San Pedro Mountain (San Mateo County)

San Pedro Mountain (San Mateo County)

Page Type Page Type: Mountain/Rock
Location Lat/Lon: 37.57815°N / 122.50614°W
Additional Information County: San Mateo
Activities Activities: Hiking
Seasons Season: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Additional Information Elevation: 1065 ft / 325 m
Sign the Climber's Log

Overview

 
North from San Pedro Mtn.
North from San Pedro Mtn.
San Pedro Mountain is a rounded summit 1.8 miles northwest of the main summit of Montara Mountain. It has only 200' of prominence from the saddle of the Montara ridge but the west slope rises steeply a thousand feet as much as 70 degrees in only a third of a mile from the Pacific Ocean.

Highway 1 sheepishly snakes along this infamous slope known as "Devils Slide". The section of road has a long history of closures due to landslides. After many years of public input and evaluation construction of the Devils Slide Tunnel through the mountain was started in 2007 and is expected to be completed in late 2012 at a cost of no less than 440 million buckaroos due to the unexpected problems posed by the unstable nature of this fault line country. Finally in March '13 the tunnel is completed and open to traffic.

This is an easy half day hike from San Pedro Valley to the north or Montara State Beach to the south. The outstanding views up and down the coast stretch from Half Moon Bay in the south to Mt. Tamalpais north of the Golden Gate on a clear day. The area is prone to considerable fog, especially during the summer months.

Getting There

 
San Pedro Mtn. from Pacifica
San Pedro Mtn. from Pacifica
 
Montara Beach from San Pedro Mtn.
South from San Pedro Mtn.
From San Pedro Valley: From Highway 1 one mile south of Rockaway Beach take Linda Mar Blvd. .8 mile to Adobe Dr.. Go right .4 miles to Higgins Way. Go .2 miles to roads end. The fireroad winds up and around a canyon approximately 2.5 miles to the saddle. Go right at the saddle .5 miles to the big rolling summit.

From Montara State Beach: At the north end of the beach on the east side of Highway 1 there is a limited parking trailhead leading to Montara Mountain. Take the trail (not the paved road to its right) up to the left. Follow it north above the highway staying to the right as it climbs about a mile up to the main road going right to Montara Mountain. Take the old partly paved section to the left that winds along the slope about another mile to the saddle and go left a half mile to the top of San Pedro Mountain.

Red Tape

 
Chunk of Uplift
Coastal uplift
No permits are required.

Camping

 
Pacifica coast from San Pedro Mtn.
Pacifica coast from San Pedro Mtn.
There is no camping on San Pedro Mountain.

Current weather and 5 day forecast

Click here for current weather and 5 day forecast for Montara State Beach.  
Coastline from San Pedro Mtn. trail
Coastline south from San Pedro Mtn. trail