Pillar
Point,
San Mateo County Harbor District,
San Mateo County
In brief:
1.2 mile out and back walk from the outskirts of Princeton harbor to the beach.
Getting there:
From CA 1 in San Mateo County (about 3 miles north of the CA 92 junction in Half
Moon Bay), turn west at a traffic light onto Capistrano. Drive about 0.3 mile
on Capistrano, then turn left onto Prospect. Drive 0.1 mile, then turn left onto
Broadway. Almost immediately, turn right onto Princeton. Drive about 0.4 mile,
then turn right onto West Point Avenue. Drive about 0.6 mile, to the parking lot
on the left at the end of the road, before the entrance to the Air Force station.
Trailhead details:
Dirt parking lot. No parking or entrance fees. There are portable toilets, but
no drinking water or maps. There is a designated handicapped parking spot, and
the trail is well-suited to wheelchairs (except in wet weather). SamTrans bus
#17 stops within walking distance of the trailhead. Visit the Transit
Info website for details.
Gas, food, and lodging:
Several restaurants line Capistrano Road on the way to the trailhead. More extensive
services, with stores, gas, and pay phones, are available in nearby Half Moon
Bay, El Granada, and Moss Beach. No camping.
Rules:
Parking lot is open from sunrise to sunset. Dogs are permitted on leash only,
on the trail to the point. Dogs and horses are not permitted on the Fitzgerald
Marine Reserve's beaches. Equestrians don't frequent the area.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 1.2 mile out and back walk is very easy, on a completely flat
trail. You can supplement the excursion with a climb to a bluff with ocean views,
and scramble down a hillside for a walk on the beach.
The Official Story:
San Mateo County Harbor District's Pillar
Point page
SMCP's Fitzgerald
page
Pillar Point Harbor 650-726-5727
Map Choices:
• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Region map to get there.
• Map
from SMCP
• Trails of the Coastside and Northern Peninsula (map) has a good
map of the area, and is helpful in getting there (available from Pease
Press).
• Peninsula Trails, by Jean Rusmore, Frances Spangle, and Betsy Crowder
(order
this book from Amazon.com) has a simple map and a brief description of the
trail to Pillar Point.
Pillar
Point in a nutshell -- a printable, text-only guide to the featured
walk.
View
photos from the walk.
Although the trail out to Pillar Point is short, mellow,
and
quiet, the trailhead parking lot is commonly full with cars and trucks toting
surfboards. In addition to the 1.2 mile out-and-back walk to Pillar Point, the
trailhead also is a staging area for surfers riding the waves at Mavericks, a
famously challenging stretch of Pacific Ocean slightly to the north of Pillar
Point. Rock formations and churning surf are visible from the point, but surfers
are out of view, and access from the point to their beach is blocked by a rocky
bluff. You can watch the surfers in action on a separate walk starting from the
parking lot. Cross the paved road and hop over the yellow gate, then ascend a
paved fire road. Look for one of several unsigned dirt paths on the left. After
a short walk through pretty coastal scrub, you'll arrive at the edge of a bluff.
From here on clear days surfers are visible, although you may want to get a better
view with binoculars. If you'd like to walk along the beach, you can scramble
downhill via a network of steep paths. The entire coastline from Pillar Point
to Moss Beach is part of the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, and is a publicly-accessible
beach.
For an out-and-back walk to the point, start
from the parking lot on a wide, flat dirt trail. A fence on the left guards
the sensitive habitat of Pillar Point Marsh (part of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve).
In the beginning stages of the walk fennel, sea fig, coyote brush, lizardtail,
and pampas grass are common. The trail approaches two benches and a cluster of
cypress, and bends right. There are sweeping views left, across the harbor to
fishing piers, with the forested slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains ascending
to the east. Steep cliffs rising up on the right are topped by the Pillar Point
Air Force Tracking Station. The station is closed to the public, and you might
notice 
severe
fences on the hilltop, preventing access from the surrounding area. As the trail
follows the curving shoreline, the soothing sounds of little waves fill the air.
Hampered by the breakwater, water movement in the harbor is curtailed, but a tidal
influence still exists, and a few common seaside plants like New Zealand spinach
and sea rocket thrive in the coastline environment. California coffeeberry, buckwheat,
sagebrush, wild radish, mustard, blackberry, bush lupine, and monkeyflower tangle
on the right side of the trail. At 0.45 mile, the trail ends at the point. A breakwater
stretches out into the ocean, but heed warning signs and stay off of the structure.
Instead, turn right and walk along the beach. Birds, pelicans, and ducks
commonly fly, swim, and scamper along the coastline, and seals can often be spotted,
their heads bobbing just above the water about 50 feet off the shore. The prominent
cluster of big rocks is Sail Rock. At 0.63 mile the beach ends -- further access
north is blocked by the base of the rocky bluff. Turn around and retrace your
steps back to the trailhead.
Total distance: 1.26 miles
Last visit: Tuesday, October 22, 2002
Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page
and
quiet, the trailhead parking lot is commonly full with cars and trucks toting
surfboards. In addition to the 1.2 mile out-and-back walk to Pillar Point, the
trailhead also is a staging area for surfers riding the waves at Mavericks, a
famously challenging stretch of Pacific Ocean slightly to the north of Pillar
Point. Rock formations and churning surf are visible from the point, but surfers
are out of view, and access from the point to their beach is blocked by a rocky
bluff. You can watch the surfers in action on a separate walk starting from the
parking lot. Cross the paved road and hop over the yellow gate, then ascend a
paved fire road. Look for one of several unsigned dirt paths on the left. After
a short walk through pretty coastal scrub, you'll arrive at the edge of a bluff.
From here on clear days surfers are visible, although you may want to get a better
view with binoculars. If you'd like to walk along the beach, you can scramble
downhill via a network of steep paths. The entire coastline from Pillar Point
to Moss Beach is part of the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, and is a publicly-accessible
beach.
severe
fences on the hilltop, preventing access from the surrounding area. As the trail
follows the curving shoreline, the soothing sounds of little waves fill the air.
Hampered by the breakwater, water movement in the harbor is curtailed, but a tidal
influence still exists, and a few common seaside plants like New Zealand spinach
and sea rocket thrive in the coastline environment. California coffeeberry, buckwheat,
sagebrush, wild radish, mustard, blackberry, bush lupine, and monkeyflower tangle
on the right side of the trail. At 0.45 mile, the trail ends at the point. A breakwater
stretches out into the ocean, but heed warning signs and stay off of the structure.
Instead, turn right and walk along the beach. Birds, pelicans, and ducks
commonly fly, swim, and scamper along the coastline, and seals can often be spotted,
their heads bobbing just above the water about 50 feet off the shore. The prominent
cluster of big rocks is Sail Rock. At 0.63 mile the beach ends -- further access
north is blocked by the base of the rocky bluff. Turn around and retrace your
steps back to the trailhead.