Valley
View Loop,
San Pedro Valley Park,
County of San Mateo Parks,
San Mateo County
In brief:
2 mile loop is the easiest in the park. Look for deer and bobcats.
Getting there:
From CA 1 in Pacifica, turn east on Linda Mar (the last traffic light in town
heading south; the first one heading north from Devil's Slide) and drive about
2 miles to the end of the road. Turn right on Oddstad, then make the immediate
left into the park.
Trailhead details:
Entrance fee of $5 (self register when entry kiosk is unstaffed). Lots of parking
in paved lots. Restrooms near the Walnut Grove Picnic Area. Maps available at
the information kiosk near the picnic area. SamTrans bus #14 stops at Linda Mar
and Oddstad, and you can walk into the park from there: visit the Transit
Info website for details. There are designated handicapped parking spots,
and one short trail is wheelchair accessible.
Gas, food, and lodging:
Gas, stores, and restaurants at the shopping center on Linda Mar, about 2
miles west of the park. No camping.
Rules:
Bikes are permitted on only one trail. Some trails are designated hiking only,
and a few allow equestrians. No dogs. Park is open from 8 a.m. to about sunset
(hours vary seasonally).
Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 2.1 mile loop hike is easy, with about 400 feet in elevation
change. Trailhead elevation is about 200 feet, and the high point is about 675
feet.
The Official Story:
CSMP's
San Pedro page.
Park headquarters 650-355-8289
Map Choices:
• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Region map to get there.
• Hiking, Bicycling, and Equestrian Trail Map of Pacifica and Trails
of the Coastside and Northern Peninsula are the best map guides to the park
(available from Pease Press).
• Map
from CSMP
• 
A hike through San
Pedro to the top of Montara Mountain is mapped and descriped in 60 Hikes within
60 Miles: San Francisco, by Jane Huber (yup, that's me, the creator of this
website). Order
this book from Amazon.com.
• Peninsula Trails, by Jean Rusmore, has a simple map and park descriptions
(order
this book from Amazon.com).
• The Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Book, by Tom Taber has a simple map
and park descriptions (order
this book from Amazon.com).
Valley
View Loop in a nutshell -- a printable, text-only guide to the featured
hike.
• View 45 photos of the hike.
San Pedro Valley Park in Pacifica shelters a variety
of bay area plants and animals. It's rare to visit and fail to see deer, and twice
I've seen bobcats here. There's always something blooming or fruiting, and Brooks
Falls beckon in late winter, a prelude to the spring wildflowers which dot the
forests and grassy hillsides. The Valley View Loop is a short and easy hike, prefect
for beginning hikers, parents with children, and anyone up for a brief nature
interlude.
Begin at the edge of the northern parking lot
at a kiosk near a sign pointing the way to Walnut Group Picnic Areas and Trail
Access. The paved service road crosses San Pedro Creek, and is lined with
moisture loving plants such as dogwood, ferns, elderberry, and blackberry. After
about 200 feet the service road passes restrooms and a nicely landscaped picnic
area. San Pedro Creek is crossed once again, the paved road ends, and you'll enter
the mouth of a lovely valley. Check the trail or pick up at a map at the information
kiosk (with an interesting display of the park's non-native pest plants), then
keep walking a few feet to the signed junction of the Weiler Ranch Road Trail
and Valley View Trail.
Begin
an easy climb on Valley View Trail, open to hikers and equestrians only, which
initially winds through eucalyptus and coyote brush. Beware of poison oak, especially
in the winter when large shrubs are leafless, though the branches are still potent
with itchy oil. Valley View Trail makes a sharp turn right near the park boundary
and exits a eucalyptus grove, allowing a great view to the south of North Peak
in McNee Ranch State Park (except when it's foggy). The navigating gets a little
confusing as some social trails, deer paths, and an old routing of the trail cross
the official trail. The real path is marked with a decaying wooden trail sign
which reads Valley View Trail; when you encounter the old path continue straight.
