Gorgeous hike through varied terrain. Starting off with great ocean views, the hike meanders through forests and ridges with awesome valley views. Plenty of wildflowers in spring.

Location: McNee Ranch State Park — San Pedro Valley County Park

Location: along Cabrillo Highway (CA-1) in Half Moon Bay, CA 94019 . No street address. Parking area is visible in Google Maps if you zoom in sufficiently.

Directions: From I-280 North, take exit 47 to merge onto CA-1 South toward Pacifica. Drive for 10.3 miles to reach a parking lot on your left, to the east of Highway 1.

Google Maps:

Parking Fees: None (last visited: Jan 2011)

Capacity: Almost 30 cars may be parked here.

Latitude: 37.563332     Longitude: -122.512836

» Official Trail Map: Good map showing various trails. Mileage information is missing.

To San Pedro Valley Visitor Center (5.3 miles): Gray Whale Cove Trail (1.16 miles) to Montara Beach parking lot (entrance to McNee Ranch off Highway 1). North Peak Access Rd (0.95 miles) → San Pedro Mountain Rd (0.79 miles) → Montara Mountain Trail (2.39 miles) to San Pedro Valley Visitor Center.

To Gray Whale Cove Parking Lot (5.9 miles) Climb ~ 1200 ft by following Old Trout Farm Loop Trail (0.42 miles) → Brooks Creek Trail (0.74 miles) → Montara Mountain Trail (1.07 miles). Descend ~ 1200 ft by following North Peak Access Rd (1.02 miles) → San Pedro Mountain Rd (0.78 miles) to reach intersection with North Peak Access Rd. Continue along San Pedro Mountain Rd (1.01 miles) → connector (0.06 miles) → Gray Whale Beach Trail (0.86 miles) to Gray Whale Beach parking lot.

Additional Maps: For this hike, you would need the following maps:

1. San Pedro Valley County Park: Website — Trail Map — Yelp Reviews.
2. Gray Whale Cove Beach: Trail Map.

Notes: You may start this hike from Montara State Beach trail head for McNee Ranch.That would shorten the hike by about 1.7 miles.