendent Scott Kibbey told the Inertia the earlier conversations have been reopened. Approvals would involve the North County Transit District, the California Public Utilities Commission, tribal partners, and the Marines and Camp Pendleton. No access plan has been announced that we could find.
Because the Olympic event is ticketed, the Inertia also reported that the dirt trail will likely be off limits during the Games unless it is upgraded to a legal path. Treat that as the expectation of one reporter, not a published rule. What we can say with confidence is that if you plan to be anywhere near the break during the competition days, you should assume you will need a ticket to get close and should not count on the informal routes.
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How many people will be on the beach, and how will the town feel?
Expect a smaller crowd on the sand than the headline suggests. The Inertia reported in January 2026 that attendance is expected to be capped at roughly 3,000 to 4,000 fans, similar to World Surf League events. Spectrum News quoted Mayor Rick Loeffler in February 2026 saying he expects fewer people on the beach at Lower Trestles than at past events there, which he attributed to security restrictions. In the mayor's words, the Olympics will be the city's biggest event ever, but the crowd on the beach will be smaller.
That is a different thing from how busy the town will be. The beach crowd is capped. The people who come for the Games but cannot get a ticket, or who want to be near the action, are not. The pier and the Beach Trail are free and open to everyone, and the mayor says visitors have few places to stay, so expect people to spread into restaurants, beaches and neighboring towns. The mayor told Spectrum News he plans several watch parties around town and expects tourism to surge. If you live in San Clemente, it is reasonable to plan for crowded weekends in mid-July 2028, the same way you would for the busiest holiday weekends, and to check the City's events calendar for road or parking changes as they are announced.
The Games also land in the middle of a larger local moment. San Clemente was incorporated in 1928, so the city turns 100 in 2028, and the mayor has tied the centennial to the Olympic summer. Expect the two to be celebrated together, though we found no published centennial calendar yet.
How do you get tickets to Olympic surfing?
Tickets are sold by LA28 through its official site, tickets.la28.org. Registration for the ticket draw opened on January 14, 2026, and was free, according to LA28 coverage from Orange County tourism and other outlets. Fans registered with a name, email and ZIP code, and registration was reported to run through March 18, 2026. Registering did not guarantee a chance to buy. LA28 drew random time slots for the sales windows and emailed those who were selected.
Several outlets (including Fox LA and AOL News syndications of LA28's announcements) reported the structure of the first sales. A locals presale ran April 2 to 6, 2026 for buyers with billing ZIP codes in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties (plus some Oklahoma counties), and a broader public sale ran April 9 to 19. Buyers selected from the draw could buy up to 12 tickets, and prices started at $28, with premium seats above $1,000. People who were not selected were entered into later drops. Those windows have already passed. We could not confirm from official pages how many surfing tickets exist, whether surfing sessions were sold in the first windows, or when the next sales open. Check tickets.la28.org directly.
LA28's hospitality site also sells premium packages for every surfing session, run through its hospitality provider. The page we read does not describe what the packages include. The page carries a warning worth repeating: buying tickets or packages outside official channels can lead to non-delivery or denied access. If a listing on a resale site or a social post looks too easy, it probably is.
| Question | Status | Where to check |
|---|---|---|
| Venue is Lower Trestles | Confirmed by LA28 and the IOC (April 2025) | LA28, LAist, Orange County Business Journal |
| Competition window July 15 to 18, 2028 | Listed on LA28's hospitality page | hospitality.la28.org |
| Contingency days July 19 and 23 | Reported by Surf Canada, not found on an LA28 page | LA28 and the international surfing federation |
| Spectator cap of about 3,000 to 4,000 | Reported by The Inertia (Jan 2026), not an official number | State Parks and LA28 announcements |
| Shuttles, parking, road closures | Not announced that we could find | City of San Clemente and State Parks |
| Legal access path across the railroad tracks | Under study by State Parks, no plan announced | California State Parks |
| Relaxed short-term rental rules in July 2028 | Mayor's stated hope, no adopted rule found | City Council and Planning Commission agendas |
| Two hotel projects finished before the Games | Mayor's hope, not a guarantee | City Planning Division |
Buying or owning near the coast ahead of 2028? Alex can walk you through the neighborhoods, the numbers and what to verify.
