Half Moon Bay

Half Moon Bay (HAF) was my first trip after I passed the private pilot checkride and was a "real" pilot. After many visits, it's still one of our favourite fly-in eating places, because it has such a great collection of eateries within walking distance of the airfield. It's also a wonderful place just to take a walk along the beach and breathe that sea air! On a clear day, you can get some nice pictures of the coast. We usually fly from Reid Hillview across to Santa Cruz first and then follow the coast north. The views of the coastline are amazing!

The erosion of the coastline by the incessant pounding of the waves is so very clear from the air, when you can see "the big picture".

Half Moon Bay airport is actually a few miles north of the town of Half Moon Bay, but is right next to the smaller town of Princeton by the Sea which just happens to have a great choice of eating places. Flying north along the coast you will first come to Half Moon Bay - the bay, not the town. It looks like a smaller version of Monterey Bay, with the same great sandy beach, but not the buildup of houses.

Follow the shore, but beware that whichever runway is in use (usual winds favour rwy 30), the downwind leg of the pattern is on the land or East side of the runway, and your 45deg pattern entry will be over some hills. Right traffic for runway 30 and left traffic for runway 12. Sometimes, as in the picture below, the fog forces landings on runway 12 and takeoffs on runway 30, making for interesting times.

To get to Princeton you tie down at the South transient parking, way away from the more obvious tie downs by the fuel island (24hr self serve) and the Three Zero Cafe, and then cross the bridge over the small stream and there you are. Must be the shortest walk from the airfield to town centre anywhere.

What is Princeton like? Follow this link to find out.

When taking off on rwy 30, the huge SFO Class Bravo mushroom comes down to 1500' just a few miles north of the airport, so care is needed. From Half Moon Bay, follow the coast north to do the Bay Tour around San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.