Grassland carpets the nearly flat crest of the hill, but the trail soon wanders
through chaparral and takes a slightly steeper course, though the hiking is still
easy. Look for cotoneaster (a non-native poisonous plant with pretty red berries),
creambush, ceanothus, 
huckleberry,
coyote brush, California coffeeberry, sagebrush, toyon, and poison oak on the
sides of the path. Views east and south, toward the hills of the San Francisco
Watershed, are unobstructed and wonderful. This very quiet section of the park
is home to many animals, and you may see footprints and scat from deer, coyote,
and bobcat. Remain on Valley View Trail as a few unmarked paths depart to the
northeast on the left side of the trail. Much too soon for me, the trail begins
a descent. Switchbacks keep the grade manageable. The trail is very rocky in sections,
as it passes by a few silktassel shrubs, along with toyon and coyote brush. At
a corner, look for a bench with the best view of the eastern section of the park,
including the switchback-happy 
Hazelnut
Trail on the other side of the valley. This is a good spot for some nature exploration
with binoculars. You might get lucky and see coyote or bobcat in the grassy valley,
but you stand a good chance of seeing deer and hawks. Valley View Trail continues
a descent, passing through some eucalyptus on the way back down to the valley
floor. On a hike in October, I noticed pick blossoms busting out from the bare
branches of a currant bush, a sure harbinger of winter's approach. At 1.6 miles,
Valley View Trail ends at a signed junction with Weiler Ranch Road Trail. Continue
straight on Weiler Ranch Road Trail.
This flat wide trail, open to cyclists, equestrians,
and hikers, is a very popular path for joggers and local walkers. Walk back to
the previously encountered junction at 1.9 miles, then turn left and retrace
your steps back to the trailhead. On a hike in October, as I passed the picnic
area, I noticed an animal sitting in the grass in the field off to the left. I
crept closer and had the privilege of watching a bobcat for a few minutes (love
that white tipped short tail switching back and forth!), until the beautiful creature
stepped back into the brush. (Visit the bobcat
page for more photos.)
Total distance: 2.1 miles
Last hiked: Tuesday, October 10, 2000
Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page
of bay area plants and animals. It's rare to visit and fail to see deer, and twice
I've seen bobcats here. There's always something blooming or fruiting, and Brooks
Falls beckon in late winter, a prelude to the spring wildflowers which dot the
forests and grassy hillsides. The Valley View Loop is a short and easy hike, prefect
for beginning hikers, parents with children, and anyone up for a brief nature
interlude. 
an easy climb on Valley View Trail, open to hikers and equestrians only, which
initially winds through eucalyptus and coyote brush. Beware of poison oak, especially
in the winter when large shrubs are leafless, though the branches are still potent
with itchy oil. Valley View Trail makes a sharp turn right near the park boundary
and exits a eucalyptus grove, allowing a great view to the south of North Peak
in McNee Ranch State Park (except when it's foggy). The navigating gets a little
confusing as some social trails, deer paths, and an old routing of the trail cross
the official trail. The real path is marked with a decaying wooden trail sign
which reads Valley View Trail; when you encounter the old path continue straight.
Grassland carpets the nearly flat crest of the hill, but the trail soon wanders
through chaparral and takes a slightly steeper course, though the hiking is still
easy. Look for cotoneaster (a non-native poisonous plant with pretty red berries),
creambush, ceanothus, 
huckleberry,
coyote brush, California coffeeberry, sagebrush, toyon, and poison oak on the
sides of the path. Views east and south, toward the hills of the San Francisco
Watershed, are unobstructed and wonderful. This very quiet section of the park
is home to many animals, and you may see footprints and scat from deer, coyote,
and bobcat. Remain on Valley View Trail as a few unmarked paths depart to the
northeast on the left side of the trail. Much too soon for me, the trail begins
a descent. Switchbacks keep the grade manageable. The trail is very rocky in sections,
as it passes by a few silktassel shrubs, along with toyon and coyote brush. At
a corner, look for a bench with the best view of the eastern section of the park,
including the switchback-happy 
Hazelnut
Trail on the other side of the valley. This is a good spot for some nature exploration
with binoculars. You might get lucky and see coyote or bobcat in the grassy valley,
but you stand a good chance of seeing deer and hawks. Valley View Trail continues
a descent, passing through some eucalyptus on the way back down to the valley
floor. On a hike in October, I noticed pick blossoms busting out from the bare
branches of a currant bush, a sure harbinger of winter's approach. At 1.6 miles,
Valley View Trail ends at a signed junction with Weiler Ranch Road Trail. Continue
straight on Weiler Ranch Road Trail.