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Pillar Point Harbor
Rating Details »
Category: Active Life [Edit]
Pillar Point Harbor1 Johnson Pier
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
(650) 726-4382
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
21 reviews for Pillar Point Harbor
This place always reminds me of family trips when my dad would drive the family from the countryside all the way to the coast to buy fresh seafood, and so that my sister and I could eat soft-serve ice cream at Pillar Point Harbor.
The place still smells like the ocean, sea salt, and fish, and you can on certain days walk right up to the fishing boats and purchase fish and crab directly from the fishermen.
You can even go around to different boats and compare varying prices and quality if you have the time to walk around the harbor. Most fishermen are reasonable though, prices are pretty much standardized , and wherever you go, you can get something fresh for supper. They'll even tell you when and where they caught your future dinner :)
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Five stars when Mavericks is breaking, as it was the day we visited. Parking is predictably crazy then, but if you are lucky, a spot will open up. Do not park along the entrance road to the beach, or the police will ticker you. Otherwise, be prepared for lots of dog walkers, surfers, bicycles, a people with mega-zoom lenses, binoculars, and the like trying to see the big waves, the jet skis, and the adventurous types who brave the waves. It's quite cool experience. One non-Mavericks days, it's a pretty ordinary place. Not bad, but there are nicer beach walks south of HMB, like Cowell Ranch, or the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve and Montara to the North.
As some have noted, the north end of Pillar point leading to Mavericks is overrun by off-leash dogs. Uncaring dog owners are ruing this beach for everyone; the dogs run through the marsh, chase the birds along the beach and should be on leash. While currently there is no jurisdiction, other the SMC sheriff to enforce the leash laws, new signage has gone up and citations are being issued. Because dog owners have failed to clean up after their dogs or control their dogs the planning process for Marine Sanctuary HQ and Fitzgerald reserve must address this issue.
Children and pets should avoid entering the water here as water quality has suffered and the Harbor district is indifferent. to the dog issue - report illness to the health department, maybe that will generate action.
Pillar Point is a neat little harbor about 10 minutes from downtown Half Moon Bay. All of the restaurants and stores are tidy, and the fish and chips from Princeton Seafood Company are very tasty. The docks are fun to meander through anytime, but I have found late morning/ early afternoon the best. The fishermen are all very friendly and talkative, regardless of your interest in their products. Nice weekend activity; dress for the cold, no matter how warm the Bay Area is.
Apparently this is THE place to get crab... And I was a sad sad Vicky when all these other people walked by with nice big plastic bags filled with mean fiesty crustaceans. We were 15 minutes too late on procuring some goodies.
We took a nice stroll on the pier and chatted with the harbormaster... and got a good lesson on dungeness crab and great tips for our next trip. Must visit this place again! :)
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I love their holiday spirit!!
I posted some pictures of the decorated boats that I took, all for your enjoyment.
I will be looking forward to next year's display.
I hope that the band will be playing their holiday music again next time!
I did not find the roasted chestnuts-darn!! Maybe next year??
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This will be a short review. If you want to buy the freshest fish and crabs you have to buy your seafood here. It comes right off the boats and the competition keeps the prices low, especially at the end of the day when they really fight for YOUR dollar. Bring a ice-filled cooler though to haul your food home.
If you ask, many of them will cut the fish up into fillets for you. If not, try some other boat until you find someone who is willing to provide the service.
It has such a great feel, with all the boats, fisherman, docks and birds. Even if you don't decide to buy anything, you will still be able to have a neat, day out among the salt air adventure. Pillar Point Harbor is a winner on many fronts.
(This review does not cover the beach, just the dock and dock related activities)
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Lots of places to eat, but a working harbor: good fun to walk around this place. i like seeing some of the commercial fishing boats unloading at the docks. and there's lots of places to get a hot meal. but the shoreline can be a little mucky. though, i hear there's a great kayak rental place somewhere around here.
My team came here to go deep sea fishing last Sept and had a great time. The crew was helpful and we all caught plenty of fish (10 rockfish per person is the daily max and most of us reached that). If you can clean your own fish though, I'd recommend not using their cleaning/filleting service, since it's rather overpriced.
I went again yesterday to spend a day by the beach and found out that you could buy fresh fish right from the boats. We got two dungeness and a rockfish for a total of $22. The crabs were so much more lively than what's available at Ranch 99, which translated to a lovely crunch in the meat that you just don't get from crabs kept in a tank for a long time. The fish was also incredibly fresh and brought back great memories from our fishing trip.
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My husband has been going to this beach/RV campsite since he was a little kid (since the 80's). I heard so many fun stories about this place from him and his family. And I also heard scary stories about this place (like the Zodiac killer stories). We came here recently with our dog and it seems that the place has changed...
