Cowell-Purisima Coastal Trail

May 27, 2019

Cowell-Purisima Coastal Trail managed by Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) in co-operation with California State Coastal Conservancy is located on the picturesque Pacific coast by Hwy 1 just south of Half Moon Bay. The coastal trail is about 3.6 miles long one way can be accessed from trail heads in the north as well as from the south. The trail is open only on weekends and federal holidays although POST is working to partner with San Mateo County Parks to make it accessible all days of the week.

Cowell Ranch Beach trail head is located about 3.4 miles south of Hwy 92 & Hwy 1 junction in Half Moon Bay. An easy & flat dirt trail leads from the parking lot to the coast where there is access to the secluded Cowell Ranch beach as well as a vista point offering majestic views of the rugged Pacific coast. 

We went down the flight of stairs to the pristine Cowell beach marred only by the presence of seaweed. The tall cliff walls on one side and waves crashing by the white sand beach on the other side provided a picture perfect setting to the start of our Memorial day hike. 

After spending some time walking the beach, we made our way back to spend some more time enjoying the views of the Seal beach on the southern side from the top of the cliff. 

We continued our trek south by the Cowell-Purisima trail. The trail hugs the coast most of the way and offers plenty of spots from where one can enjoy the rugged coastline. On the eastern side of the trail is the Cowell ranch farm.  It is a working farm even today that grows cool weather crops like artichokes & brussels sprouts. 

The scenic trail goes over two gorges along the way with sturdy bridges easing the crossing. We also came across several cotton tailed rabbits scrambling away whenever hikers walked alongside where they were moving about. There are mile markers placed on the wooden poles to the left as we made our way south by the spacious dirt & gravel trail. All along, we also got to enjoy colorful wild flowers dotting either side of the trail, reminding us that that this was a spring day even if the unusual weather belied that fact.

Continuing further, we came to the spot where the wide trail turns into a narrow single track trail descending from the canyon top. There is lush greenery all around as the trail reaches the lowest point, crossing over Purisima creek before heading back up. The mile long section provides variety and requires negotiating a small uphill section, but is on the whole easy to hike by.

We emerged at the other side of the creek to more impressive views of the rugged coast on the right and some colorful wild flowers on the left in the farm against the backdrop of Santa Cruz mountains. 

As at the northern end, a short connector provides access to the parking lot on the south side, by Hwy 1. We continued all the way to the southern tip where there is another spot on top of the cliff offering scenic views from a different angle. 

After a short repose, we headed back, crossing the Purisima creek first and retracing our steps all the way to Cowell ranch beach parking lot. The sprinklers had come on in the farm by a fresh crop of artichoke plants providing further evidence that this is indeed a working farm.

The 7.2 mile out and back trek is fairly easy. Even after crossing Purisima creek both ways and taking the flight of steps to the North beach, we barely did 400 ft. of elevation gain. 

Here is the complete album of photographs from our Cowell-Purisima Coastal Trail hike.