City of Half Moon Bay/California State Parks,
San Mateo County
2.8 mile loop along bluffs and beach.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 2.8 mile loop walk is very easy.
Exposure:
Totally exposed.
Trail traffic:
Moderate.
Trail surfaces:
Paved trail, dirt trail, and beach.
Hiking time:
1 1/2 hours or less.
Season:
Nice any time.
Getting there:
From CA 1 in San Mateo County, about 0.8 mile south of the CA 92 junction, turn west onto Poplar. Drive west on Poplar about 0.6 mile, to the parking lot at the end of the road.
Get driving or public transit directions from Transit and Trails:
http://transitandtrails.org/trailheads/443
GPS Coordinates* for Trailhead:
Latitude
Longitude
(* based on Google Earth data, shown as degrees, minutes, seconds)
Gas, food, and lodging:
Gas, stores, restaurants, and pay phones in Half Moon Bay. Half Moon Bay State Beach has a bluff-top campground for tents and RVs (upgraded in 2004).
Trailhead details:
Parking fees are charged: $2 hour or $10 day. Parking in a paved lot. No maps or drinking water. There are portable toilets and four designated handicapped parking spots (restrooms and drinking water can be found near the campground at the state beach). A paved path is well suited to wheelchairs and strollers. There is no direct public transportation to the trailhead. Half Moon Bay State Beach is within walking distance of SamTrans bus #294. Visit 511.org for details. There are several other beach access trailheads along the coast in Half Moon Bay; look for the coastal access signs along Highway 1. If you've come to camp at Half Moon Bay State Beach, turn west onto Kelly Avenue, north of Poplar.
Rules:
Half Moon Bay State Beach hours: 8 a.m. - sunset (gates may be open earlier). Blufftop Coastal Park parking lot hours: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. (standard time)/6 a.m. to 8 p.m. (daylight time). Trails and beach at Blufftop Coastal Park are open to hikers, cyclists, and equestrians. Half Moon State Beach has paved multi-use paths, dirt multi-use trails, and hiking-only paths. Dogs are not permitted on every trail described below. They are permitted on-leash only on the blufftop trails in both parks. No dogs or horses are permitted on the beach at Half Moon State Beach.
The Official Story:
CSP's Half Moon Bay State Beach page
Half Moon Bay State Beach park office 650-726-8819
City of Half Moon Bay's Parks and Recreation Department office 650-726-8297
Map Choices:
• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Region map to get there.
• Park brochure (pdf) includes map
• Trails of the Coastside and Northern Peninsula has a good map of the area, and is helpful in getting there (available from Pease Press).
• Peninsula Trails, by Jean Rusmore, has a simple map and trail descriptions (order this book from Amazon.com).
Half
Moon Bay beaches in a nutshell -- a printable, text-only guide to the
featured walk.
View
photos from this hike. The
blufftop trail stretching from Half Moon Bay to 
Miramar
is a wonderful course for walkers who want to be close to the ocean without
getting sand in their shoes. More than 3 miles end to end, Coastside Trail
offers sweeping seaside views, good bird watching, and easy beach access.
Half Moon Bay State Park provides amenities including a campground and
restrooms, but you can start a walk from more minor trailheads at the
end of a few Half Moon Bay streets. Blufftop Coastal Park features lots
of free parking at the southern terminus of the trail.
Start on either the dirt or paved path heading
north (the dirt trail is mostly used by equestrians and is lumpy).
The empty field on the right is prime hunting territory for raptors; 
on
my walk I saw a Cooper's hawk and 5 northern harriers looking for lunch.
Views of the coastline are spectacular along the level multi-use trail.
A few neighborhood access paths cut across the field at intervals. At
0.75 mile, the trail enters Half Moon Bay State Beach, and swings east,
crossing the park access road. Keep walking north on the paved trail as
it passes the entrance kiosk and then runs along the campground access
road. Once past the developed area of the park, the paved trail returns
to a quieter area, with dunes on the left dotted with yellow bush lupine,
lizardtail, coyote brush, buckwheat, and sagebrush. At 1.35 miles, you'll
reach a junction with a boardwalk on the left, just before a bridge crossing
Pilarcitos Creek. If you'd like to 
extend
the walk, you can continue north about another 2 miles on the paved trail,
which ends at Miramar Beach. Turn left.
The boardwalk heads west to the beach, but turn
left onto a narrow sandy path.
Traversing loose sand, the tiny path squeezes
through dunes where snowy plovers nest, and guidewires protect their habitat.
Coyote brush is common, and you might also see yellow sand verbena, yellow
bush lupine, lizardtail, wild radish, and mustard. I saw another harrier
perched on a little pile of uprooted plants on the left -- they seem to
prefer hunting close to the ground. At 1.60 mile the path ends at the
park's campfire ring. If you want to return along the bluff, walk south
through the campground and pick up the paved trail again, past the
ranger station. Bear right and descend to the beach.
After just a few steps through a break in
the dunes, you'll emerge on the beach. This broad sandy expanse is popular
with people flying kites, beach loving families, and surfers. Turn
left and walk south.
Once past the state park boundary, the beach
empties out a bit, particularly on weekdays once summer is over. Piles
of bull kelp are commonly strewn about with the occasional driftwood timber.
There are little slot canyons worn into the sides of the bluff from water
erosion. At 2.71 miles, look to the left for a primitive ramp ascending
back to the bluff. Climb back to the bluff top, and you'll
be steps away from the parking lot.
Total distance: 2.78 miles
Last walked: Tuesday, October 29, 2002
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