Eats, Writes, and Leaves

We’ve had quite the heat wave here in the San Francisco Bay Area. It got over 80 degrees in the City itself—a rare treat for visitors and a little slice of Hades for most fog-loving locals.

When it gets hot like this, my favorite thing to do is to play hooky and hit the beach. On the San Mateo and Santa Cruz coastlines near where I live, true heat at the beach comes about once every zillion years. When it’s in the 90s and above in the big cities, the beaches offer a cool respite with temps in the 70s, ocean breezes, and of course the chill waters of the Pacific Ocean. Sometimes I pack for a whole day—beach chairs, towels, a picnic lunch, and a cheesy romance novel. Other times I jump into the car and head for the sand bearing nothing but a bottle of water.

One of my favorite local spots is San Gregorio State Beach. (Yup, this is the same beach that hurt my ears a couple of weeks ago. But I still love it–what can I say?) South of Half Moon Bay, this blustery beach will definitely take the edge off even the most sweltering heat wave.

Bring your wet suit if you plan to spend significant time swimming in the chill Pacific waters, but I often wade barefoot into the waves. While the usual shore break isn’t much good for surfing, body-surfers and boogie-boarders can get a decent ride at San Gregorio. Keep a sharp eye on your children—this beach has no lifeguards but plenty of rogue waves, riptides, and strong currents.

If the tide is low enough, you can walk for more than a mile up the north side of San Gregorio. (But take care to watch the water. If the tide comes all the way in, you’ll have a damp time getting back to the parking lot around the jutting cliffs.) At the right times of year, beachcombers can pick up sculpted driftwood, sea glass, pretty rocks, and the occasional whole sand dollar.

Because San Gregorio is a California State Beach, you must pay a $8 parking fee for a spot in the spacious lot. Picnic tables perch on the often windy bluff above the beach, trash cans abound around the parking lot, and the pit toilets are clean and well-maintained. While CA-84 provides the most direct route to San Gregorio according to the maps, it’s a long windy drive with lots of cyclists and switchbacks. It’s actually easier to take either CA-92 (from the north) or CA-17 (from the south) over the mountains from the Valley, then drive Highway 1 to the beach.