Pillar Point Harbor

Went here a right after a long weekend with some family members. It was my first time. Was very quiet and we only saw one sign that indicated fresh seafood was available for purchase.
As we walked down the pier we saw some sea lions frolicking in the water. We enjoyed seeing all the fishing boats and their equipment. Weather was sunny too! Would like to come back on a day when it is fully up and running.
Also noticed there was a family fishing off the pier. Looked like fun!

My uncle brought me here while looking to buy crab. There are boats parked along the main walkway advertising their offerings in addition to a whiteboard at the beginning of the dock listing boats with fish.
One boat ‘New Day’ even had Alaskan salmon to sell from its recent season in Alaska. The Coho were $ 8 a pound while King was $ 12 a pound. The fish have been gutted but you buy them whole for a couple of hundred bucks a fish – ideal for a party unless you are feeding a family of bears.
The crab stayed $ 6 a pound the couple of times we went over the last few weeks. And the average crab was a fat 2 pounds.

When I lived in the Bay my family would visit Pillar Point Harbor almost once a month for some good old crabbing and fishing. It’s been years since we did this so I was very excited to see all the changes and developments that have happened when I visited with my husband last weekend. The fishing pier was still the same but all the shops in the parking area were remodeled. There is a small surf/​rental shop, bait shop and at least 2 new/​remodeled restaurants serving some of the best seafood and clam chowder around.
If you walk past the pier and head up on the hill there is another little eatery which seemed pretty popular. The lines were long and people were hovering around with their clam chowder bread bowls and fish and chips. There is also a large hotel resort and Half Moon Bay Brewing Company. It was a beautiful day out so there were a lot of people out taking in the scenery, eating and drinking. Along the second pier were more sightseers and people fishing. I remember walking to the end of the pier and buying fresh fish off the fishing boats with my mom but there weren’t any this time.
I was really happy to see all the developments and the fishing/​crabbing still looks good. We saw a couple people with buckets of crabs and fish (jack smelt or mackerel). We live a little farther now but I hope to return again sometime and spend the day fishing and enjoying some fresh seafood.

Busy place. Came on a blah overcast day. Glad it wasn’t raining. Came really for the scenery and not so much the shops. Lots of restaurants. Something for everybody. Disappointed not all the shops were open. The souvenir shop was closed. Bummer. Pretty view of course even in dreary weather. Drove out past all this on to the famous Mavericks. Wish it was easier to get to especially for those of us with a kid in a stroller or those who are wheelchair bound. A bit of an uphill hike plus he fact you have to mini hike off the beaten path for a good view. It wouldn’t have been such a big deal if it was just me but hard to maneuver a stroller bound toddler all by myself. Not sure what I was thinking, but hell or high water I was getting over to that cliffs edge to see these dam waves today! Waves were not as big as I thought they would be once I got there. Gotta come back again on a different day and check it out again.

Pillar Point Harbor is such a nice place to walk around. We were here Christmas Day when everything was closed, and the vibe was awesome. We spent a couple hours just walking around with our dog, and there were plenty of other people out and about including families with kids and/​or dogs, older couples, foreign folks; the diversity was really great. I can’t imagine a better way to spend the afternoon than getting some fresh air and exploring here. Truly a lovely laid-​back spot.

Best place to find seashells in Half Moon Bay. Make sure you bring a bag to put them in!
1. Drive past the harbor and follow streets toward Mavericks Point
2. Park at he parking lot just to the left of the gate that keeps you from getting close to the Air Force installation above Mavericks Point.
3. Walk out to Mavericks point (–25 mins each way, restrooms /​port-​a-​potties at the trail head)
4. There are oodles of small to medium seashells at Mavericks Point
Welcome to Mother Nature’s free souvenir shoppe!
Note: Keep an eye on the ocean. There are occasional sneaker waves and high tide can trap you away from the main beach.
Happy Shelling

This morning around 7:30am, Humpback Whales feeding, breaching, jumping! I live in a magical place. So grateful to get to see these beautiful animals on my way to a business meeting!

Bring your bikes to ride trail along coastline. Absolutely gorgeous, easy ride for the whole family.

It’s a nice place to buy seafood from the boat. If you are looking for a bargain, this may not be the place. However, if you are looking for high quality seafood, this is the place you should come.
We came on Saturday 5÷16÷15 and bought some uni from dock # G-​8. Gosh! It’s a ripoff. We had 8 of them. $ 5/​lb. When we opened the uni, it’s empty inside. We basically bought a shell home. When I researched online, it seems like uni season is March and Oct. This is something pissing me off. If you know it’s not the season and there is nothing inside the uni, you shouldn’t sell at all.
Anyway, we also bought rock cod from another boat. $ 10/​lb. It’s wild caught. This is something you can’t compare with the farm raised cod. Make sure you come early. We came at noon and bought a few of them. However, when we returned after lunch, the boat was gone.

Ok. Time to update my review.
Again, this is the place I come to relax and enjoy the nice ocean breeze. I usually come fishing or crabbing here at the jetty. The view is amazing especially In the mornings when I get here before the sunrise. And when the sun sets. This place can get crowded on the weekends and parking will be a pain to look for. I come here for recreational fishing and crabbing and have great luck and success.
The view is amazing just to watch the waves crash and take in the view. Come here relax and go to the local restaurants and enjoy a bite to eat.

