On the ocean side of Carlsbad Boulevard between Pine and Tamarack avenues, the sidewalk has just been widened. The City held off on construction all summer so people could use it. Below that walkway, the beach has worn down to cobblestones at the base of the seawall. The car lot at the south end of the stretch is closed to vehicles, two of the four stairways down are construction sites, and farther south, near North Ponto, a crane is lowering boulders onto the sand.
The state and the City are working on three separate problems, each on its own schedule. As of October 2026, nearly all of the new work sits on the upper level, and most of the disruption is on the routes down to the water.
The walkway part is finished
The City of Carlsbad's beach stairs replacement and sidewalk widening project covers the four switchback stairways at Hemlock, Cherry, Maple and Sycamore avenues, plus a wider sidewalk over the cliff between Cherry and Pine. The stairs went in during the 1980s. The City says the concrete has chipped away in places, leaving rebar exposed and corroded, and soil has eroded from around some of the foundations.
The first phase ran from November 2025 into spring 2026. Construction then stopped for the summer, as the project rules require between Memorial Day and Labor Day. In the City Manager's Aug. 27 update, the City said the summer pause was meant to give residents and visitors time to enjoy the newly widened sidewalk between Pine and Tamarack.
That walkway is usable now. The stairs are the part still under construction.
The stairways come back in a set order
The contractor returned to the Hemlock and Cherry stairways on Sept. 8, according to a Sept. 21 report to the Parks & Recreation Commission. The City has laid out the sequence for the rest of the work:
- Finish installing the new stairs and railings at Cherry and Hemlock avenues.
- Then demolish and rebuild the stairs at Maple and Sycamore avenues, which the project page lists for a fall 2026 start.
- Complete the whole project by summer 2027.
As of Oct. 10, the sources we reviewed don't say whether Hemlock and Cherry have reopened or whether Maple and Sycamore have closed. The project page's FAQ still lists Hemlock and Cherry as closed and the Maple and Sycamore stairs, along with the ramps at Pine and Tamarack, as open. The FAQ has no "as of" date. The City has made one commitment that holds through every phase: at least two stairways between Tamarack and Pine will stay open, and so will the grass area south of Hemlock.
The work runs Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., except federal holidays. In the work zone, Carlsbad Boulevard drops to one lane in each direction with a 20 mph limit. Some street parking is restricted, bike lanes stay open with occasional detours, and parts of the west-side sidewalk close at times. The City points pedestrians to the lower seawall or the east-side sidewalk. The crews aren't working on weekends or after 4 p.m.
Below the seawall, the beach is thin
The lower seawall is the detour route, and it has its own problem. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on Oct. 5 that much of the beach between Tamarack and Pine has eroded down to cobblestones at the base of the seawall, and that the beaches are the narrowest they have been in years.
The same storms closed the Tamarack Avenue beach parking lot, a popular spot with surfers and families. High tides and storm surge over Labor Day weekend washed away chunks of asphalt from the lot's seaward edge, even with a boulder barrier in place. The lot has been closed to vehicles since then.
| Location | Who's responsible | Status as of early October 2026 | Expected end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tamarack Avenue beach parking lot | California State Parks | Closed to vehicles; coastal engineer hired, bids expected within about a month of Oct. 5 | Repairs targeted for end of December |
| Stairways at Hemlock, Cherry, Maple, Sycamore | City of Carlsbad | Hemlock and Cherry under construction since Sept. 8; Maple and Sycamore next | Whole project by summer 2027 |
| Bluff north of the Las Encinas Creek bridge | City of Carlsbad, under a local emergency | Boulder deliveries and crane on the beach; southbound bike lane closed | Late 2026 |
The table shows why these closures don't end together. California State Parks owns and maintains about six of Carlsbad's seven miles of coastline. Under an agreement with the state, the City keeps the seawall stretch between Tamarack and Pine to a higher standard, with landscaping, benches and restrooms. So the City maintains the promenade and is rebuilding the stairs, but the Tamarack lot belongs to the state. In early September, the City Manager said the City cannot lead repairs on the lot and was monitoring and coordinating with State Parks. According to the Union-Tribune's Oct. 5 report, a State Parks officer told the Carlsbad Environmental Sustainability Commission that a coastal engineer had been contracted, bids would go out within about a month, and work should be finished by the end of December.
