easy
Activities
Mel’s Lane Trail at Pigeon Point Information
An iconic spot along the California coastline, Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park is home to several attractions. This easy hike is a great way to experience a beautiful section of coastline in Half Moon Bay.
Watch for:
Keep an eye on the ocean to look for dolphins, otters, harbor seals, and migrating gray whales in the spring and late fall.
Hiking Details for Mel’s Lane Trail
Distance: .5 miles
Elevation change: None
Hiking time: Less than an hour
Trail surface: Packed sand
Best Season: Year round
Managing agency: California State Parks
Parking lot location: Click here for directions
Overview: Mel’s Lane at Pigeon Point is an easy 0.5-mile out-and-back stroll along the coast that provides great views and many nice places to stop and enjoy the scenery. The trail is a gentle sand path that follows the coastline. Pack a lunch and enjoy sweeping vistas from the Council Circle, a seating area POST installed in spring 2006 to honor special campaign donors. A sturdy lookout deck affords spectacular views of the rocky cove and surrounding coastal lands, much of which POST has protected. Behind the lighthouse’s Fog Signal Building, there is another overlook deck with benches, providing more wondrous ocean vistas. This easy Mel’s Lane hike is a great way to experience some of the preserved coastline south of Half Moon Bay.
Mel’s Lane Trail at Pigeon Point Photo Gallery
More About the Mel's Lane Trail
Wheelchair-accessible Mel’s Lane was built by POST in 2005 on land purchased as part of the Saving the Endangered Coast campaign. This land was where a nine-unit motel was under construction in 2000, until POST bought the three-acre scenic bluff with tide pools, known as Whaler’s Cove, for public use. The trail is named in honor of lifelong conservationist Melvin B. Lane, a POST co-founder and first chair of the California Coastal Commission.