Mavericks Beach — Attraction in Half Moon Bay

Beautiful beach, but watch out for broken mussel shells 🐚 and jelly fish 🐙 in the sand (both are EVERYWHERE). Practically NO ONE follows the leash law while walking the trail from Pillar Point, so anticipate lots of random dogs running up to you. 🐕🐾 Also, the parking lot to access the trail to the beach is nearly always packed full on the weekend when weather is nice. Road access beyond the entrance to the parking lot is restricted by the military base atop the hill, so if you get tired of waiting for a parking spot to open up, you'll have to make a U-turn on the road and find somewhere else to park. When we were waiting for a parking spot, a group of chatty dog-walkers were standing around gabbing with one another, blocking the entrance to the parking lot before finally pulling out, with seemingly no regard for the long line of cars waiting. 🙄😒

Other than that, the scenery is soothing. 🏖️🌅⛵ It's an enjoyable experience visiting a place with so much history. 🏄‍♀️🌊 You can hear the seals from Pillar Point Harbor barking as you walk along the trail. There are warnings posted about bacterial contamination of the stagnant water around Pillar Point (marsh) before you get out to the actual beach, so I'd be wary of playing in the water there. There are porta-potties at the entrance to the trail, but that's the only spot, so use the bathroom before you get out to the beach. Children and adults who enjoy collecting sea shells will be delighted to find mussel shells, colorful sea snail shells, sand dollars, and many others. 🦐🐚 We even found a tiny pearl! 📿 There is also a wealth of other flora and fauna to be explored in the tide pools, along the trail, and...

Hands down one of the best places on the planet for big wave surfing...brought my family here to see this place for the awesomeness that it is and for myself to exercise some demons from my past. Have been scared to set foot on Mavericks for years as it almost killed me back in my early 20's. I remember the water being very cold and the water moving very fast. Seals and otters are everywhere along the water. Parking is scarce at best on a half decent day, so on a beautiful day be prepared to walk as there isn't any roadside parking due to the military base and the traffic in and out. The lot itself is very small and parking can get very tight. Half moon bay is a great place to walk around and just soak in the surroundings, mind you the crazy abundance of seaweed can get overwhelming for the nostrils. Cool ride pools make it extra enjoyable too. Beware of sneaker waves and keep your distance from the napping seals on the beach. Remember to thank Jeff Clark in your prayers for having the balls and the vision to even attempt riding Mavericks at all let alone all those years...alone. Hit up the surf shop and chill at the bar for some wobbly pops and chow. Ride on brothers and sisters and remember ...

This place is a hidden treasure. We visited during low tide and spent 2 hrs exploring the tidepools. There's many different sea life clinging to the rocks that I didn't realize were sea anemones. Some tips for enjoying the tidepools is to wet your fingers in salt water first before touching anything to avoid transfer of your oils. Place animals careful back where you found them. You don't have to touch eveything to enjoy it. And very important to keep your eye on the tide amber never turn your back to the ocean. There was a lot of people there harvesting muscles. The rule is they should be the size of your thumb and not smaller. It's a very clean beach so take your trash out to the bins that are located by the parking lot. Parking is tough because there's only 2 small lots that are open...