Montara Mountain is a relaxing dog friendly hike near Half Moon Bay. At 7 miles, it’s a perfect happy medium hike.
Trailhead: Gray Whale Cove Trail parking lot here, ~30 min from San Francisco
We’ve been poking around for dog friendly hikes ever since moving to Northern California. To my surprise, a lot of the State Parks here are not dog friendly!! Really sucky if you’re a dog owner, and especially if you are a responsible one, but oh well. There seem to be a *few* good ones within a 2 hr drive, so I’m excited to explore these new trails and catalog them here.
The drive to the Half Moon Bay area took around 1.5 hrs on the way there, 3 hrs on the way back (but because of PG&E issues). The drive itself was beautiful and merged with part of the PCH. I did a road trip down the PCH a few years ago and it was one of the best road trips I had ever been on. There are two parking lots you can go to, but we went to the bigger Grey Whale Cove Trail parking lot.
Starting from the lot, take the Grey Whale Cove trail which will eventually merge with the North Peak Trail. The beginning of the trail is a little narrow but opens up once you get on North Peak. There are many paths that cut there so you have a few options – it is pretty steep going up. The signs are fairly obvious, and Google Maps is also extremely accurate, so it’s hard to get lost on the trail. You will cross into the mountains, away from the ocean until you hit North Peak.
It’s a really nice view from the end but a little marred by all the electric lines and loud machines over here. Take the same trails back to go back. It is worth noting that the way down when you cross back to the Grey Whale Cove Trail is VERY slippery so I would be careful if you have any knee issues (and don’t be afraid to slide on your butt).
Both doggies did fine both going up and going down the trail. Although there is no shade, there was a good breeze which kept them fairly cool. Remember to pick up after your doggies to leave the trail beautiful for other hikers.