Came here to buy some crab, thinking we would pay less here then at the store. Found many of the boat selling crab, so we paid $ 7 a lbs thinking it was a good deal. Next day I went to ranch 99 and saw the crabs are $ 6.99 lbs for live crab. They had shrimp, salmon and abalone for sale too. Note wholesale price for crab are $ 3.00 a lbs.

Ran into a psycho surfer who threatened me. I pull into the parking lot to go fishing. There were a bunch of cars idling at the entrance of the lot. I pull past them to the back of the lot looking for a spot. Its all full so I stop for a minute and then start to turn around to leave. I saw a lady walk to her car and she said that she was leaving and that I could have her spot at the back of the lot. There were no other cars around. She starts to pull out and I put on my blinker.
Then I hear honking and a beater truck pulls up (a truck that I passed at the front of the lot) cursing at me and flipping me off. He tries to block me from the spot, gets out, and starts banging on the hood of my car. He says «you knew I was waiting, that’s my spot, F-​you, F-​you, I was waiting 20 minutes to go surfing, that’s my spot.» I say «uhh, you were at the other end of the lot, I talked to this lady, she said that I could have her spot.» He says «f-​you. It doesn’t matter what she said, I was waiting, I was waiting 20 minutes, f-​you.» He continues flipping me off and banging on the hood of my car. I was scared of the guy so I left. The surfers out there are psycho — have the police on speed dial if you want to park.

A nice place for transient berthers, $ 1/​ft, even for our catamaran. Walking distance to plenty of restaurants and a sweet beach, nice flow in clean shower rooms, newer washing machines for reasonable cost, and very friendly boating community and friendly and helpful staff. 50 amp plug needed, but they loaned us a pigtail. Commercial fishing vessels and some occasional noisy sea lions plus the foghorn makes earplugs important for light sleeping sailors. Day sail in HMB brings dolphins, whales, sunfish and lots of sea birds. A nice stop.

After a very nice leisurely Lunch, at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company, we walked over to the Pillar Point Harbor. It was fun and relaxing to look at the boats, watch some of the dock-​side fish sales, and watch our fellow travelers meander through their day. Life is good.

A quiet, easy walk along the water in Half Moon Bay. Part of it is concrete but once you get to the ocean side, you will need to walk on the sand. It’s very serene especially during low tide. I know many visit this area to look at the tide pools. Take in the fresh air, say hello to other walkers… count the countless bunnies you’ll see and be warned there are a lot of dog walkers and some are without leashes, but most dogs are pretty tame and keep to them selves.

A nice beach, a little dirty, but there are a few places to wash off after playing in the sand.
Puppy friendly and they even have a dog baggie station in case you forgot your own.
The waves aren’t too big, so my little pup wasn’t scared of them and had a lot of fun!

Unfortunately, salmon season is over. But crab season starts next Thursday! Going to have to come back to walk down the dock and buy crab straight from the boats for $ 3/​pound.
Parking is a total non-​issue here. Found it right away, didn’t see any signs for a charge or anything. Walked all the way down looking at the various boats and the view of the water. Friendly folk working here.
Going to have to look up fishing trips and kayak rentals next time we come in– this seems like a great accessible and clean place to go for all of your watersport needs. And then, stop by Sam’s on your way home!

The view is beautiful here. My bf took me here so he can fish for crab. To me it was dinner.
Parking isn’t bad at all here. They do have this little parking area that cost $ 10 to park however long but you have to be an honest person to actually pay for parking. There is no attendant and in place is a box that you put the money and that’s it. No receipt, nothing so basically no one would even know if you did pay or not. We actually parked right across from it, street parking. But what was crazy that it is a one lane street and trying to cross it a very crazy.
We went on the jetty to fish for crabs and it seemed pretty dangerous but cool and exciting at the same time.

I’ve considered forgoing the life of Riley and becoming a fisherwoman since I was a wee one.
Never mind that I can’t swim without having panic attacks, nor can I wake up before the sun rises. Nevertheless, the extremely difficult, decidedly unglamorous, and oftentimes dangerous vocation has intrigued me since I was old enough to read.
Pillar Point Harbor is where the vessel for the Oceanic Society’s whale watching trips docks when not out searching for whales. Instructions were to meet at Pillar Point but don’t dare disturb the harbormaster. Aye aye, captain. The smell of crustaceans and salt water wafted through the air and I was practicing my best Captain Ahab impression.
Pillar Point is a city girl with a nautical fetish’s dream come true, from the storybook rickety planks to the surly fisherman who risk a lot getting catch for us urbanites. When the dream of becoming a fisherwoman fades after a nauseating voyage, there’s still chance to enjoy the lore by popping into the crab shacks and fish monger’s that inhabit the terra firma of Pillar Point.
With sunny days ahead, consider Pillar Point and its environs for a retreat from the grind!

The stories about huge killer waves at Maverick’s led us to Pillar Point Harbor (pre-​tsunami time, of course). The warning sign that said «Deadly» was a nice touch. But by the time we got there, it seemed that the show was already over and the waves had already settled for the day. So instead, the hubs and I a romantic walk on the beach (don’t judge me), saw a starfish, hiked over slippery rocks, and brace yourself for the cheese… we watched the sunset. Over the ocean. We made out a little too.
We parked in a free little dirt lot and since the beach is somewhat off the beaten path, there weren’t a lot of people around. The views of the ocean and the marina are absolutely gorgeous. Even the rocks are pretty. I think we found our new favorite spot by the bay…