Half Moon Bay Coast
A quick coast day with pumpkin farms, a flat bluff trail and a surfer-watching lunch spot.
45 min drive · 1 day · Best for all ages · Year-round
Day 1: Coast day
- 9:30 Coastside Trail by bike or stroller
- 11:30 Pumpkin patch & corn maze (fall)
- 1:00 Fish tacos at Pillar Point Harbor
- 3:00 Tide pools at Fitzgerald Reserve
From parents who have been
- To find sea stars, look in the mussel beds on the right side of the pools. Water sandals grip the slick seaweed rocks better than rain boots do. 510 Families
- Recent visitors found the pools thin on wildlife when the tide was only near zero. Go on a minus tide if you can. The small free lot fills up at low tide, so come a little early and walk the Cypress Grove or Bluff Trail while the water drops. TripAdvisor reviews
- When seals close off parts of the beach, the overlook on the Bluff Trail is the best place for kids to watch them. Keep voices low near the seals. Trees and Tents trail guide
- For the Coastside Trail, park at Half Moon Bay State Beach on Kelly Ave. The bike shop there rents child trailers for ages 2 to 7 and is closed Mondays. On weekends, skip Hwy 1 from Montara to the harbor, which is stoplights and shoulder parking. There is a gap near Surfer's Beach from cliff erosion. SF Chronicle Sunday Drive
- For a pumpkin patch with small kids, one local parent liked Pastorino Farms (clean, friendly, inflatables, pony rides) much more than Arata's, which she found overpriced. Another notes Farmer John's lends free red wagons for pumpkins and kids. Kin Parenting Substack
Good to know
- Hwy 92 backs up on October weekends
- Always bring a sweater
- Check tide charts before you go
- Since Aug 2026 the main ramp down to the Fitzgerald tide pools is closed. Use the Seal Cove stairs off Cypress Ave (not stroller-friendly)
- Pumpkin patches run September and October only
- The ramp from the Fitzgerald parking lot down to the tide pools is closed. Walk the Coastal Trail about 0.3 miles to Cypress Ave and take the Seal Cove stairs down instead. Plan on stairs, not a stroller.