If you like to collect shells, this place is great for that. We came home with 10 shells that were completely in tacked (not broken). This place is a well covered high/low tide area, so there are a lot of living things (crabs, starfish, etc.) right under your feet. Plus I saw a lot of crabs and star fishes on the rocks, cute!
There is an RV park here. Park your RV and enjoy the beach life for a few days (but at a price). Also, for a day pass, you can park your car in the parking lot for $5 (there is a white "mail-box" looking thing that you put your money in. Fill out the blank envelope slip, write your license plate # and include the cash). I recommend trying to find parking on the road.
But the only problem(s) is-- This place isn't the cleanest.
A lot of junk along the rocks- Beer cans/bottles, tires, old boat frame, plastic bags, rope, trash, etc.
The thing that really got me questioning this place is... there are a lot of DEAD ANIMALS!!! I found 4 dead seagulls (one with its torso eatin out) and 2 dead sea lions. I was really shocked, i almost cried. The poor 2 sea lions seem to have been there for sometime (boils or burnt markings on them and they were on the rocks as if they were washed up during high tide).
I just hope that Half Moon Bay can help preserve and clean beachs like this or at least have more people patrolling the area (some visitors are careless and or heartless).
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It'd been a while since I visited the beauty of Half Moon Bay and the surrounding beaches, so I thought I would make a go of it and explore some new locales. I headed North instead of the usual South once 92 met the 1 and came across Pillar Point Harbor, located technically in a tiny community known as "Princeton-By-The-Sea" (note to crazy people: Stop naming your villages with hyphens in it!). I decided that today's adventure would include another favorite pastime of mine: fishing.
By the way, I suck at fishing (but love it anyways).
I walked down to a small pier that ran parallel to the Marina and found its vista of sailboats staggered about and green hills jutting out to sea breathtaking. The fog rolled heavy but it only added to the feeling of mystery that the Ocean is deserving of. The other visitors to the pier were all "Crab Potting", tossing nets with baited boxes off the pier in an effort to cull the Dungeness crab population. From the looks of it, they were quite successful, and the venture was so non-technical that I imagine that an afternoon of "Crabbing" would be a fun group activity. You can rent the gear cheaply at any of the bait shops located at the Harbor.
All of this beauty however was marred by the fact that the only thing *I* caught while there was a fucking SEAGULL. That greedy bastard divebombed on my bait as soon as I casted it and I couldn't reel it back in time. It took off into the air again but was restrained as if on a leash by my hook that was now firmly attached to it's mouth. It gained a little more altitude as I desperately tried to increase the slack on the line. It hovered in the sky as the Crabbers looked at me, some with amusement, others with disgust. Upon seeing the "Seagull Kite" I had created, a little girl, obviously traumatized by the sight, shouted "Look Daddy! The man caught the Bird! Ahhh!".
The screams.... the screams still haunt me.
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I love this place!
I always forget how to drive here but I find it somehow.
It's a great place to do a mini walk/ hike, and at the end of your path is a large rocky beach full of seashells.
I'm a science geek at heart, so I always check the tide schedule before going.
Bring a California tidepool/marine life book with you so you can identify all the organisms.
When it is low tide you can jump across the reefs and check out all the marine life (sea anemonies, seastars, red/green/brown algae, limpits, sea snails, fish). Be careful walking in the tidepools cuz there's tons of "Ralfsia" an red alagae that grows on the reefs/rocks that looks like sludge that is very slippery.
My favorite algae is "Iridiscia" (blue green and shimmery when the sun hits it). You can see the typical "Macrocystis" washed up shore.
If you go different seasons of the year, it's neat to see some of the organisms no longer there and have been replaced with others.
I've eated the mussels (mytlius californicus), the goose barnacles, limpits & sea urchin roe raw from these tidepools, tasty but if you are allergic to shellfish like I am, don't do it.
When you get tired of tidepooling, just take a 5 min drive south to Half Moon Bay and eat on the pier
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If you never tried deep sea fishing...the best place to start at would be at Pillar Point Harbor.
I had a great time even though all of those who went with me threw up over board due to sea sickness. I had a blast!
Each person who go on board for rock fishing get to keep max. of ten (10) fishes.
If you don't have a pole, bait, or fishing license you can rent them for a day. ($18.00 for all three) I paid a total of $ 73.00, this included all of my rentals.
This is a good trip to take with friends who don't get sea sick easily and the best time to plan a deep sea fishing trip would be on a week day. The weekends are to crazy.
After you catch your fishes they will clean or fillet the fishes on the way back for $ 7.00 extra. Wear lots of warm clothing it even gets cold in the summer.
Next time I want to try salmon fishing over there. Should be awesome! And I'll keep you ya'll posted about my next trip!
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Most likely the best place to surf in Northern California..
