Pretty hike through varied terrain including ridges, beach walks and bluff trails.

Location: Sweeney Ridge — Mori Point

» Trail Map by National Park Service: Good map showing various trails. Mileage information is missing.

To Fassler Ave Trailhead (1.5 miles): From Rockaway Beach parking lot, cross Highway 1 and walk along Fassler Ave (1.5 miles). In early morning, there is not much traffic along this road. There is a sidewalk on one or both sides of this road. Fassler Ave ends in a trailhead for Sweeney Ridge.

To Mori Point (5.6 miles): From Fassler Ave trailhead, follow Baquiano Trail (0.6 miles). Turn left on Farallone View Trail (1.0 miles) to reach a hill which provides views of Farallone Islands on a clear day. Return by the same trail back to Baquiano Trail. Turn left and follow Baquiano Trail (1.2 miles) to reach an intersection with Sweeney Ridge Trail. At this junction lies Portola Discovery Site. Turn left on Sweeney Ridge Trail (0.6 miles) to reach Nike Missile Site, an abandoned building. Continue along Sweeney Ridge Trail (0.5 miles). Then continue along Mori Ridge Trail (1.3 miles) which descends towards Highway 1. Along this trail, great views of Pacific Ocean, Mori Point and Rockaway Beach are available. Mori Ridge Trail ends in a large parking lot for Shelldance Nursery trailhead. Continue along a paved road (0.4 miles) to reach Highway 1. Turn right and walk a few hundred feet to a pedestrian crossing. Cross Highway 1 carefully, then turn left and walk back a few hundred feet to reach the entrance for Mori Point.

To Rockaway Beach (2.1 miles): Upon entering Mori Point, follow a series of trails (0.7 miles) to reach a high point from where Sharp Park Beach in the north is clearly visible. Continuing further towards the ocean, one may explore Mori Point and return (0.3 miles). Turn right onto an unmaintained trail (1.1 miles) that goes all the way to Rockaway Beach. In September 2012, this trail looked reasonably well developed. It meanders high abobe in the cliffs, next to the Pacific Ocean, going through a quarry that does not seem operational any more. The boundary between Mori Point and the quarry was not well marked in September 2012. So it was possible to walk all the way along these unmaintained, steep and sometimes slippery trails, to Rockaway Beach, without any sign asking us not to follow these trails. An alternative to walking along these trails is to take the "bike route" in Mori Point to reach Rockaway Beach (see trail map for Mori Point for its location).

Location: Old County Road, Pacifica, CA 94044. . No street address. Parking area is visible in Google Maps if you zoom in sufficiently.

Google Maps:

Parking Fees: None (last visited: September 2012)

Capacity: Over two dozen cars may be parked here.

Latitude: 37.608988     Longitude: -122.495636