GETTING OUT
Coastal sanctuary
Ron Erskine
SEASIDE At Pillar Point Air Base, the end of the trail near Fitzgerald Marine Reserve,
NOVEMBER 30, 2018
there is a beach access down to Ross’ Cove.
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Moss Beach community hides marine reserve By RON ERSKINE
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ix miles north of Half Moon Bay, a very special marine reserve is nestled in the small community of Moss Beach. The intertidal zone there has been called one of the most biodiverse in all of California. To permanently protect it, the state of California established Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in 1969—a terrific place to visit whether you walk the tidepools or the seaside cliffs above. A friend who lives a block away from the visitor center recently led me on a hike through the reserve and beyond. We were there during high tide, so I was unable to walk
the tidepools, the reserve’s main attraction. But never mind. The seaside path through the reserve and points south rewarded us with amazing cliff top views of lounging harbor seals and distant ocean views toward Mavericks and beyond. A turn toward the ocean off Highway 1 onto California Avenue in Moss Beach led us to the one-room Fitzgerald Marine Reserve visitor center, set in a small park beneath a forest of Monterey Cypress. While the reserve is owned by the state and is part of a baffling network of sanctuaries and protected regions, San Mateo
County Parks manages it. Grab a map at the visitor center to guide you on your walk along the cliffs toward Pillar Point. Steps from the visitor center, the Bluff Trail begins its half-mile cliffside route through a forest of Monterey Cypress. Beach access points at each end of the trail lead visitors to the tidepools during low tide. The upwelling of cool ocean water and the geologic features of the reserve combine to create an ideal setting for the vast array of mollusks, anemones, sea stars, sponges and many more creatures that thrive there. Everything on the reserve is protected and cannot be removed, but a visitor can see many of the reserve’s inhabitants by walking gently and carefully through the tidepools at low tide. Over the next half-mile, we continued south through neighborhood streets before connecting with the Jean Lauer Trail at Pillar Point Bluff, an extension of the reserve. The edge of a shallow fog bank continually do-si-do’d like an Arkansas square dancer up against the cliffs and back again, hiding then revealing the dome at Pillar Point Air Base up ahead. Pillar Point Bluff leaves the dark Monterey cypress forest behind for a bright expanse of coastal scrub that opens the landscape to wide views. My friend is a surfer who knows the area’s natural history, so we frequently paused along the cliff where he pointed out surf breaks and a number of reefs just offshore. At Pillar Point Air Base, the end of the trail, there is a beach access down to Ross’ Cove. Once again, the high tide shut us out. I don’t know what crowds the weekends bring to Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, but my weekday walk was as peaceful and lovely as a seaside walk can be. I must return at low tide and walk the tidepools, the reserve’s raison d’être. But tidepools or no tidepools, the reserve is a true gem.