Half Moon Bay, the title sounds exotic and something of the galaxy. While the town of Half Moon Bay is not an intergalactic location, it feels exquisite that it is worth a trip or even a stop if you only have a few hours.
Half Moon Bay, can be found off HWY 1 of a couple of major highways to get there. The city is a small coastal city south of San Francisco. The beaches along the coastline of Half Moon Bay are gorgeous with cliff bluffs, crashing waves, and soft dunes. During the Spring, wild flowers can be found all over colorizing pathways. The city is quite popular for surfing with outrageous surf tides, so whether you are spending a day watching the surfers, hiking the bluffs, or just beach bumming, don’t skip Half Moon Bay.
A few things we have loved to do in the area over the years when we only have a few hours in the area:
Hiking
Half Moon Bay offers many hiking trails for all ages and capabilities. There are coastal trails, mountain trails, and forestry trails too! Here are our favorites in the area:
Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Reserve
This is one of the best all-year places to hike. It overlooks Half Moon Bay and is part of the Santa Cruz Mountains. It has been a long time since we hiked the area, so I do not have any photos, but you can find great information about Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Reserve here.
Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Reserve is a combination of well-shaded with specks of light and open shade depending on the descent and trail. You can hike harder trails with great incline or shorter moderate trails and still enjoy the banana slugs found everywhere, the green mossy forest, and cool tranquil sound of the creek flowing through.
All the popular trails are well-marked, but always go with a map! All Trails is perfect for that.
Cypress Tree Tunnels at Seal Cove
Parking
Park at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, more on that below, and the trail starts right across the street. There is a small parking fee. This is the closest parking lot available. you can also park down the street where available.
Trail
The trail starts right across the street from the parking. Note that this is a local trail and is widely used by locals walking their pets, and etc. Please be kind and share the trail.
The trail is fairly short and in that short time, you will be presented with all the Cypress Tree overhangs. The overhang itself is a short 1/2 mile.
Don’t skip the stopover to Seal Cove! it is worth a quick stop to see the views. There is a set of stairs down to get a better glimpse of the coast line. From here, you can see seals sunbathing as well.
Heading back up the stairs, keep following the trail as it takes you through the outskirts of the glorious cypress trees and onto even more seascapes! Going in the springtime will get you luscious views of wildflowers in an array of colors.
This area is rich in Marine life and a part of the protected reserve. Great education and exploration opportunities are available especially for children.
Keep reading for information on Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.
Montara Mountain Loop
2.3 miles loop. Easy to Moderate
Montara Mountains hiking trails offers more outstanding views of Half Moon Bay, specifically Montara State Beach. While the town of Montara is a few miles further from Half Moon Bay, many still refer to it as part of Half Moon Bay since Half Moon Bay is more widely known.
On this Spring day, we opted for the Montara Mountain Loop that would take us up and around the mountain with sweeping views of the coast line and Montara State Beach.
Parking
Parking is a bit trickier in my opinion for this loop. The parking is right off HWY 1 and is a small dirt pull over section. If full, optional is to park at the beach and walk over.
Trail
The start of the trail is well marked, however going further, there are no markings. The trail is still quite clear and easy to navigate. There are opportunities to side-trail and go for a longer hike and at higher elevations.
The beginning of the hike is mostly shaded, but soon it will be all open. The elevation gain is approximately 540 ft (tracked on Apple Watch). The entire loop is hiking on dry dirt and a well maintained path. Once you start climbing up, you will start to see the great views of the ocean and rolling hills.
Unfortunately, although it was quite sunny and warm, the clouds were swiftly moving by, but not fast enough so our view of the ocean on one end was completely white out. The clouds were so thick, you could not see anything! It was a bit disappointing, but once we got to the top, we sat under the lone tree and had our packed lunch. Once we finished, we headed downhill to finish off the loop.
The descent’s view was outstanding with Montana State Beach shining directly at us and HWY 1 rushing by.
Favorite Beach
Montara State Beach
While there are several options for beach goers, there is only 1 favorite beach and that is Montara State Beach. At sunset, the lighting is even more beautiful especially for photographers. There are additional trails on the coast bluffs for photo opportunities that will not disappoint.
Museum
J V Fitzgerald Marine Reserve
Earlier in the hiking section, I mentioned parking at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve for the Cypress Tree Tunnel to Seal Cove hike. While this may look like a very small out of place structure, it actually is a visitor centering boasting great marine biological information of the surrounding area.
The structure is also a mini museum and even a shop. It showcases common marine and land species found in the area both. Next to the parking in an uncovered area is a large display of a whale’s skeletal remains.
Thanks for stopping by!
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