Taking in a slice of Half Moon Bay

While our travels have taken us to far away spots like Finland, Mexico City,  China and Quebec, the road trips my wife Sarah and I have taken over the last several years have also proven to be tremendously fulfilling and loaded with surprises. 

In April we drove to the coastal town of Half Moon Bay, 54 miles north of Watsonville. 

The drive along Highway 1 was punctuated with rocky coastlines, rugged beaches, state parks, sweeping ocean views and agricultural fields, many of which share ragged edges with the dramatic cliffs that drop off to the shore.

Tailgaters consistently drive me nuts so I was relieved to roll upon several stretches of highway with passing lanes that allow the hurry-up folks to go about their frenzied approach to bypassing the stunning, rich vistas. 

We used to visit Half Moon Bay a lot, but the tech boom and its surge of folks flocking to the coast changed the feeling so much, with all the parking pullouts crammed with parked vehicles, that we’ve largely avoided it.

But this time our drive was pleasant and relaxing, at times laced with fog and overall cool but sunny conditions. We rolled past Wilder Ranch State Park, a gigantic 7,000-acre stretch of land that runs from Ben Lomond Mountain to the sea. The 1897 Victorian home, now part of the park, still dominates the landscape and clearly sets an early day tone. According to its website, the park offers over 35 miles of hiking trails between the Santa Cruz Mountains and the coastal bluffs.

Though we didn’t have time to swing through Pescadero, it is worth mentioning a favorite spot there: Harley Farms at 205 North Street. It was started in 1991 on a cow dairy farm that was built in 1910 during San Mateo County’s big push in the dairy industry. The small-scale goat dairy produces goat cheese, and features a retail counter with their products and inviting grounds for a picnic or just a brief visit.

Next up, we sailed past the iconic 115-foot Pigeon Point Lighthouse. Fifty miles south of San Francisco, it’s one of the tallest lighthouses in America and has been a guide post for the shipping world since 1872. 

According to California State Parks, the lighthouse features a five-wick lard oil lamp, and a first-order Fresnel lens, composed of 1,008 prisms that was first lit at sunset on Nov. 15, 1872. The lens stands 16 feet tall, 6 feet in diameter, and weighs one ton. The original Fresnel lens is no longer in use, but the lighthouse is still an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation using an automated LED beacon.

We had a room reserved at the Half Moon Bay Lodge along Highway 1, where we were visiting relatives for the night.

As evening crept in we headed a few miles north along Highway 1 to the popular eatery, Sam’s Chowder House (4210 N. Cabrillo Hwy, or Hwy. 1). First opened in 2006, the casual restaurant, with indoor and outdoor seating, offers colossal coastal views of the harbor, a slice of the famous Mavericks surfing spot and in our case, a dramatic sunset. Our meal was superb and the friendly folks that run the place left a great impression.

In the second half of this story, we explore Half Moon Bay and take in the splendor of some of its rich architecture, including the historic 1853 Salt Box House, sometimes referred to as the  “White House of Half Moon Bay.”