Half Moon Bay State Beach

Half Moon Bay State Beach preserves four miles of shoreline and four connected beaches on the San Mateo coast as part of California’s state park system. The area was used for thousands of years by Ohlone communities, then passed through Spanish exploration, mission grazing, and the rancho era after secularization. By the mid-19th century, American settlers arrived, the settlement’s name evolved into Half Moon Bay, and farming became a mainstay of the local economy. The coast later gained a railroad link, served bootleggers during the 1920s, and hosted a World War II coastal defense post. Today it is valued for recreation, notable surf near Pillar Point, and wildlife including the rare western snowy plover.

California · United States