Touring *

From U.S. 101 in San Mateo, take Highway 92 heading west. Pass the 280 interchange and follow the signs to Half Moon Bay on the now two-lane highway. Continue west through the hills and turn left again where 92 ends in a "T" intersection with Highway 1/Cabrillo Highway. Take the first right (Kelly Avenue) and follow it to the Francis Beach entrance gate. Avoid the $4 parking fee by parking outside the gate and skating down the road to the trail. To park at the middle section of the trail, turn right at Highway 1 and take the Venice State Beach access road two miles up.

Half Moon Bay's fog-weary residents know they can bank on autumn to be the prime time of the year to get out and celebrate. That's one reason why the famous pumpkin festival has become so popular. Fall is also the best time of year to skate the Half Moon Bay Beach Trail.

Explore this little-known path within a few hundred feet of the ocean in good weather to best enjoy the scenery. Low sand dunes extend between the trail and the beach, and at some points, they're low enough to offer a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean to the west. At its northern extreme, the trail ends at Mirimar Beach, after passing through Francis, Dunes, Venice, and Roosevelt Beaches.

The right attitude for this trail is to come with high expectations for the beach, and not the skating. Frankly, the pavement of the beach parking lots and entrance roads are better than the old asphalt on the trail itself. Still, a visit here does have a certain appeal, since there are so few on-beach trails in the upper half of the state. The beach trail is worth at least one trip for that fact alone.