Mugs Away Saloon has been a fixture in Laguna Niguel since the 1970s, sitting quietly at the end of an old business park directly beside the train tracks.
Inside, the bar looks much like it did decades ago: Coors Light signs glowing over the counter, a bearded musician performing live, regulars playing pool or darts, and a crowd that prefers cold beer over “curated cocktails”. It is one of the few local bars that has stayed true to its roots.
But this unassuming location is also home to one of Southern California’s most unusual annual events: the Mooning of the Amtrak.
@thesceneoc Tucked away in an old business park in Laguna Niguel you hit Mugs Away Saloon, a true ’70s-era dive bar sitting right along the train trac... See more
How a Single Bet Became a Statewide Curiosity
According to local lore, the tradition started in 1979 when a customer inside Mugs Away Saloon bet another man that he wouldn’t pull down his pants and moon the next passing Amtrak train. He did, the bar erupted, and people came back the next year to watch it happen again.
Word spread. More people showed up. Then even more.
By the early 2000s, the simple act of bar patrons baring their backsides to passing train passengers had turned into a full-day spectacle that drew thousands.
Spectators packed the area along Camino Capistrano, lining the fence by the tracks and treating the passing trains like the main act of a very unusual OC festival.
What began as a dare became a decades-long tradition, and Mugs Away Saloon became inseparable from its unlikely legacy.
Crowds, Crackdowns, and the Peak of the Event
By 2008, the Mooning of the Amtrak had reached its peak. Reports estimate that as many as ten thousand people filled the area surrounding the bar and the nearby tracks.
The event took on the atmosphere of an unregulated festival, prompting concerns from law enforcement after incidents ranging from public intoxication to acts far beyond the original mooning tradition.
In response, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department implemented new restrictions the following year, limiting parking, enforcing alcohol rules, and increasing patrols. Attendance dropped sharply, but the event did not disappear.
A Tradition That Refuses To End
Even with stricter oversight, the mooning continues in a smaller, more subdued form. Each July, participants still gather outside Mugs Away Saloon to carry on the decades-old ritual as the Amtrak passes through. The bar remains the meeting point and cultural anchor of the event, even as it evolves to fit modern regulations.
Steady Ownership and a Steady Identity
Mugs Away changed ownership in 1994 and is currently operated by John Kunik, who has become an unofficial spokesperson whenever the mooning makes news. Under his leadership, the bar has maintained its original character.
It has resisted the commercial polish found elsewhere in the region, staying focused on live music, pool tables, and a loyal base of longtime patrons.
A Lasting Piece of Local History
Today, Mugs Away Saloon stands as one of Laguna Niguel’s longest-running bars and the unlikely birthplace of a tradition that has become part of Southern California folklore. It is a rare place that has kept its history intact, both inside its walls and along the tracks just outside its door.