San Francisco · Skyline, Alice’s and Pacific Return
Redwoods, ridge rhythm and ocean air in one clean Bay Area loop.
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Why this ride
Redwoods, ridge rhythm and ocean air in one clean Bay Area loop. Out of Belmont and back again: 154 km, roughly 2 h 41 in the saddle. The stops in between: Alice’s Restaurant rider stop, Pescadero coast view and Half Moon Bay water stop. It keeps close to the shore for long stretches.
Roadbook
- Skyline Boulevard ridge
start
Skyline Boulevard runs along the spine of the Santa Cruz Mountains, high above the cities of the San Francisco Peninsula, and its ridge has a character quite unlike the coast or the bay. The road, also known as State Route 35, follows the crest through redwood and Douglas fir forest, with the fog of the Pacific on one side and the sunny, hazy bay on the other. Climbing from Belmont, about four kilometres away, you leave the suburbs behind within minutes and find yourself in cool, shaded woodland that smells of damp bark and bay laurel.
Beneath the ridge lies the San Andreas Fault, which runs through the long valley of the Crystal Springs reservoirs, the lakes that supply much of San Francisco's water. Nearby Sweeney Ridge is where in 1769 the Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolá and his party looked down and saw San Francisco Bay for the first time, which they had missed on their march north. Redwoods in the folds of the hills include some of the oldest in the region, and many of the big trees were logged in the nineteenth century to rebuild the city.
For motorcyclists, Skyline is a pilgrimage. The road has long, flowing curves, short climbs and descents, a good surface in most places and light traffic on weekdays. On sunny weekends it is busy with riders, and the crowds gather at the old roadhouse at the junction with Highway 84, a long-time biker stop. Cyclists share the road, so take care, and watch for deer, loose gravel and damp patches under the trees, where the sun rarely reaches. Fog can drop the temperature sharply and cut visibility in a minute.
Fuel is easy in Belmont, a city of twenty-seven thousand, and there is little on the ridge itself, so fill up before you climb. Cafés in Woodside and La Honda serve coffee and sandwiches, and the roadhouse does burgers and pie.
Ride it early on a weekday, when the light comes through the trees and the road is almost empty.
- Alice’s Restaurant rider stop
food
Alice's has a second life as a rider stop, and it is worth saying a bit about the culture that has grown up around it rather than just the road. On weekends, the lot at the Skyline and Highway 84 crossing becomes a kind of open-air club, with riders from San Francisco, San Jose and the East Bay meeting for breakfast, comparing notes and drifting off in small groups. Nobody is in a hurry, and a sense of unspoken etiquette keeps things civil: park tidily, keep engines low when you leave, and wave at the locals.
The surrounding land is redwood and Douglas fir forest, in the heart of the Santa Cruz Mountains, with a thick, damp smell and a mossy hush. In the nineteenth century these hills were logged heavily to feed the growth of San Francisco, and the old skid roads and mill sites are still hidden in the trees. Many of today's roads follow those lumber routes, which explains why they bend and climb so naturally along the ridges. The San Andreas Fault runs through the valley just to the east, and the whole range is a product of the grinding collision of tectonic plates.
If you want to ride from here, two options are the classic. West on Highway 84 takes you down La Honda Road through steep, tight bends, with big redwoods overhead, to the coast near San Gregorio. South on Skyline carries you along the crest with long views in both directions. Both roads are narrow, with bad patches and fallen branches after storms, so look well ahead and leave margin. Local police and the highway patrol are active at weekends, so keep it civil.
Woodside, five kilometres down, has the last easy fuel, so be sure to top up before you climb. The restaurant's busy hours run from mid-morning to early afternoon, and the best time to come is on a weekday, when you can talk to the staff and the regulars. Wear layers, since the temperature drops quickly in the shade.
- Pescadero coast view
photo
On the coast south of Half Moon Bay, the Pacific shows a rougher, more private face than around San Francisco, and the viewpoints here are among the best on the entire Highway 1 run. The land is a narrow marine terrace of grassland and farm fields cut by steep gullies, with sea cliffs of crumbling sandstone and long, empty beaches below. Pescadero State Beach and Bean Hollow lie a few minutes away, with tide pools full of anemones and crabs, and sea stacks standing off the shore like a row of broken teeth.
A few kilometres south is Año Nuevo, where northern elephant seals gather on the beaches to breed and moult. The breeding season runs from December to March, when the big males fight and the pups are born, and the reserve needs a booked guided walk at that time of year. Even from the highway, the huge shapes of the seals can sometimes be made out on distant sand. Gray whales pass close to shore on their migrations in winter and spring, and a patient watcher at a headland may see a spout or a flick of a tail.
Riding here is about wind, light and surface. The road is mostly smooth, with long gentle curves along the bluffs, but the cold wind off the sea can be fierce, and on a foggy day it gets damp and cold fast. Artichoke fields and brussels sprout farms line the roadside, the scent of salt and kelp drifts in on the breeze, and the sun when it breaks through lights the grass an intense green. The best time is a calm afternoon in autumn, when the fog stays offshore and the Pacific turns a deep blue.
The nearest big town is Woodside, twenty-three kilometres away, but Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz have better services along the coast. There is little fuel in between, so top up, carry water and dress warmly. Pull over only at the marked turnouts, where the shoulder is firm.
- Half Moon Bay water stop
stop
Half Moon Bay is where the Peninsula's mountains finally meet the Pacific. The town sits on a wide coastal plain, backed by the green flank of the Santa Cruz Mountains and fronted by a long crescent of sand, and it feels like a different state from the busy bay side only twenty minutes away over Highway 92. Fog arrives most summer afternoons, so mornings are your best bet for sun.
Riders come through on Highway 1 and use the town as a pause on the coast run. The road here is wide and easy, with long views over fields of artichokes, Brussels sprouts and pumpkins, and it grows tighter and more dramatic south toward Pescadero and Santa Cruz. Highway 92 over the mountains is the classic way in from the east, a tight, tree-lined climb with a few steep switchbacks, and it is worth a ride in either direction. Watch for cyclists, who flock to these roads at weekends, and for the cold, wet patches under the redwoods that never quite dry out.
Half Moon Bay is also a place with some history. It began as a Spanish-era farming spot, and later became known as Spanishtown, and during Prohibition its isolated beaches were used by rum-runners who landed their cargo at night. Today, its biggest annual event is the Art and Pumpkin Festival in October, when the whole coast road clogs with visitors. A few kilometres north, at Pillar Point, huge winter swells break far offshore at a place surfers call Mavericks, and in big storms they are a spectacle even from the cliff.
For practical things, the town has more than twelve thousand people, which means fuel, groceries, bike shops and cafes on the main street are all easy. A bowl of clam chowder and a view of the harbour at Pillar Point is a classic and reliable lunch. Weekend traffic on the coast road can be slow, with long tailbacks heading back over Highway 92 on Sunday afternoons, so plan around it.
- Back to Skyline Boulevard ridge
finish
Back at Skyline Boulevard ridge. That is the ride.