Read important NOTICE from Laguna Niguel City at the end of this web site
THIS WEB SITE does not contain offensive or sexually suggestive material, and is not classified as "Adult". It is acknowledged however, that the "Mooning" of a public conveyance may be considered objectionable to some. The photos presented here are not "revealing" and are quite safe for all age groups to view.
LOCATION: Along the chain link fence adjacent the train tracks, across the road from:
No known website nor email address of Mugs Away Saloon.
DRIVING DIRECTIONS: In Orange County, California, Interstate-5, Exit "AVERY PKWY". Turn West at the end of the off-ramp (Right if you were South-bound on I-5). Short block street ends at "T" intersection, Turn North (Right) on Camino Capistrano. The train tracks will then be on your Left. 1.2 Miles to Mugs Away Saloon, crowds of people, cars, camper trucks, motor homes, busses and motorcycles all over. This road ends at a waste water reclaimation plant a mile to the North. Please don't park next to the chain link fence next to the train tracks. That's where the "mooning" happens.
AVOID COMING BY MOTOR VEHICLE Between 8am and 6pm. The area is too congested with automobiles, rec-vehicles, and pick-up trucks. There are only a few small vehicle parking lots. Vehicle parking is backed-up to one mile to the South along the shoulder of this narrow two lane road. Vehicles parked in business's parking lots are usually towed away if unrelated to the business. The vehicle congestion is terrible. Again, avoid bringing a motor vehicle to the mooning area as there are limited places for parking and traffic is slow-motion.
COME BY METROLINK TRAIN Best to use Metrolink for your travels here. The walk is about ¾ miles North along Camino Capistrano (Road) from the "Laguna Niguel - Mission Viejo" Metrolink station to the Mooning site. Note that although all Metrolink trains stop here, only two Amtrak trains per day in each direction stop at this nearby train station. See "LINX" below for Metrolink's train schedule.
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There is no admission charge
HELP, VOLUNTEER NEEDED to arrive the previous evening of Mooning Day to bring and hang up a construction area tape at the road edge in front of the chain link fence so vehicles don't park there, which would block the access zone for the "Mooners". Thank you!
WHO IS IN CHARGE? NO ONE. No one organizes, controls, directs or is responsible for this annual event. Everyone who attends helps make it a safe, law-abiding, fun & successful day. It occurs the second Saturday in July each year, whether this web-site existed or not. This web site is a gratis service to provide some helpful information.
Photographers, Videographers, TV and Radio Stations You may operate here without anyone's permission as this is a public city street. You will of course require a "Model Release" for commercial uses of your work. For personal interviews contact the employees of Mugs Away Saloon for the most accurate details.
Sheriff: As in past years, the area will be patrolled by the Orange County Sheriff for the City of Laguna Niguel. Absolutely NO "controlled substances", carrying an alchoholic beverage outdoors nor genitals exposure. Obey the laws. The deputies have been considerate and liberal in the past. Please don't ruin it for the future.
Exact Location: Latitude 33° 33.917´ North, Longitude 117° 40.435´ West. This data is useful if you will be using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. But, keep in mind that you cannot get here from Crown Valley Parkway by motor vehicle as its bridge goes over Camino Capistrano Road, without connecting. See "Driving Directions" above. This is about 4¾ track miles North of the San Juan Capistrano Amtrak train station and about ¾ miles North of the "Laguna Niguel - Mission Viejo" Metrolink station. This track location is milepost 192.7 of the Amtrak "Pacific Surfliner" Line.
Train Passengers Passengers can ride The Amtrak and Metrolink trains to see the "moon show" between the stations of "Irvine" to the North and to the South "San Juan Capistrano" for Amtrak and "Laguna Niguel" for Metrolink. The mooning is on the EAST side of the tracks, and most trains will slow down at this point. For a photo of the view from the train passenger's perspective, see LINX, below. Sorry, on the train you'll only be able to photograph or video through the glass windows as only the train crew will have access to the vestibules of the train which have windows that open. The "Mission Viejo - Laguna Niguel" Metrolink train station is a ¾ miles from here. You must walk North from the train station to get here. Metrolink passenger train cars each accommodate two bicycles.
Night Mooning After 8pm, Night Mooning starts. Bring a flash light with plenty of batteries, or better yet, bring a camping lantern. Bring a wire coat hanger to make a hook to hang your lantern from the chain link fence. An electric engine-generator with lights would be outrageous, if anyone has this to bring. The area is dark at night as there aren't any street lights along this road. Night Mooning is better because: it is less crowded, cooler temperature, and more authentic.
