Pescadero, California
TLDR Itinerary
- Hike the 3.5 mile Pomponio Canyon Trail at San Mateo County Memorial Park — 48 min drive from Mountain View.
- Drive to Pescadero for delicious artichoke bread
- Conclude with Picnic at Pescadero State Beach
Total Time — 5 hours (start at Mountain View) We made the trip July 8, 2017
The Trip
Prior to the trip I made and packed these delicious picnic sandwiches.
The winding road to San Mateo Memorial Park is almost treacherous. Upon arrival we parked at the Tan Oak Flat Picnic Area ($6 cash only). We walked to Pescadero Creek Road then crossed to reach the Mt. Ellen Nature Trail. Mt. Ellen eventually meets the more challenging 3.5 mile Pomponio Canyon Trail. Our goal was to hike the entire Pomponio trail loop and rejoin the Mt. Ellen Trail as a conclusion to our hike. Fun fact — the Pomponio trail was named after a Native American outlaw Pomponio Lupugeyun. He was pretty badass.
Handy map of trails below. I recommend using Google maps which have all the trails and always show you where you are (thanks GPS!). Heads up — you will likely lose cell service.
Along the way we found ourselves in the presence of giant redwoods. The oldest known coast redwood is about 2,200 years old; many in the wild exceed 600 years.
As we progressed the trail became narrow and overgrown. It may be a good idea to wear long sleeves and pants for protection. Half way at the loop the trail narrowed and nearly fell into a small ravine. At that point we turned back retracing our original path. In all we ended up hiking nearly 4 miles.
Next we drove to Pescadero (23 min) from Memorial Park. Pescadero is a farming and ranching community with a pleasant pastoral ambiance. It also happens to have lots of farm-to-table food.
Get the freshly baked artichoke and garlic bread from the Arcangeli Grocery — Norm’s Market. Our loaf was warm and delicious.
Hiking made us ravenous. We headed to Pescadero State Beach to picnic with a view.
We also bought this tasty honey made in Soquel, CA. For desert we ate honey dipped apples and peaches. Highly recommended!
We took Highway 1 back and enjoyed the scenery. It was a perfect day.
