The Coastside Trail (sometimes signed as the Half Moon Bay Coastal Trail) runs about seven miles from Pillar Point Harbor in the north to Poplar Beach in the south, hugging the bluffs above the state beach for most of its length. It is paved, almost completely flat, and open to walkers, runners, and cyclists. The full length and back is a good half-day; most visitors do a section.
The most rewarding stretch is the middle portion between Roosevelt Beach and Venice Beach, where the trail runs right along the bluff edge with the surf below and a row of dunes between you and the sand. Benches and informal stairs down to the beach appear every few hundred metres. The northern end, near the harbour, passes the surf-checking spot for Mavericks; the southern end ends in the open bluffs of Poplar Beach, where dogs are allowed off-leash and horses ride along the sand.