Easy Hikes in Northern California

One of my favorite things about traveling home to California is the abundance of outdoor activities on offer. From biking in the Santa Cruz Mountains to easy hikes in Northern California, surfing at Mavericks, and kiteboarding in San Francisco Bay, there’s no shortage of things to do.

Whenever I come home from London, my first priority is to get outside. My current trip has been no exception. My family loves to do easy hikes in Northern California, and I knew we’d find some new ones while I was in town.

Easy Hike in Half Moon Bay

As soon as my mother, brother, and I woke up on Monday morning, we were off to Pescadero to enjoy the gorgeous November sun and explore the beaches along Highway 1. But we didn’t stop there.

Our day trip from Silicon Valley to the coast also took us 14 miles north of Pescadero to Half Moon Bay.

The city is famous for several things: surfing, The Ritz-Carlton, and the famous Halloween pumpkin patch that backs up traffic from the Pacific Ocean all the way to Highway 280 every weekend in October.

Half Moon Bay is also famous for its beaches. My family pulled off Highway 1 and drove down Poplar Street to a stretch of sand called Poplar Beach.

There we came upon a film crew. They were shooting a surf movie called Chasing Mavericks, which was starring Gerard Butler. Seems we weren’t the only ones out to enjoy the day.

Eager to bask in the outdoors, we decided to set out on the Half Moon Bay Coastal Trail, one of the best easy hikes in Northern California.

It was a several-mile walk that ran along the tops of the cliffs above Poplar Beach and Half Moon Bay State Beach. The fresh ocean air and the gorgeous sunset were enough to make us want to stay all night.

But there was dinner to think about. If I were back in the UK, there would be a convenient pub along the trail where I could get some food and drink. This being the US, there wasn’t. But there was something better: a farm stand.

Out in the open between Pescadero and Half Moon Bay we stumbled upon Bob’s Farm Fresh Vegetables.

There we were surrounded by local produce like artichokes from Giusti Farms, ripe green apples, bright red tomatoes, golden onions, Brussels sprouts, pumpkins, and greens.

We bought everything we needed for a proper Northern California dinner of steamed artichokes and fresh salad. On the way home we picked up some local Dungeness crab to celebrate the start of crab season.

We washed it all down with wine from Bella Vineyards, one of the best wineries in the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County.

Easy Hike on the Peninsula

With so much good food, we needed more easy hikes in Northern California to walk off the calories. Our next one took place a bit closer to home on the Peninsula.

We woke up on Tuesday itching to get outdoors again, and looked no farther than our own neighborhood in Portola Valley.

Despite being from Silicon Valley, I grew up in a town with more horses than people, and I was spoiled with miles of hiking trails right outside my front door.

Our family dog in tow, we set off on another of the best easy hikes in Northern California, this one around Windy Hill Open Space Preserve.

For the next hour, we passed through valleys full of oak trees, dry creeks, deer-filled meadows, and the occasional rope swing.

We came upon clearings with stunning views of the Santa Cruz Mountains and other parts of San Mateo County. Closer in, we passed delicate maidenhair ferns and yellow mushrooms that looked like sea creatures.

Despite the warnings on the hiking trails, we didn’t cross paths with any coyotes or mountain lions. We did see a flock of wild turkeys run by, though. And that’s to say nothing of all of the deer that call Northern California home.

The scenery was gorgeous and the hike pleasant, and of course it left us hungry afterwards. We decided to go to Northern California’s version of a country pub for lunch.

This came in the form of Alpine Inn, a dive bar on the outskirts of Portola Valley I haven’t been to since I was five.

I remember the date because the kitchen burned our food so badly I started crying and my mother vowed never to take us back.

I’m not sure if it was the temptation of a sunny afternoon in the bar’s beer garden or if it was just a case of enough time passing, but we decided to give the place another chance. I’m glad we did.

The afternoon was perfect for sandwiches and beer at the outdoor picnic tables.

My mother got yelled at for asking for whole wheat bread (“We only have one kind of bread!” the old lady at the counter barked), but the food was still much improved from our last trip.