Where do people stay, and will the rules for short-term rentals change?
Lodging is the pinch point, and the mayor said so directly. Spectrum News reported that he described San Clemente as having few places for visitors to stay and said he hopes two hotel projects will be finished before the Games. We have not verified the status of any specific project, and building timelines in a high-interest-rate environment are uncertain, so do not plan a trip around a hotel that has not opened.
He also said the city hopes to relax its short-term rental rules, possibly for the whole month of the Olympics. We looked for any adopted change and found none. The City's own page on short-term lodging units makes no mention of the Olympics. What it does say is useful for anyone thinking about renting out a property:
- Short-term lodging means renting a dwelling for 29 or fewer consecutive days, regulated by Municipal Code Section 17.28.292 and Chapter 3.24.
- Short-term lodging units are allowed only in certain mixed-use and multi-family residential zones, and only where fewer than 20 percent of housing units are permitted for short-term use. Check the zoning for any specific property before you assume it can be rented short term.
- A one-time $140 zoning permit and an annual $105 operating license are required. The permit expires if ownership changes, if short-term use stops for a year, or if the license lapses.
- Vacation rentals pay a 10 percent transient occupancy tax, with returns due quarterly.
- A separate category, short-term apartment rentals, carries a $536 permit, an on-site owner or qualified manager, and a 300-foot spacing rule from other short-term units.
If you are thinking about renting your home for the Games, do not rely on a news story or a neighbor. Ask the City's Planning Division what applies to your address today, watch City Council and Planning Commission agendas for any temporary Olympic provision, and talk to your own attorney or tax adviser. Rules differ from city to city, so do not assume what a neighboring city does applies here.
What does this mean if you own or want to buy a home here?
We want to be honest about this one, because it is where headlines tend to overreach. A big event can raise awareness of a place, but we have no sourced data showing how the Olympics will move home prices or rents in San Clemente, and anyone who tells you with certainty is guessing. What we can offer is a practical frame.
- The Games are a window of about two weeks in July 2028. A purchase or a sale should still make sense on your own timeline, budget and the numbers for the specific neighborhood.
- Location near the coast already carries its own considerations: parking, noise on busy weekends, and how close you are to the Beach Trail, the pier and the train. Our guides to Downtown and the Pier Bowl and to choosing a beach walk through those.
- If you are selling in 2028, timing and presentation matter more than headlines. The October market update shows how we read current numbers, and you can get a plain-English estimate from our home value page.
- If you are buying, expect the process to be the same. Our buying guide covers the steps, costs beyond the price, and what to verify before you make an offer.
Environmental and infrastructure questions matter for the coastline, too. LAist and The Inertia have reported on sand loss at Trestles, with Save Our Beaches San Clemente saying the beach has narrowed by about 30 feet over ten years, and The Inertia reporting that San Clemente has placed over 190,000 cubic meters of sand so far and projects it will need about 2.3 million more over 50 years. Surfrider's coastal preservation manager told Spectrum News she worries the dunes, a protected wild space, may not withstand large crowds, while saying she is confident organizers and State Parks will protect the site. State Parks Superintendent Kevin Pearsall told LAist the Games agreement requires the area to be returned to its prior condition. Those are statements of intent, and they will be worth watching as plans become public.
How can you enjoy the Games if you do not have a ticket?
Most people will not be at the break, and that is fine, because San Clemente is built for watching the ocean. Here are the realistic options, with the caveat that no official fan zone or watch-party list has been published that we could find.
- Watch parties around town. The mayor told Spectrum News he plans several. Watch the City's events calendar and the Downtown Business Association for announcements.
- The San Clemente Pier and Pier Bowl. The pier is free and has long views of the surf line. Our beaches guide covers each stretch of sand.
- The Beach Trail. The trail runs along the coast from North Beach toward Calafia, and our Beach Trail guide covers distances, access points and the train. Remember that Trestles itself is farther south than the trail, and you cannot see the break from town.
- A good screen and a good seat. The Olympic broadcast is the one place you will see every heat, and a bar or restaurant with a big screen is the easiest game-day plan.
- Before the Games, go in person. The break is open to the public on ordinary days, subject to State Parks rules and conditions. Check the State Parks page for notices before you go.
