Biking Skyline Ridge
San Mateo & Santa Clara counties

Local bicyclists, motorcyclists, and sports car enthusiasts all agree that Skyline Blvd (Hwy 35) is one of the hidden treasures of the San Francisco Bay Peninsula. Even if you are not a sporting type you can still enjoy the quiet scenic drives which Skyline ridge provides just a few minutes away from busy Silicon Valley.

Skyline Blvd is a central feature in many fabulous San Mateo/Santa Clara county bike rides. The ridge road segment between Hwy 92 (going to Half Moon Bay) and Hwy 9 (going to Saratoga) sits on top of the Santa Cruz Mountains that separate San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. Skyline's two lane road meanders gently up and down this marvelous natural area making it perfect for cycling.

Motor traffic is often light, especially on weekdays. Weather is usually mild but can be foggy early and late in the day. Best of all the scenery is beautiful including pleasing redwood forests and panoramic vistas of both the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

If you enjoy bicycling up hills then getting to/from Skyline Blvd is most of the fun. Local bikers will often ride a portion of Skyline ridge as they go to/from the Peninsula or to/from the Pacific Coast on smaller roads which are even more isolated and lovely.

Below are some of the best ways to bike to/from Skyline Blvd. If you are a serious rider you can easily take alternate loop routes as you cross over the mountains and back. If less energetic then you might get a friend to truck your bicycle up to Skyline after which you can enjoy a great one-way ride downhill. By the way, for all these rides you should be at least an intermediate rider who is familiar with sharing the road with fast motor traffic; otherwise risk serious injury.

Skyline Blvd checkpoints

Some better known checkpoints you will pass while biking from north to south along Skyline Blvd follow:

Hwy 92/Skyline Blvd -- Major intersection at north end of Skyline Blvd ridge segment.
Restaurants -- Bella Vista, 13451 Skyline Blvd, with a nice view and The Mountain House Restaurant, 13808 Skyline, in the redwoods are two rather expensive restaurants with excellent fireplaces. Bicycle wear would not be appropriate :).
Kings Mountain Rd/Skyline Blvd/Tunitas Creek Rd -- Minor intersection.
Kings Mountain, 13899 Skyline just north of Kings Mountain Rd -- A small community featuring, mainly, a firehouse and the Kings Mountain Art Fair held Labor Day weekend.
Skeggs Point, between Kings Mountain Rd & Hwy 84 -- A scenic turnout and parking spot. Nothing special, just a convenient place leave your car if you hauled your bike up.
Hwy 84 (La Honda Rd)/Skyline Blvd -- Major intersection.
- Alice's Restaurant, Woodside
  
  Sky Londa, Hwy 35 (Skyline Blvd)/Hwy 84 (La Honda-Woodside Rd) -- A gathering spot of bikers and motorcycle riders. Has some parking lots, gas stations, a convenience store with sandwiches, and Alice's Restaurant.
- Alice's Restaurant, 17288 Skyline Blvd -- Casual, outdoorsy restaurant in Sky Londa which has outdoor decks and is a very popular destination for motorcyclists. Most of these motorcycle riders are groups of young Silicon Valley engineer or accountant types talking tough about their vehicles and recent rides. It is a pleasant place for breakfast or burgers (preferably out on the deck with your dog).
Old La Honda Rd/Skyline Blvd -- Minor intersection.
Windy Hill Open Space Preserve, the Spring Ridge trail roadside parking is about .4 miles south of Old La Honda Rd -- For one of the best views in the Bay area walk about .2 miles to the top of Windy Hill from which you can see panoramic views of the SF Bay, Pacific Ocean, and San Francisco. (note: To see the full 360 view in the panoramic views link hold down on your cursor button and move it around the picture.)
Thomas Fogarty Winery, 19501 Skyline across from (lower) Ripley Ranch Rd -- Nice little winery & tasting room with scenic views.
Page Mill Rd/Skyline Blvd/Alpine Rd -- Minor intersection
Hwy 9 (Congress Springs Rd-Big Basin Way)/Skyline Blvd. -- From here you can take Hwy 9 east to Saratoga, Hwy 9 west to Boulder Creek, or continue on Hwy 35 to Hwy 17/Summit Rd.

Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve

The mountain biking/hiking trailhead is on Skyline Blvd about 4.5 miles south of Hwy 92. From here you can take a fast and very beautiful 3.5 mile mountain bike ride west down Whittemore Gulch trail through the redwoods. It ends at Higgins-Purisima Rd from which you can bike back up the steep trail you just rode down or take another trail back for variety. You can also bike further east on Higgins-Purisima Road to Half Moon Bay, a nice ride in itself.

Warning: Whittemore Gulch is closed to mountain bikes during rainy weather. Also, it is sometimes monitored for excessive speeds and you can easily get a ticket.

By the way, there are literally hundreds of off-road mountain biking trails near Skyline Blvd. The best way to find them is to check the internet first or just adventure along looking for trailheads into the many large parks facing Skyline. Of course you can use either a road bike or a mountain bike on the roads shown below.

Kings Mountain Rd

This is a good bicycle route down to Woodside. It can be busy some weekends.

Kings Mountain Rd turns into Tunitas Creek Rd at Skyline Blvd.

Tunitas Creek Rd

This is a quiet pleasant ride back up to the Skyline Blvd from coastal Hwy 1.

Hwy 84 (La Honda Rd)

Hwy 84 is definitely bikeable but has more fast moving cars than the other options. My preference is to go down it, rather than up, which makes it easier to keep up with traffic and avoid being passed so often.

Old La Honda Rd

Old La Honda Rd to Sand Hill Rd to Stanford is a popular route bikers take to/from Skyline Blvd. Old La Honda is the easiest road to climb up to Skyline and is much more biker friendly than La Honda Rd (Hwy 84) which most cars will take.

Page Mill Rd

One way up is to catch Page Mill Rd in Stanford Industrial Park a couple of blocks south of Stanford University. You can also get to Page Mill Rd from Foothill Jr College via Moody Rd and Altamont Rd.

Page Mill Rd is one of the steepest climbs though it does have many switchbacks to help ease the ride a bit and keep speeds of passing cars down. Don't try climbing it unless you are in shape :).

Page Mill Rd turns into Alpine Rd at Skyline Blvd.

Alpine Rd to Pescadero Rd

The ride down Alpine Rd to Pescadero Rd to Pescadero is one of my personal favorites. There is not much traffic (probably because Alpine Rd is too old and twisty for easy car driving), the woods and the streams near the top are fantastic, and the country roads lower down as you reach Pescadero are quite pleasing as well. The simple picnic area behind Arcangeli Bakery, 287 Stage Rd, Pescadero, is a popular destination for bikers and aficionados of baked goods.

If you would like a good alternate route from Pescadero back up to Skyline then take Stage Rd east to Hwy 1 to Tunitas Creek Rd to Skyline Blvd.

Hwy 9

The ride down Hwy 9 (Big Basin Rd) to Saratoga is a fast, smooth one. If you decide to ride up it the grades are long but not as steep as some of the other options.

Routes to avoid if possible:

Hwy 92 -- Avoid this major San Mateo highway. It has fast, heavy traffic and bikes are illegal from Skyline Blvd to Half Moon Bay. The best way to use it, if necessary, is from Skyline Blvd down to Hwy 280.
Hwy 17 -- A major highway where bikes are not allowed. It can, at times, be somewhat dangerous even for cars :).

This will give you an idea of the fabulous variety and beauty of bike rides immediately accessible from the Skyline Blvd ridge line. It is a hidden secret that only local biking enthusiasts really know.

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