Half Moon Bay Coastal Trail

Just a short walk from the parking lot. This beach also doubles as a golf course. Today the weather was clear and sunny, but as usual when you get to Half Moon Bay the clouds start to roll in. We didn’t mind the overcast so much, and despite the cloudy weather it was still relatively warm. It wasn’t too dirty when we arrived at the beach, and the sand wasn’t too coarse. You get to see a beautiful view of the house on the cliff as well as the interesting pillars under it that seemed to be carved from sandstone. There were a lot of small crabs, velella velella, and interesting shells scattered across the shore. Not overpopulated and allows pets.

This place is just breathtaking. I took a study break here and was not disappointed. Everyone must check this place out, but bring a jacket because it is always cold! You might pass by the Ritz-​carlton Hotel which is gorgeous itself. I saw many beautiful flowers and went down to the beach. I highly recommend this place for sight seeing and maybe a nice jog.

great place to stroll, hike (easy), jog, run, rollerblade, or push a stroller. this paved trail is nice and flat with gorgeous views of the beach and coastline. as hubby and i walked along el granada beach, we decided to head back to street level and stumbled onto this trail. there were a couple of runners, getting their afternoon cardio in, and i got jealous b/​c i’d have loved to join them in a run along the water. i did notice one restroom/​water fountain station, which is very helpful on a hot day, but definitely recommend bringing your own water/​hydration if you’re running long on this trail. i would definitely consider taking a day trip out here just for the opportunity to run along this trail with a view!

Beautiful trail! You’ll like it if you like a nice hike along the ocean, sprinkled with a tad of luxury passing through the Ritz Carlton.
We started near a parking lot right after the Pelican Point RV Park and then walked north for about ½ hr to the border of the Wavecrest Open Space and then back (about a 3 mi loop). We saw a wedding being setup at the Ritz, Golf courses, horses, two beaches (Redondo and the one near our parking), and lots of ocean. It was a nice easy walk. Great thing about this trail is that you can keep walking north and extend your hike.
PARKING — There are multiple options, but we found 3:
1. Inside the Ritz’s covered garage, there should be about 25 spaces open to the public. As you approach the Ritz, you’ll see the sign.
2. The parking lot right after the Pelican Point RV Park.
3. The parking lot at Redondo Beach, at the end of the «Redondo Beach Road».

This trail is gorgeous and reminds me that rich people have all the nicest things. Sitting adjacent to the Ritz Carlton, this trail is obviously paved, well-​manicured, and intertwined with a golf course overlooking hanging cliffs and the friggin ocean.
I’m out of place, but this is nice! Bring a warm jacket and if the sun wants to come out in overcast ass half moon bay, it does around 4:30p.

omg so beautiful!

We’re lovin’ this trail in Half Moon Bay (near the Ritz!). Views are stunning, air is crisp and clean, pets allowed too! We spent a good 1 – 2 hours, walking along the trail, embracing the nice views, and looking out into the ocean. :)
You can park in the golf parking lot near the Ritz (for free)!

just a fantastic trail that meanders along the coast. We always bring our dog and just have a great time. If there’s no fog, its simply a beautiful walk. We love it!

Amazing bike ride. I started in the Half Moon Bay State Park parking lot and road up to the air force base. The path is paved 95% of the way with one 50 yard exception which was fine.
The views were amazing, there were great restaurants along the way and the sunset was incredible.
Bring cash though. I went ⁰⁄₃ on places that accepted credit cards and even wrote someone a check.
Definitely recommend this ride.

Half Moon Bay is one of my favorite day trips.
The beach, the views, the people, the parks on the beach and on the hills next to it, even the winding roads leading to it are all gorgeous. At any season and any time of the year.
There are many different reasons to come down here, and the beautiful coastal trail is can be a destination by it self or combined with any other activity.
It is a paved trail that stretched between the Harbor to the north and Half Moon Bay State Park beach at the end of SR92.
It connects all half moon bay sandy beaches together in a 6 mile one way pathway that leads you to the top of sea cliffs, restaurants and small coffee places while crossing next to campgrounds and neighborhoods. At some points it joins the local road or crosses them, at some points people created another path that leaves the main one and if you chose it — as long as you keep moving on the right direction you’ll be able to find be back on the trail easily.
We used to ride on it with our kids from one of its middle when they were young, and now we usually walk the whole length of it after another recreation activity in the area. on weekend you ‘ll find all people at all ages on the trail jugging cycling, walking, standing to enjoy the ocean views.
You can park anywhere at both ends of the trail, or anywhere in the middle at one of the many entry points. there’s an entry point to the trail at all beach access points. We used to park at the end of Beach drive for years. at winter time the parking used to be free and the lot empty. It was very comfortable to unload/​load the kids bicycle from/​to the car. You can also access it from the Mirmar beach, but on weekend it is difficult to find a parking spot on that area.

