How to Spend a Blissful Day Full of Bike Rides, Beaches, and BBQ in Half Moon Bay

We love being physically active and exploring the outdoors with our kids. One of our goals as parents is to bring them places that will bring them a sense of awe and wonder. While Half Moon Bay may not be the most wondrous place, there is something about our California coastline that is breathtaking–and it’s only an hour away from where we live.

This small city on the California coast, just south of San Francisco, gets its name for the crescent-shaped harbor just north of the town. We went to Half Moon Bay on a sunny day in mid-April on a random Friday our kids were off from school. We went there with a plan of going for a bike ride in the morning, hitting up a BBQ spot for lunch, and wrapping up our day at the local tide pools when the tides were at their lowest.

I acknowledge the Ramaytush, Ohlone, and Muwekma tribes upon whose stolen lands the city of Half Moon Bay was founded.

Trip Purpose

Spend a beautiful day outside and move our bodies near and in the ocean.

AGES OF THE KIDS: Great for all ages (our kids were 2 and 4 years old during our visit)

SUGGESTED LENGTH OF STAY: One day or a weekend

TIME OF YEAR: We visited in mid-April when the weather was typically in the 60s

BASE COST

Gas
All the activities we did were free!

Add-Ons:

~$40 for meals (unless you pack your own)

Before You Go

Dress in layers! The weather can change pretty quickly, especially if you are staying into the evening.
Check the tides. This chart is specific to Pillar Point. Visiting tide pools is all about timing the low tide. A negative tide is ideal, but anything under one foot should be fine.

What We Packed

Standard diaper bag essentials
Beach essentials: extra clothes, water shoes to explore the tide pools, hats, water, sunscreen (all the things to keep you hydrated and protected from the sun)
Bagged lunch (if you’d rather not eat out) and lots of snacks

Recommended Activities

Coastal Trail

The trail is extremely scenic–mountains and hills on one side and the beautiful Pacific on the other. The trail itself is paved and flat, so great for kids. We biked about 1.5 miles southbound starting at Pillar Point Harbor where we parked our car.

The length of the trail goes about 11 miles and passes through beaches, all the way south to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel where you can reward yourself with a tasty beverage and snacks!

Fitzgerald Marine Reserve & Moss Beach

This is a great spot to watch seals and go tidepooling. The weekend we went the main area was closed because the seals were resting there. But a short half-mile walk through the Seal Cove Cypress Tunnel/Bluff Trail took us to Moss Beach, another beach with many tide pools to enjoy.

If the tide is pretty low, venture out toward the ocean to see more interesting ocean life: sea urchin, sea anemones, hermit crabs, and even a few sea stars. We came home with a pocket full of beautiful tiny green, brown, and blue sea glass.

Pillar Point

Pillar Point is another great place for tide pools–I once saw a tiny nudibranch here! It’s not a protected area so we’ve often seen people there collecting sea life, including maybe sea urchins (uni, anyone?). The parking lot is about half a mile from the beach and pools, so it’s best to bring a wagon to pack all your beach gear.

Surfer's Beach

Surfers Beach is perfect for sand playtime and a surf session. The beach can get crowded and the shore pretty much disappears when the tide is really high, but it’s a nice spot nonetheless.

Where to Eat

Backwater BBQ

When we go to Half Moon Bay, we either bring our own lunch…or get BBQ!

We love Breakwater BBQ’s brisket, ribs and cornbread.

Wishlist for our Next Visit

Stand up paddle board in the harbor
Stroll through the downtown area. We drove through on our last trip and it looked very cute.
Camp nearby
Bike down to the Ritz-Carlton

During our visit to Half Moon Bay, I noticed myself continually reminding my kids to look around them, to enjoy nature, asking them how they feel and what they think of their surroundings.

At the tide pools I noticed their excitement from their discoveries of cool shells, hermit crabs moving ever so slightly in the water, the bright orange sea star–which was my favorite. I noticed how free they were, jumping around the pools and how on one jump, my son slipped and dipped his leg into a tide pool. I noticed the joy on their faces interacting with the world around them, feeling a sense of belonging and connectedness.

I also noticed the lack of families of color in this area and think about how to connect more BIPOC families to this beautiful place.

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Rowena K.

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Rowena K. (she/her) is a Filipina-American/Asian-American mama of two, born and raised in Alameda, CA. She is a budding watercolors artist, loves dancing, hiking, running, and, most of all, being at the beach with her family surfing, paddling and building sandcastles. Though her kids and dog give her lots of energy, she’d never pass up an opportunity for a frothy cappuccino.