Visit Pescadero, Meet The Goats At Harley Farms, And Hike Pescadero's Marsh
A remote coast side town at the southern end of San Mateo county. A town stuck between the past and the present makes for a delightful visit.
This is part of a series of family-oriented day trip outings around the San Francisco Bay Area I look forward to enjoying once social distancing isn’t the norm any longer.
Photo by Cheyenne Knowles on Unsplash
Social Isolation — Day 12
The rain this morning reminded me of a recent trip to Pescadero, visiting the goats at Harly Farms, some artichoke soup at Duarte’s, and a hike through the marshes. Then maybe settling in with something to read while sipping coffee at Downtown Local.
It can be a bit of a drive to get here. I enjoy driving over Highway 84 to the coast, then turning south to enjoy the last bit driving along the coast. The town is small, but a delightful spot to spend the day ducking out from the raindrops.
Today, we found out that school for the entire state will continue to be remote through at least May 1st. It’s like we are living in a slow-motion car accident, unable to do anything about what we see happening around us, except wash our hands. Keep breathing I tell myself.
I have my first fiction book nearly ready for publishing, so today I decided to read a chapter a day on video and share it with anyone who might be interested. Creativity leads to positivity, I hope.
Destination: Pescadero
Hike the Pescadero Marsh
Pet the goats at Harley Farms
Stroll through downtown Pescadero
Hike the Pescadero Marsh
Turning off Highway 1 onto Pescadero Creek Road, there is a dirt parking area directly off to the left where you can hike down into the marshes.
I had driven past them a number of times, but this past January was the first time I had been down to hike through them. Luckily, they had just finished some recent improvements on them, clearing out dense overgrowth, and updating the creek to promote wildlife and prevent major flooding.
We did a 3 mile out and back hike (fairly flat), and the trail was clearly marked. Looking back at the map, I look forward to a future visit trying some other trails. A nice way to get ready for lunch, maybe some artichoke soup at the classic Duarte's? Possibly a slice of Olallieberry pie?
Pet the goats at Harley Farms Goat Dairy
Look for the wooden cutout of the little milking girl pointing the way, Harley Farms is a short drive from downtown Pescadero. You can walk right in and visit the goats. Coming here in the spring also gives the chance to see all the baby goats that usually arrive in the spring.
Once you wash your hands after petting the goats, head into the shop and try some samples of the goat cheese. You can pick up chevre, bread, fresh eggs, and even soap that they make here on the farm.
Stroll through downtown Pescadero
Walking up and down Stage road, you get a great taste of this little town. Pop into Downtown Local for something warm to drink and maybe play a game. Pick up some sandwiches at Arcangeli Grocery, poke around at the stage road shops, even pick up some flowers.
Don’t forget to pop in for a slice of Pie at Duarte’s tavern, it’s been around since 1894 and is a local favorite. It can get quite crowded on a warm weekend though.
Cody Tolmasoff is an author and publisher for Adventuring.in. He is a recovering programmer and a San Francisco native, raising two daughters, and regularly finding new adventures around the SF Bay Area. This article is an excerpt from an upcoming book, 52 San Francisco Bay Area Weekend Adventures, Day Trips With Your Kids!
Find him on Twitter @codyo, and read his most recent title Adventures in Getting Out on Amazon, filled with advice on successfully getting your family out for day trip adventures.
Originally published on Medium on 25 March 2020