From Burning Daylight

Winter brings the strongest ocean swells of the year, and there's no place more famed for big, gnarly surf than Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay, home to the annual Mavericks competition. But you don't have to wait for the event to enjoy this prime ocean-side landscape. Just beyond sight of the legendary Mavericks break, the bluffs north of Pillar Point offer one of the nicest ocean-watching walks on the coast. The trail we like is 150 feet above the ocean alongside rugged cliffs that descend to a protected beach, the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. Walking along the continent's crust, you'll have unobstructed views of Half Moon Bay to the south and Point Montara to the north. The trail ends after about a mile, but you can continue a bit farther through a residential neighborhood to the historic Moss Beach Distillery; enjoy a hot toddy, then head back the way you came.

Park at the dirt parking lot at the foot of the radar station at Pillar Point Harbor (map). Walk up the road, past the Stop Do Not Enter sign. The trail to the bluffs is just past the stop sign on the right. Dog-friendly. For more information, click here. The Moss Beach Distillery is temporarily closed until December 20.