The Half Moon Bay Coastal Trail is absolutely stunning. Then again, anything by the Ritz Carlton is bound to impress.
The path itself is fairly short, but there are plenty of outlets to the beach and people milling about. The best part? Free parking at the Ritz!

I imagine it’s a much better bike trail than a walking one. Starting at the southern campgrounds and going to the beach/​restaurant end took us an hour and a half. As the road is nicely paved, we were constantly passed by bikes on this narrower trail.
After getting through the campgrounds/​wooded portion of the trail, views of the coast were great. The ocean breeze made the temperature noticeably cooler. With a dirt trail adjacent to us, we saw many passing horses too!
While we appreciated it was dog friendly, I highly advise you keep the dog on leash at all times. We had been walking about a mile with our golden retriever when an officer saw us and stopped us immediately. He sternly reprimanded us and detained the group for 10mins while he wrote us a written warning and did a check on my ID. Apparently dogs off leash is an exciting infraction for these folks. When the trail got close to the beach, we saw plenty of dogs off leash and let her loose there!

I fell in love with this trail and it’s now one of my favorite NorCal bike riding trails. I love biking but I’m not a die-​hard serious mountain biker or climbing high elevations racing guy like many here in the Bay Area, so this was perfect. I started at the visitors center at Kelly Ave ($ 10 parking fee) and went north past Miramar (if you turn right on Magellan the trail continues on the left) up to the end of the trail and rode beyond over to the Half Moon Bay Airport.
Then heading back south I went to the end of the paved trail on the dirt trail to the Ritz Carlton. My bike has bigger tires so the dirt trail was fine but I wouldn’t take some of the guys that ride with me that have skinny road tires on that part of the trail. There are some steep climbs once you start riding on the Ritz Carlton grounds but mostly the golf cart drivers didn’t seem to care much for bicyclists and parked their carts across the entire pathway.
I love the ocean view, especially heading south from Kelley Ave towards the Ritz! Heading north also has great views but there are probably a few more parts of the path that don’t run right next to the ocean in that segment. Awesome ride! Highly recommended!

One of the best places to walk — with or without a dog — & ride a bicycle. Great views of the ocean at various points. It is paved from the north end at Pillar Point Harbor to the south just past Poplar St. It turns to dirt at this point which is Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) land known as Wavecrest. (There are plans to eventually pave a trail through this section also). The trail hugs the bluffs for about a mile or so & then is paved again at Redondo Beach Rd. Here the HMB Coastal Trail continues to the Ritz Carlton Hotel HMB & then continues along the golf course across a bridge up a hill where it ends at its southern most point.

Based on the reviews, we were expecting something quite different! The free parking at the Ritz Carlton is really nice, but the unpaved part of the dirt trail is really long and hazardous for road bikes, and I’d imagine for runners as well!
The horse there was really nice though!

Beautiful location for a morning walk through the links style golf course at the Ritz Carleton. If your on a mountain bike this would be an excellent warm up to the short but fun single track riding just off the northern end of the coastal access trail.

We picked up the trail at Ritz Carton Hotel. If you’re expecting rugged hiking, look somewhere else. The trail is paved, but very well maintained.
If you’re looking for stunning views of the ocean and an easy walk, then look no further.
Free parking at the Ritz, if you can find a space, and the trail picks up right outside of the garage.

The Half Moon Bay Coastal Trail are mainly covered by asphalt from Marimar Beach to Poplar Street. Beyond Poplar Street, it is off-​road biking until you reach Ritz Carlton Hotel. The asphalt portion is safe for kids and lots of fun. We parked at Venice Beach ($ 10 parking) and head north first to Marimar Beach for coffee. We then head back south toward Ritz Carlton Hotel.
The off-​road portion is very bumpy and may not be safe for kids. The off-​road trail is not well maintain, many holes and some are just next to the cliff you have to be careful when riding with kids. Since the road are not even, the kids have problem keeping on the trail and we have turn back mid way on the trail
The entire Coastal Trail with asphalt is at least 3 miles long each way and you share with hiker and runners. Plenty of stop for restroom break and nice view of the ocean along the route. There are so much to explore along the route for the kids. it will be good if they have asphalt all the way to Ritz Carlton Hotel.

Paved trail on the grounds of the Ritz-​Carlton Half Moon Bay resort, but once you pass through the gates and move off the hotel grounds, the trail soon becomes very unlevel and not very good for running. Ruts !!! An easy place to turn an ankle. Spoke with one of my fellow runners who said he did exactly that — turn an ankle.
Beautiful coastal views (if it’s not foggy) is the attraction. .. But the trail itself is in bad shape once you get off the grounds of the Ritz-​Carlton.