That December target sits right in the middle of the City's stair work. The lot is due back around the time the Maple and Sycamore stairs are being rebuilt, and well before the full project wraps up in summer 2027.
A separate City project would improve ADA beach access near Pine and Tamarack. It is still in design, and the City says construction could begin in a few years. The two ramps that serve as the easiest way down today aren't scheduled for changes this season.
At the south end, the work protects the road
The south end of Carlsbad Boulevard has the most visible work on the coast right now, and it is about keeping the road intact.
On Sept. 9, the City declared a local emergency to speed up stabilization of the coastal bluff along south Carlsbad Boulevard, north of the bridge at Las Encinas Creek. A geotechnical report had recommended emergency measures there. The City's emergency notice called for extending the existing rock revetment about 192 feet north. The Union-Tribune reported that high tides and waves had been eating away the base of the bluff just south of Palomar Airport Road, threatening the road above it. The work site is near Tower 28 and North Ponto Beach.
The City's Oct. 9 construction update says trucks started delivering boulders weighing two to six tons in early October. On Monday, Oct. 5, a large crane arrived to move the rock from the roadside down to the beach. The update links to a video of the process. The City says the work is meant to protect the road ahead of potentially strong El Niño conditions.
The update covers two practical points for daily trips:
- Southbound Carlsbad Boulevard between Solamar Drive and Island Way: allow extra travel time. The bike lane on this stretch is temporarily closed, and the City asks drivers to slow down and share the road with cyclists.
- Schedule: boulder deliveries continue for the next few weeks, and revetment construction is expected to run through late 2026.
The City's earlier notice warned of possible intermittent lane closures in the southbound lane between Palomar Airport Road and Island Way. The Oct. 9 update mentions only the bike lane. Neither notice announces any change to parking or beach access at North Ponto or the South Carlsbad State Beach campground.
How the fall works in practice
Taken together, the sources describe a coastline in two layers. The upper layer is mostly in good shape: a newly widened sidewalk between Pine and Tamarack, the grass south of Hemlock kept open, and the bike lane closed only on the southbound stretch near Ponto. The lower layer is narrower than usual. The beach under the seawall is down to cobbles, the Tamarack lot is closed to cars until at least December, and the stairways are coming out of service one or two at a time.
The schedules line up in a few useful ways:
- Weekends are construction-free on the seawall. The stair contractor works weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., so on Saturday and Sunday there is no active demolition or crane work at the stairways between Hemlock and Pine.
- The Pine and Tamarack ramps aren't part of the stair project. The City lists them among the open access points, and the ADA upgrade planned for them is still years away. The Tamarack ramp is separate from the closed state lot next to it.
- The south-end bike lane is a late-2026 issue. Cyclists riding south past Solamar Drive are sharing the travel lane until the revetment is done.
- Tamarack's car lot depends on a state contract that hadn't gone to bid yet. End of December is the stated target. It isn't a reopening date.
Carlsbad Village has its own busy stretch coming up. Halloween in the Village runs Saturday, Oct. 31, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Carlsbad Village Street Faire follows on Sunday, Nov. 1, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the Chamber's event page says there will be no bike valet in 2026. Both fall on a weekend, so the stair crews won't be working on either day.
At Renovation Realty, we run construction schedules for a living, and we know how much easier a project is to live with when you know the work hours, the order of the work and the finish date. If you own a home near the coast and are thinking about getting it ready to sell, we'll give you that same kind of clear schedule for your project, from the first walkthrough to the day it lists. Book a Free Home Evaluation and we'll map it out with you.
