The Half Moon Bay Coastside is a rural seaside community about 30 miles south of San Francisco, and only an hour's drive from virtually anywhere in the Bay Area. This quaint Ocean community boasts numerous Bed and Breakfasts, several motels and some world-renowned hotels. Local activities include two award winning golf courses and a driving range, sport fishing, whale watching, horseback riding on the beach, a historical Main Street with unique shops, two wineries, redwood preserves, bird refuges, bluff and mountain top hiking, acres of hot houses and field flowers, historical walking tours, two lighthouses, Ano Nuevo State Nature Preserve (south of Pescadero), Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Montara, Princeton Harbor, and Maverick's, presently the hottest surfing location in the world.

Spanishtown, or Half Moon Bay as we know it, is the oldest settlement in San Mateo County, dating back to the 1840's. Traces of its past are visible in the many historic buildings as you explore the communities that make up the Coastside. The area between Devil's Slide and Ano Nuevo boasts a very colorful past from the Spanish Land Grants in the 1840's to the Ocean Shore Railroad at the turn of the century, the rumrunners of the 1930's and the ever-increasing popularity of today.

The Coastside is nestled between the dramatic green Santa Cruz Mountains and the powerful Pacific Ocean. Because of the perceived geographic isolation of the area has not changed dramatically over the years. However, with Highway 92 cutting across the mountains to the Peninsula and Highway 1 running north and south the Coastside is very accessible to the entire Bay Area.

Half Moon Bay is the only incorporated city on the Coastside served by a City Council. The remaining communities of Montara, Moss Beach, Princeton-by-the-Sea, El Granada, Miramar, San Gregorio, Pescadero, and La Honda are un-incorporated areas of San Mateo County governed by the County Board of Supervisors.

The largest industry is agriculture specializing in floriculture, seconded by tourism, then commercial fishing. Residential development and tourism development caters to the executive lifestyle. The median priced home is in the $700,000, with most newer and golf course homes in the $900,000 - $1,500,000 range.

The schools are rated above average with very active community involvement in district policy and curriculum. Ratings and test scores can be obtained from the Cabrillo Unified School District and the La Honda/Pescadero School District.

WEATHER

Weather on the Coastside is quite temperate year round, with seasonal fog in the late summer. Cool breezes off the ocean are common. The average yearly rainfall is 23.43 inches and the temperatures may vary between 40 and 75 degrees.

COASTSIDE ZIP CODES

COMMON COMMUTE TIMES

Please visit Coastside Live! for additional community information.

AGRICULTURE

The San Mateo County 1999 Annual Crop Report stated the total gross value of the county's agriculture product was $181,839,000. The production values in this report represent gross values and do not reflect the cost of production.

For every dollar of agriculture production, a multiplier factor of 3.5 may be applied. Using this factor, the estimated economic impact on San Mateo County for 1999 was $636,437,000.