Amateur Radio Amateur radio operators can communicate locally on 146.555 MHz FM-Simplex. Any "ham" radio club can set up a special event from here, however you'll need your own electrical power, get here early and this is in a valley with hills on the East and West.
Are You in these pictures? If so, and you'd rather not be included, let the web site janitor noted at the end that you would like to be removed. Please note which picture, and which person you are. Those who have no objections, thank you for your proud participation!! Attempts to use these photos for "commercial" purposes will be in violation of federal law unless a signed "model release" is obtained from each of the visible people in the photo.
LINX, Links to related web sites (Just 'Click' on the words):
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
How it started To best answer the story of the birth of the Mooning tradition, refer to the Sunday July 11, 1999
edition of The Orange County (California) Register newspaper, and the article headlined as,
"Full moon over Amtrak keeps Laguna Niguel tradition alive", as follows:
Twenty years ago (1979), at The Mugs Away Saloon, a K.T.Smith told his buddies he'd buy a drink for all who
would run outside to the rail road tracks and "moon" the next train, which many did.
The mooning tradition has prevailed, but there is no longer a volunteer to buy free drinks for thousands of "Mooners".
Many many thanks to: The City Council of Laguna Niguel, The Sheriff of Orange County,
OCRRA (owners of the rail right-of-way), Metrolink Rail Agency and of course,
AMTRAK, for their tolerance and contemporary open-mindedness.
Disclaimer: Attending this event may be hazardous due to the large concentration of silly people, cars, motorcycles, motorhomes, concrete vehicle wheel-stops, potholes & cracks in the road & parking-lots and dangerous pets. Everyone present is responsible for their own actions. If you trip on something, or hurt yourself, you alone are responsible. There is no one to sue. No one either promotes this nor charges admission. If you do come, act safely! If you're accident prone, please don't come, go somewhere else where you'll be safer. Neither Mugs Away Saloon, The City of Laguna Niguel nor Amtrak, nor Metrolink are responsible for this event, nor for assuring your safety. The City & the railroad would rather you didn't bother coming to this event. No one is carrying public liability insurance for this. Besides, would any insurance underwriter insure an event called, "Mooning Amtrak"?
Important NOTICE from the City of Laguna Niguel: Laguna Niguel City Council Adopts New Ordinances. To Discourage Amtrak Mooning Event The ordinances will prohibit public alcohol consumption and urination LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA -- April 8, 2009 -- The City Council approved two new ordinances that will make it unlawful to consume alcoholic beverages in public and urinate in public within the City’s boundaries. The ordinances were passed unanimously by the Council in response to last year’s “Mooning the Amtrak” event. According to Laguna Niguel Mayor Robert Ming, “Thousands of rowdy partiers from out of town have forced us to take this action. This event happened for many years without problems, but it has now gotten out of control. We cannot allow a situation where public safety and our local businesses are threatened. That kind of environment is simply unacceptable.” The event drew a crowd of 10,000 people last year (2008) and required the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, with assistance from law enforcement officers from neighboring cities, to disperse the crowd by mid-afternoon after complaints were received regarding public nudity, intoxication and general unruliness. Pedestrian and vehicular traffic was so dense in the area along Camino Capistrano that Deputy Sheriff’s could not safely patrol and emergency vehicles could not safely enter or exit the area. Surrounding businesses were negatively affected by the large crowd and many said their customers could not reach their place of business the day prior to and the day of the event. Other existing laws will be strictly enforced including prohibitions on: Public intoxication, Public nudity, Controlled substances, Drunk driving, Street Vendors, RV parking “If you’ve come to the event in the past, and are thinking about attending again this year, you will want to think twice,” warned Linda Solorza, Chief of Police Services for the city. “The Orange County Sheriff’s Department will be out in force, enforcing all laws and ordinances to ensure our citizens, the general public and our officers remain safe.” The Council also approved a temporary parking restriction on Camino Capistrano, from the north to south city limits, effective July 9 - 12, 2009 (Thursday thru Sunday in future years). Motorists will still have access to Laguna Niguel-based businesses located along Camino Capistrano, but vehicles in violation of parking restrictions on Camino Capistrano will be towed. For the most current information regarding law enforcement activities and parking restrictions on Camino Capistrano between July 9 and 12, 2009 (Thursday thru Sunday), follow us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/LagunaNiguelCA or become a fan of the City of Laguna Niguel on Facebook.
NOTE The website janitor has not visited this event since July-2008 due to objectionable congestion of motor vehicles and non-Mooning people obstructing the Mooning area adjacent the train tracks fence, making suitable photography impossible.
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Web site janitor Email =
of
http://www.moonamtrak.org ™.
Emails are checked infrequently, about twice per month.