A few practical notes for any beach day near Trestles. Alcohol is not permitted on any beach area in San Onofre State Beach, according to State Parks. Dogs are not permitted on the beach (service animals are exempt). State Parks also lists U.S. Marine Corps training from November 17 to 21, 2026, near an area called the Churches, with a 300-foot distance required from training activity. Those are 2026 notices and will change, so use the park's page before every trip.
What should you do now?
- Mark the dates, July 14 to 30, 2028 for the Games and July 15 to 18 for surfing, and treat July 19 and 23 as possible extra days.
- Register and watch for ticket drops on the official LA28 site only. Avoid resale links.
- If you live here, watch City Council agendas and the events calendar for traffic and parking plans. Those are likely to be announced closer to the date.
- If you plan to host or rent, confirm zoning, HOA rules and the City's current short-term lodging rules before you promise a date to anyone.
- If you are thinking about buying or selling, base the decision on your own plans and local numbers, and talk to someone who knows the specific streets.
- Revisit this page. We will update it as State Parks, LA28 and the City publish access, transit and rental details.
Thinking about buying or selling near the coast before 2028? Alex can walk you through the neighborhoods, the numbers and what to verify for your specific street.
For more local planning, see our guides to moving to San Clemente, the Pier Bowl versus Talega comparison, and our neighborhoods overview.
Frequently asked questions about this topic
When is Olympic surfing in San Clemente?
LA28's hospitality page lists surfing sessions at Trestles State Beach on July 15, 16, 17 and 18, 2028. The Games open on July 14. Surf Canada reports contingency days on July 19 and July 23, which we could not confirm on an LA28 page.
Is the Olympic surfing venue in San Clemente?
Lower Trestles sits just outside San Clemente's city limits on California State Parks land in San Onofre State Beach, between the south end of town and Camp Pendleton. Event listings label the location as San Clemente, and the break is a short distance south of the city.
Can I drive to Lower Trestles?
No. California State Parks says Trestles is inaccessible by vehicle. People walk in, usually along a paved path of about a mile from a lot near Cristianitos Road, or on longer routes from the park's other areas.
How many spectators will be at Lower Trestles?
The Inertia reported in January 2026 that attendance is expected to be capped at roughly 3,000 to 4,000 fans. Mayor Rick Loeffler told Spectrum News he expects fewer people on the beach than at past events. These are reports, not official numbers.
How do I get tickets to Olympic surfing?
Through the official LA28 ticketing site, tickets.la28.org. The first registration and sales windows ran in early 2026. We could not confirm from official pages when the next surfing ticket sales open, so check the site directly.
Will San Clemente relax its short-term rental rules for the Olympics?
The mayor said in February 2026 that the city hopes to soften the rules, possibly for the whole month of the Games. We found no adopted change. The City's current rules limit short-term lodging units to certain zones and require a permit and license.
Are there hotels ready for the Olympics in San Clemente?
The mayor said the city has few places for visitors to stay and hopes two hotel projects will be finished before the Games. We could not verify the status of any specific project.
Will the Olympics raise home prices in San Clemente?
We found no sourced data on that, and we would not trust a confident prediction. A purchase or sale should make sense on your own timeline and the numbers for your neighborhood.
Is San Clemente celebrating anything else in 2028?
Yes. The city was incorporated in 1928, so it turns 100 in 2028, and the mayor has tied the centennial to the Games. We did not find a published centennial calendar.
Where can I watch the surfing if I do not have a ticket?
Watch parties around town are planned, according to the mayor, but no list has been published. The San Clemente Pier and the Beach Trail are free places to see the ocean, though you cannot see the break itself from town.
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Further reading
- LA28 Olympic Hospitality: Surfing sessions
- LAist: Why Trestles will host Olympic surfing
- Spectrum News: San Clemente and the LA28 Olympics
- The Inertia: State Parks weighing Trestles access options
- Surf Canada: LA28 surfing competition window
- California State Parks: San Onofre State Beach
- City of San Clemente: Short-term lodging units
- City of San Clemente events calendar
- Orange County Business Journal: San Clemente nabs Olympic surfing
- San Clemente beaches
- San Clemente Beach Trail guide
- Downtown and Pier Bowl
- Buying a single-family home in San Clemente
Figures are from the cited sources and change over time. Confirm current details with Alex or the MLS before making decisions.
