Half Moon Bay sits at the midpoint of one of the great California coast drives, between San Francisco and Santa Cruz. Highway 1 south from town passes through Pescadero (with its bakery and pumpkin patches), Pigeon Point Lighthouse, and Año Nuevo State Park, where thousands of elephant seals haul out in winter to breed. North on Highway 1, the road clings to Devil's Slide before opening up to the surf beach at Pacifica and on into San Francisco.
Inland, the Skyline Boulevard along the ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains, reached via Highway 92 over the hill, is a beautiful drive through redwood and oak forest with viewpoints in both directions. The road links several state parks — Purisima Creek, Wunderlich, Huddart — that make for excellent half-day hikes.