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We met someone in Pacifica and he recommended this pier to be the best place to buy fresh crabs for less dough. This was our first time to visit Princeton, which is such a charming little town. Coming from Pacifica, along highway 1, we almost missed the turn-out because of the small sign that says Princeton. But highway 1 runs through the other side of the town so even if you miss it the first time, you will definitely drive by it in a few miles. At the Princeton harbor / Pillar Point Harbor, there was a couple who bought some rock crabs for $2/lb right off a boat from deck 7. Their dungeress crabs are $5/lb but they were out because they sell fast. There are several boats that you can go to but I think you have to get there early (especially on weekends) for better deals. There are a lot of great places to eat fresh seafood around the harbor and it's so nice to walk around it, too - reminds me of Sausalito.
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I don't know if I've just been lucky, or if the weather is always fairly nice on this stretch of beach (Mavericks). Overcast and a bit windy or chilly, but never unbearable, and always perfectly Northern California beach weather anyway. I'm native, I know that beach wear involves a beanie and several layers though. If it is windy, you can just stay on the harbor side where it's calmer. On this last trip we played in the tide pools. I was horrified once I noticed I was walking on anemones (don't send hate mail, I've already berated myself enough for being such an oaf), but they sort of blend in when they're not underwater and open and stuff! We found some starfish, watched warring factions of hermit crabs (those little bastards are MEAN to each other - if one ends up on his back, the others will surround him and try to pull him out of the shell! Mean!), and I even caught a little tiny black and green crab too and got my fingers stuck to an open anemone (and no, I didn't step on that one).
I seriously recommend a day spent poking around here and playing in the sand, followed up by a beer in front of the fire over at HMB Brewing Company.
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After a day of Christmas shopping in San Mateo we decided to take highway 92 home so we could stop at the harbor and buy some fresh crab off the boats for our dinner. I know that there are other places to buy crabs but for this season I'm going to stick with buying them from the source so I can avoid getting any of those from the out of state fishing boats that sold their catch in Monterey and then shipped them back up here to sell. I feel that it's very important to suppport the local fisherman.
When we pulled in to park in front of the Ketch Joanne who should we find sitting in front of the Harbor Bar but Santa Claus himself. We took pictures of the kids with him and he even had presents for both of my daughters. The guy travels well prepared for any situation.
My father carved my name into the rail of the pier here when I was a very small child in the '60s and it is still there. Barely discernable now but I know exactly where it is so I can find it every time.
I've had many really magical moments in my life at this harbor and I'm sure that there will be more but it sure was nice to see my children have one today.
And as for that fresh crab all the boats were sold out so we didn't get any but this was anything but a wasted trip. On this day fate dealt us a better hand.
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Cold and windy even during the summer, but the real reason to come here is to buy fresh seafood right off the boats from the fishermen. There's a phone # you can call at the dockmaster's office at Pillar Point Harbor, 24 hr msg, that will notify you of what's being sold that particular week.
A year or two ago when wild salmon was in season, these were as high as $4 a pound (normally $2 or so) at one of the boats, but you're talking a whole fish that's up to 10 lbs easy on the average (you must buy the whole fish). Whole Foods were pillaging similar cuts for $11.99 a pound! The trick at Pillar Point Harbor is to find someone to split that kind of 10 pounder salmon with. Then you need to get the fish de-scaled and cut into filets. The problem is that if you don't have the tools and know how it can suck doing it at home. Pay a few dollars and bring it to Princeton Seafood, the small seafood shop around the corner from the restaurant. They'll clean, descale, and filet it for you for a fee. Or if you have an ice box I suppose you can bring it to 99 Ranch or Marina Supermarket for the same cost or a little cheaper. But rest assured this is worth the drive and effort, as you won't find fresh salmon like this (definitely not at Whole Foods or 99 Ranch). Sadly wild salmon season is over, but at least dungeoness crabs are!
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This is a beautiful and not so crowded place where people come to fish and buy fish! My family has always bought fish from here they go deep sea fishing and bring it back fresh and it is so tasty. Not only that but if you follow the trail you will get to Mavericks, one of the most beautiful places to sit and watch the tide. If you continue walking past the rocks and you feel brave you can climb over to the other side, on the way you will see sea anenomes, crabs and shellfish. This really is a great place to explore!
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Though this place isn't so beautiful it's a great place to go with friends if you want some fresh seafood at the nearby restaurant. Also, it's fun to bustle around with other people and buy fresh fish or crab right off the boats. There's nothing like super FRESH FRESH seafood. You'll never go back to that supermarket stuff! My uncle owns a boat there and its always fun to go visit and some years we even watch the 4th of July fireworks from the upper level of his boat. Great fun.
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This is a slightly different tack than the other reviewers, but for those dog owners looking for a place to have dogs off-lead and relatively calm water to play in the Noth side of this harbor is great. Additionally it leads over to Maverick's beach, which at low tide is a wonder to behold for you and your dog.
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