Half Moon Bay Coastal Trail (Miramontes Pt.- Wavecrest) 2016-01-15

Wavecrest

Half Moon Bay has several beaches and miles of coastal trails. Dogs are allowed in most trails, but only in specific beaches. The section of the coast we covered today was from Miramontes Point until Wavecrest Open Space. I had parked at the end Redondo Beach Rd where free parking is available for about 20 cars.

Ritz Carlton

Apollo and I started our walk from Redondo Beach parking lot heading south. After going by couple of private residences, the coastal trail enters the Ritz-Carlton property. As you would expect, the cement surfaced trail has a manicured look as it cuts through the posh property and lawns. 

As the trail goes south, technically exiting Ritz-Carlton and entering Half Moon Bay Golf Links, the upscale experience continues. Set on top of a bluff with the ocean on one side and a golf course on the other, this is as good as it gets. I am glad that the trail is open to public and allows dogs.

Manhattan Beach

About a mile south, a flight of stairs led us to the pristine Manhattan beach. One of the nicest beaches in the area, Apollo had a field day running around, initially by himself, subsequently with other dogs in the beach. 

Red-tailed Hawk

The trail crosses a wooden bridge south of the beach and goes south about half a mile more through the golf course. In this stretch, I noticed a red-tailed hawk sitting at ground level in the golf course. The predator showed no fear we walked by it and approached it close enough to take a good photograph. 

The trail ended abruptly at the edge of the golf course. I could see a rough trail going ahead, but that is through a private property and not a formal trail.  We turned around, little more than a mile and a half from where we started and retraced our steps back to Redondo beach parking lot.

It was sunny, crisp and felt very fall like - and I decided to hike north for a while. If the south section was manicured and upscale, the dirt trail in the north side had a rugged beauty to it. The trail was muddy, but we could walk close to the edge of the bluff several times, with really impressive views of the precipice and beach below.

The trails here have more than one option to go from one point to the other as it runs criss-cross on top of the bluff. Some stretches hug the precipice, others take you away from the edge, but they all head generally in the same direction. 

We walked north close to two miles, enjoying the scenic beauty laid out before us. And turned around at Wavecrest Open Space after learning little more about the fauna and flora of the region from the educational boards in that location. 

For variation, I tried to choose different stretches of the coastal trail. The beaches below the bluffs, at Wavecrest and Redondo were tempting, but I had to pass on them today. We retraced our steps back to Redondo Beach Rd. 


More pictures from our 6.6 mile walk.
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