San Mateo County, officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 718,451. The county seat is Redwood City.
Montara is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population was 2,909 at the 2010 census. Nearby communities include Moss Beach and Princeton-by-the-Sea.
Fitzgerald Marine Reserve is a marine reserve in California on the Pacific Ocean, located just north of Pillar Point Harbor and Mavericks in the San Mateo County community of Moss Beach. Moss Beach is located approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco and 50 miles (80 km) north of Santa Cruz. The reserve is a 32-acre (0.13 km2) holding which extends from Montara light station at the north to Pillar Point on the south. The reserve consists of a three-mile stretch of beach, tidepool habitat, marsh, erosive bluffs, clifftop trail and cypress and eucalyptus forests. The property is owned by the State of California and managed by San Mateo County as a county park and nature preserve. The reserve is administratively assigned to be part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Adjacent to and possibly within the reserve is an endangered species of butterfly, the San Bruno elfin butterfly.
Crystal Cove State Park is a state park of California, United States, encompassing 3.2 miles (5.1 km) of Pacific coastline, inland chaparral canyons, and the Crystal Cove Historic District of beach houses. The park is located in Newport Beach. Crystal Cove is a stretch of coastal cliffs and a beachfront cove situated between the Pacific Coast Highway and the Pacific Ocean just north of Laguna Beach. The 3,936-acre (1,593 ha) park was established in 1979. The entire park hosts a total of 3 miles of beaches and tide pools, a 1,400 acre marine Conservation Area as well as underwater park, 400 acres of bluffs, and 2,400 acres of canyons.
Point Lobos and the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve is the "crown jewel" of California's 280 state parks. Australian-born landscape artist Francis McComas described the point as the "greatest meeting of land and water in the world." Adjoining Point Lobos is "one of the richest marine habitats in California." The ocean habitat is protected by two marine protected areas, the Point Lobos State Marine Reserve and Point Lobos State Marine Conservation Area. The sea near Point Lobos is considered one of the best locations for scuba diving on the Monterey Peninsula and along the California coast.
Manchester State Park is a state park of California, United States. It includes 18,000 feet (5,500 m) of protected beachfront on the Pacific Ocean in Northern California on State Route 1, 7 miles (11 km) north of Point Arena. The park features sand dunes, flat grasslands and five miles of gentle, sandy beachfront. The park is noted for steelhead and salmon fishing in the park's two streams, Brush Creek and Alder Creek, as well as the driftwood that collects in the catch basin created by the gently curved coastline. The 5,272-acre (2,134 ha) site was established as a California state park in 1955 and takes its name from Manchester, California, seven miles north of Point Arena.
New Brighton State Beach is a 95 acre beach park on Monterey Bay in Santa Cruz County, California, consisting of a beach and campgrounds. The park is located east of Santa Cruz in Capitola, on Park Avenue off of Highway 1. The park is adjacent to Seacliff State Beach, which is known for its fishing pier and sunk concrete freighter, The Palo Alto. The beach overlooks Soquel Cove and Monterey Bay.
Montara State Beach is a beach located eight miles north of Half Moon Bay on State Route 1 in California, USA. It is operated by the California State Department of Parks and Recreation under the San Mateo Coast Sector Office. It is one of the cleanest beaches in the state and is known for surfing and fishing.
The Point Montara Light is a lighthouse in Montara, California, United States, on the southern approach to the San Francisco Bay, California approximately 25 miles south of San Francisco.
Sonoma Coast State Park is a State of California property in Sonoma County consisting of public access use on lands adjoining the Pacific Ocean. This extent of beach runs from a coastal point about 4 miles (6 km) north of Jenner and continues for approximately 17 miles (27 km) to the south to terminate at Bodega Head. The property lies along State Route 1 and consists of a number of named beaches including Arched Rock Beach, Gleason Beach and Goat Rock Beach. The ecosystem consists of alternating sandy beaches and rocky shoreline, with a marine terrace extending above the entire extent with an upland California coastal prairie habitat.
Salt Point State Park is a state park in Sonoma County, California, United States. The park covers 6,000 acres (2,428 ha) on the coast of Northern California, with 20 miles (32 km) of hiking trails and over 6 miles (9.7 km) of a rough rocky coast line including Salt Point which protrudes into the Pacific Ocean. The park also features the first underwater preserves in California. The constant impact of the waves forms the rocks into many different shapes. These rocks continue underwater providing a wide variety of habitats for marine organisms. The activities at Salt Point include hiking, camping, fishing, scuba diving and many others. The weather is cool with fog and cold winds, even during the summer.
Garrapata State Park is a state park of California, USA, located on California State Route 1 6.7 miles (10.8 km) south of Carmel and 18 miles (29 km) north of Big Sur Village on the Monterey coast. The 2,939-acre (1,189 ha) park was established in 1979. California sea lions, harbor seals and sea otters frequent the coastal waters while gray whales pass close by during their yearly migration.
MacKerricher State Park is a state park in California in the United States. It is located 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Fort Bragg in Mendocino County. It covers 9 miles (14 km) of coastline and contains several types of coastal habitat, including beaches, dunes, headlands, coves, wetlands, tide pools, forest, and a freshwater lake.
Point Dume is a promontory on the coast of Malibu, California that juts out into the Pacific Ocean. The point, a long bluff, forms the northern end of the Santa Monica Bay. Point Dume Natural Area affords a vista of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Santa Catalina Island. Zuma Beach lies to its immediate northwest.
William Randolph Hearst Memorial State Beach is located near the historic town of San Simeon along California State Route 1, in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. It is named for newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst (1863–1951), whose family is closely associated with the area.
Estero Bluffs State Park is a state park of California, United States, on Estero Bay. The park protects a grassland-dominated marine terrace that slopes from California State Route 1 to the Pacific Ocean. The property is crossed by San Geronimo and Villa Creeks and is just north of the town of Cayucos. The 353-acre (143 ha) park was established in 2000.
Wilder Ranch State Park is a California State Park on the Pacific Ocean coast north of Santa Cruz, California. The park was formerly a dairy ranch, and many of the ranch buildings have been restored for use as a museum. There are no campgrounds; a day-use parking lot provides access to the museum. Dogs are prohibited on the trails, but many trails allow bikes and/or horses. The long trails and ocean views make the area a favorite of hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers. Public beaches continue to the north in Coast Dairies State Park.
Caspar Headlands State Beach is a protected beach in the state park system of California, USA. It is located in Northern California in Mendocino County near the village of Caspar. The 75-acre (30 ha) park was established in 1972.
Montara State Marine Reserve (SMR) and Pillar Point State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) are two adjoining marine protected areas that extend offshore from Montara to Pillar Point in San Mateo County on California’s north central coast. The combined area of these marine protected areas is 18.42 square miles (47.7 km2), with 11.76 square miles (30.5 km2) in the SMR and 6.66 in the SMCA. Montara SMR prohibits the take of all living marine resources. Pillar Point SMCA prohibits the take of all living marine resources, except the recreational and commercial take of pelagic finfish by trolling or seine, the commercial or recreational take of Dungeness crab by trap and the commercial or recreational take or market squid by hand-held dip net or round haul net.
