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Fitzgerald Marine Reserve

Fitzgerald Marine Reserve

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Escaping the East Bay Heat

We escaped the heat the weekend by visiting the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve located north of Half Moon Bay. This is an excellent place for tide pooling. Check the tide tables and get there on time!

The reserve entrance is located in the middle of a residential community only a minute off of Highway 1. From there, it’s a minimal hike down to the beach.

Right at the entrance, we stumbled across a red-tailed hawk soaking its feet in the San Vicente Creek.

Red-Tailed Hawk
Red-Tailed Hawk soaking in the San Vicente Creek
Red Tail
Afterwards, showing off it’s eponymous red tail.

Down on the beach, we scrambled across the rocks, trying to beat the incoming tide.

Harbor Seal
Harbor seals resting on the rocks
Sea Anemone
Sea anemone still covered by water
Hermit Crab
Hermit crabs in their borrowed shells
Chiton
Chiton crawling across the rocks
Crab
A small crab, bravely sits out in the open

Bluff Trail

You can also take the Bluff Trail south towards Seal Cove. Take the fork that rides the coast through century year old Monterey cypresses. From there, descend down to the beach along the Seal Cove trail. Located on the north end of the beach are additional rocky outcrops for tide-pooling ; we had these all to ourselves during Saturday morning.

Heron
Heron wades through the tide pools searching for a meal