Group Hike: San Bruno Mountain State Park (Solar System Hike)

When: All year 
Where: San Bruno Mountain County Park (555 Guadalupe Canyon Parkway, Brisbane, CA 94005)
Who: All ages - there are stroller friendly trails
Cost: $6 for parking (free if you have a San Mateo County Parks Pass)

For Astronomy Week (Nov 14-21), San Mateo County Parks launched a "Solar System to Scale" hike at San Bruno Mountain County Park. The hike spans three trails (Saddleback, Old Guadalupe and Bog) for approximately 4-5 miles. Starting from the Saddleback trailhead, hikers can "walk the solar system" with panels placed en route to denote the sun and eight planets along the way. The panels will only be available a few months, but you can use the trail map to replicate it.  

Trail map from San Mateo County Parks

The beginning of the trail is a breeze, you can see Mercury and Venus at a stone's throw. The signs were placed just beside the trail, so you could pause to read them without blocking others (the trail was also wide enough for social distancing).

You then start a gradual uphill climb - the incline is easy enough for strollers. Soon, the Earth panel looms into view.

Then, more gradual uphills for a while with views of the bay in the distance.. don't rush to take a photo, there will be much better views later, and then you see.. Mars!

The path continues upward, and it will be a while before you reach the Jupiter panel. This is when the hike starts to feel long for little ones, and also for families with strollers because of the gravel.There are grandiose views of the bay to the right - we used our binoculars to look at cargo ships; still children may start to flag especially if they have been running back and forth as children are wont to do.

After Jupiter, there is an opportunity to shortcut back on the Youth Camp trail. If you decide to go on though, there is a lookout  point where you can get sweeping views of San Francisco.

The trail leads downhill from here, and again the distance is long, bringing home how far apart the planets are. The scenery changes - eucalpytus trees, and to the left a field with blackish branches which led us to speculate.

The trail then rejoins the Old Guadalupe Trail. This is paved and flat, winding between groves of eucalyptus. At this point, you are supposed to take the Bog Trail twice to simulate the distance. Confession: We did it once.. it wasn't that inspiring and we were low on energy. At least we got a picture of the Uranus panel, like good space tourists!

After the Bog Trail, you can tell you are near the end of the trail from the sounds of cars and people. Just a little more and you see the final panel, as well as the parking lot. Congratulations! You've completed a whirlwind tour of our solar system!

Looking back, this was a great hike - wide trails, good views and the planet panels certainly added novelty. We would definitely recommend a shortcut for those with young ones, or plan to walk it over two trips using the Youth Camp Trail as a shortcut.

Hike: Pillar Point Bluff

Credit: Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST)

Our HEART monthly hikes came to a screeching halt in March as various authorities figured out what was safe under pandemic conditions. Initially, parks were closed and travel was restricted to 5 miles from your home. Later, solo outdoor recreation was encouraged so parks were gradually re-opened. By September, 'pods' of families were allowed to balance the need for social interaction against the constraints of limited activity.  

Along with other support groups, our HEART leadership read guidelines, discussed and prayed. Christian Home Educators' Association of California (CHEA of CA) was an immense help as we crafted liability waivers and traded ideas for maintaining community within isolation. Our final decision was to host limited in-person gatherings that followed current guidelines for masks, social distancing and contact tracing. All this to say, our first post-pandemic group hike did not come easily but when we finally set out, it was a glorious day. 

When: All year, POST recommends this as a whale watching spot
Where: Jean Lauer Trail at Pillar Point Bluff, Half Moon Bay (Airport St, Moss Beach, CA 94038)
Who: All ages - the trail has a stroller friendly option.
Cost: Free

The trail entrance is a few streets away from Highway 1, and quiet in contrast to the crowds along Pillar Point Harbor. The trail map at the entrance and online guides mention there are two options at the base: a steeper path to the left and a gentler path to the right. We chose the gentler path since our group had strollers and young children.

The path meandered through scrub and was wide to comfortably allow social distancing at most points. The best part was getting near the Cove Trail where we could glimpse the ocean ahead.

We found a bench at the Lookout Point indicated on the map. The young children in our group were more interested in forging on, but whoever designated this spot got it right indeed.

Walking along the Ross Cove section of the trail, you could see Pillar Point Harbor. Several of us were curious about the "golf ball" - it turns out it is a radar station in the Pillar Point Air Force Station. That area is understandably closed to the public, but the Air Force once gave a tour to locals. If you brought binoculars, you can also view the surf break where Mavericks surfing competition is held, but for closer views you should check this Mavericks Beach article by SFGate.

Views of seals and waves

There is no beach access along the Ross Cove trail, but further out it looked as though we could access a beach. However, it would require walking past cliffs with "Unstable" signs and we wanted the kids to reserve energy for the walk back. One perk was that we saw seals on the rocks below!

After a break, we returned the same way we came. The whole trip was 2-3 miles, and as usual the children had more energy than the adults at the end, but we were glad for the opportunity to be outdoors safely with friends again.