visiting half moon bay calif this week
 

Helllo-

My partner and I are going to Half Moon Bay from Monterey for a short visit later in the week. Among other things, we want to see redwoods. I saw there is a redwood state park about 7 miles off rte. 1 on rte. 9 around Santa Cruz. Is this a good place to visit? I think there are other redwood forests around Half Moon Bay. Any suggestions? We hope to be staying in B & B in town- restaurant recommendations would be welcome.

Thanks.

Henry Cowell State Park is the park you are talking about, and yes, it's an excellent place to see redwoods. Very easy access and a nice trail network.

Further north along that same ridge is Big Basin Park. It's a much larger park with large stands of old growth redwood - these were protected by CA in the early 1900s. If it wasn't a state park it'd certainly have been designated a national park. It's not as easy or quick to get to but endless miles of great trails. Some of the traills are more remote/rugged.

For a quick look Henry Cowell is easier , but if you have time it's hard to beat Big Basin.

Closer to Half Moon bay is a smaller park "Purisma" that has some large trees and makes for a nice shorter hike. I've hiked those trails starting at both the Half Moon side (Higgins Rd trailhead), and the trailhead on Rt9. Not as many old growth giants but a nice am or pm hike if you're in HMB.

Henry Cowell is the best (I think Big Basin is still mostly closed except for some beach/nature trails on the ocean side). HMB to Feton/Henry Cowell is about a 60-70 minute drive but could take longer if there is construction/etc. Its supposed to rain the next couple of days but later in the week it should be gorgeous

Didn't see J62's post. Purisima Creek is nice and much closer to HMB -- I'd probably go for Henry Cowell if I had the time though.

The closest redwoods park to Hwy 1 on the way to Half Moon Bay is Butano State Park near the village of Pescadero. I think the "best" for your purposes depends on how much time you have. It seems this is a day trip from Monterey &, if so, I suggest you replace Half Moon Bay with Pescadero & visit Butano, an easy detour from the stunning drive along the coast. There's quite a good restaurant in Pescadero, Duarte's. Duarte’s Tavern

Butano SP: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=536

Here are my blog posts about the area including Pigeon Point Lighthouse, very near the turn to Butano SP. There's a lot to enjoy in a compact area, an excellent day trip:
https://www.travelgumbo.com/blog/por...tal-california

Half Moon Bay Brewing is a nice stop- they have a nice fire pit- Food and brew with ocean view

A wildfire devastated the coastal area north of Santa Cruz last year, including the redwood parks, so you may be interested in reading this assessment written this past summer:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.san...akes-time/amp/

We were in Half Moon Bay & Pescadero this past Saturday. I think the OP is planning an overnight since he/she asked about a B&B. There are no B&Bs that I could see in Pescadero, but plenty in HMB. Pasta Moon restaurant is quite popular. It is about 1/2 to1 mile south of downtown HMB. Hwy 35 has lots of redwoods after you get about 2 miles south of Hwy 92. This is about a 10-15 min drive from HMB. Beautiful drive too!!!!

Duarte's is mainly a lunch place. Closes at 3 Mon, Wed, & Th amd at 6 Fri, Sat,.Sun. closed Tues.

Stu Dudley

I was HMB in July. Great lunch with a view at Sam's Chow House.

Sam's ChowDER House. About 5 miles north of HMB with a view of the ocean. https://www.samschowderhouse.com/ There are several "old time" restaurants in that area. Miramar Beach Restaurant https://miramarbeachrestaurant.com/ and Moss Beach Distillery https://mossbeachdistillery.com/

If you want to be surrounded by redwood trees, about 15 mins from HMB on scenic Hwy 35 is The Mountain House (we dine there quite often) https://www.themountainhouse.com/

Stu Dudley

I missed the reference to a B&B but despite Stu's assumption, there are places to stay in Pescadero, the Pescadero Creek Inn, https://www.pescaderocreekinn.com/
plus a number of places in the vicinity on Airbnb.

So with 2 days it does make sense to continue on to HMB, maybe stops at Butano SP, Pigeon Point Lighthose & lunch at Duarte's. There's also Harley Farms, a goat farm very near if cute animals, good cheese & other items-goat make you as happy as they do me. Their attractive website says "open every day 11-4." https://harleyfarms.com/

If your visit will be on the weekend I suggest not planning to drive up 92 to get to 35, known locally as Skyline Blvd, as the forecast is for nice weather & it can be bumper-to-bumper with Stu & the multitudes driving over the hill from the Peninsula. The weather looks like it'll be nice all week so have a great time whatever you decide to do.

There was negligible traffic on 92 around 2PM when we visited HMB on Saturday. But it can be bad on a nice weekend. We've never seen heavy traffic on Hwy 35.

Stu Dudley

I think, with so many other possibilities, going out of their way to get up to Skyline/35 doesn't make much sense.

It's a very scenic drive on Skyline Blvd - along the crest of the mountains with views over both the Bay and the ocean, and then driving through the redwoods. Probably a 10-12 min drive from HMB to the marked lookout point almost immediately south of the 92 & 35 junction. Then another 8-10 mins to Mountain House - which will give the OP more Bay/ocean views and some redwoods. We live in San Mateo (40 years), retired in 1999, and we can get to both HMB & Mountain House in less than 30 mins if there is minimal traffic.

The OP has many options.

Stu Dudley

We agree on that.

I'm curious. In many, if not most, of your posts, Stu, you repeat numbers - years of this & that, the many times you've visited here & there. I can't help but wonder if you believe it conveys greater authority than the rest of us who may, in fact, have numbers that equal or exceed yours but don't feel a need to repeat them. By the way, how's your palm tree doing? Any climate where palms grow is where I want to be.

I believe Butano's trails that access the redwoods are also closed.
The problem with Purisima Creek and all of the peninsula parks, is that on the weekends in good weather, the parking lots will fill up early. So if you go, leave at or before the crack of dawn. Or just drive through without any expectation of parking.

I have been visiting family members in the Bay Area for 55 years, does that count?

My sibling has lived within an 8-iron of Skyline Drive for 30 years, does that count?

The Butano website says . . ."What is open now?
The following trails: Six Bridges, Jackson Flats (from Visitor Center to Mill Ox Trail), Butano Fire Road (from Cloverdale Road to Mill Ox Trail), Mill Ox, Olmo Fire Road (from park road to Goat Hill Trail), Goat Hill (from Olmo Fire Road to Ben Ries Trail), Ben Ries"

I think that includes redwoods but the OP can certainly call to confirm. BTW, I mentioned the weekends because the OP didn't say what days, just "later in the week." I haven't seen anything further to confirm or deny. Clearly weekdays would be better in all respects.

My family has lived on the Peninsula since the 1920s, 3 generations at Sequoia HS. my son (nearly 30 years, too) & granddaughters are in La Honda, between Skyline & Butano. Do those count? We may never know.

Excellent news that Butano is partly open again :) I hadn't read that yet, so thanks Mme for pointing that out.

There are redwoods on both the Six Bridges trail and the Jackson Flats trail at Butano. These are mostly 2nd growth redwoods rather than the ancient old growth trees - so while Butano is wonderful, for redwoods specifically, I'd definitely check out the old growth grove at Henry Cowell. Purisima Creek preserve is also really nice - again, 2nd growth, but great trails.

Certainly more than someone who has only lived in "San Mateo" County (?) City(?) for 40 years.

Sam McDonald County Park is closer than Henry Cowell:

https://flic.kr/p/24BBJMs