Bay Area Hiker: Photos from McNee Ranch State Park


Photos from an August 2000 hike at McNee Ranch State Park (click on any image for a larger view)
Trailhead	The fire road is your trail for the start of this hike	Information signboard is barely visible in the center of the photo	Under cypress
Cypress	Currant	Junction in front of the ranger's residence. Bear right here.	Start of North Peak Access Road
First beautiful views of the mountains	The fire road is steep. Get used to it. The whole hike is steep.	Fennel	Pampas grass
Shade feels nice on a hot day	Sagebrush	Almost to next junction	Unmarked junction with Old Pedro Mountain Road
Fire road is occasionally paved for a while	Coyote brush	View to the ocean	View uphill to the peaks
Path, not on the map, seems to be used mostly by cyclists	Monterey pine	California coffeeberry	A few cypresses provide shade
Cotoneaster	Tunnel of trees	Entering drier chaparral	Junction with path
This path, not on the map, connects with Gray Whale Cove Trail	North toward Devil's Slide	Bike path shortcut	Junction visible to the left
Start of the steepest section	Old Pedro Mountain Road heads north	Crashed car	The climbing is relentless
Monkeyflower growing out of granite	North Peak Access Road	California coffeeberry	View to Martini (?) Creek
The fog is rolling in, but Half Moon Bay can be seen from this elevation	Last stretch of the steep stuff	Once you reach the ridge, the climbing is easier	Path cuts off on the left side of the fire road
Path	View to San Pedro Mountain	Currant	Creambush with Mount Tam in the background
Grade picks up a bit	Manzanita	Huckleberry	Ceanothus
Junction with Montara Mountain Trail (thank San Mateo County for the sign)	Trailside is increasingly rocky	Chinquapin	Rock formation off to the north
Paintbrush blooming (in August!) alongside monkeyflower	Another steep stretch	View east, with Diablo visible to the left	My turnaround point, right at the border with San Pedro Valley Park
Fog is rolling in	Yerba santa	Silktassel	Huckleberry
Thimbleberry	Currant	Fog starting to drift up and obscure the views	Returning, the downhill is a pleasant sight
Poison oak	Another bike cut	Rock	Junction with Old Pedro Mountain Road
Gently descending	Another nice rock is exposed off the trail	Rock and bench	Pampas grass
Cypress	Slide area	Another crashed car	Tons of poison oak through here
Choked with grass	Last look uphill, the fog has obscured everything above 300 feet	Junction with path to Gray Whale Cove Trail	Picnic area
Junction; turn left and return to the trailhead			Go to Bay Area Hiker McNee Ranch page Go to Bay Area Hiker Home Page