San Mateo County - 76 Attractions You Must Visit

Golden Gate National Recreation Area is famous for its iconic structures, the largest collection of historic buildings in any national park and the 146 kilometers of San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean shoreline that gives a home to some of the 2,458 plants and animal species in the urban park. It is also one of the largest urban parks in the world, with a size two-and-a-half times that of the consolidated city and county of San Francisco.

Gray Whale Cove State Beach is a California State Park between Pacifica, California, and Montara, California, by Highway 1 and approximately 18 miles south of San Francisco. It features a sheltered cove surrounded by abrupt cliffs, with trails connecting to nearby Montara Mountain and McNee Ranch State Park. Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems.

The Hiller Aviation Museum is an aircraft history museum founded by Stanley Hiller in June 1998. It specializes in Northern California aircraft history and helicopter history. The museum is also an affiliate within the Smithsonian Affiliations program. This museum has more than 50 aerospace vehicles along with companion descriptive displays concerning the history of flight.

A majestic forest park set over 900 acres of coastal mountain environment with numerous trails running along cool gulches and over unique hillside habitats. It has barbecue pits, a playground, grassy meadows, and hiking and riding trails, Huddart Park makes a great place to have a picnic or explore a redwood forest.

Fitzgerald Marine Reserve is a marine reserve in California on the Pacific Ocean. The reserve is a 32-acre holding which extends from Montara light station at the north to Pillar Point on the south. The reserve consists of a three-mile stretch of beach.

This foothill park, open all year round, provides family and group picnic areas, hiking and nature trails and shelter buildings. Visitors are drawn to the Oak Foothill plant community, spring wildflowers, El Zanjon Creek, and the peaceful retreat the area affords from surrounding urban development.

This beautiful park, which is adjacent to Sugarloaf Mountain, has serene walking areas and a playground as well as trails leading into Sugarloaf Mountain.The park was acquired in 1923. The wedge-shaped park underwent a major renovation in 2021.

Leo J. Ryan Memorial Park offers 20 acres of lawn areas, lagoon access, a gazebo on the lagoon, and restroom facilities. The park is situated on 20 acres which overlook Foster City's lagoon. The park houses the William E. Walker Recreation Center, and includes a waterfront, outdoor amphitheatre, sailboat tie-up facilities, boardwalk, lawn areas, and a gazebo on the lake.

A public beach in front of a private gated community. The property is surrounded by high cliffs and farm lands so there is just one way to the beach – the gated road.For many years Martins Beach has been a popular spot for families, surfers, photographers, fishermen and others.

Mavericks is a surfing location in northern California outside Pillar Point Harbor, just north of the town of Half Moon Bay at the village of Princeton-by-the-Sea. After a strong winter storm in the northern Pacific Ocean, waves can routinely crest at over 25 ft and top out at over 60 ft. Routinely, waves that break can be recorded on seismometers. The break is caused by an unusually shaped underwater rock formation.

McNee Ranch State Park is a beautiful, scenic, and surprising park. Comprised almost entirely of wide, multi-use fire roads. The highest point in the 690-acre ranch rises to 1,898 feet above sea level. An unpaved fire road, the North Peak Access Road, accessible from the Pedro Mountain Road, provides access to the summit by hikers.

This is a forested retreat not far from the coast. Many campsites in Memorial Park Campground are among the redwood trees and all sites are within easy walking distance of Pescadero Creek. A swimming hole there is popular in the summer. There are also group sites, some of them designated for youth groups. Reservations for all campsites can be made for up a year in advance. A seasonal camp store is located near the park entrance.

Milagra Ridge is a 275-acre open space park that is an isolated island ecosystem, located about 7 miles south of San Francisco, between the cities of Pacifica and Daly City. It was first inhabited by the Ohlone indigenous people, and was later claimed by Spanish settlers and Mexican ranchers.

Miramar Beach is a sandy beach in western San Mateo County, California. Miramar Beach is one of the numerous beaches on Half Moon Bay, a Pacific Ocean embayment noted for its surfing and extensive visitation. It is one of the iconic beach where you can enjoy with your family and friends.

Montara Mountain is a challenging oceanside hike on the northern edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains, mixing Hawaii-like greenery with beautiful coastal views. Its Trail starts as a meandering jaunt through the Blue Gum Eucalyptus forest with striking glimpses of coastal Pacifica and the ocean beyond.

Montara State Beach is a wide mile-long beach just north of Montara along the San Mateo County Coast. It is a popular spot for sunbathing, strolling, nature study, surfing, and more. It is one of the cleanest beaches in the state and there are bike, hiking, and horseback trails. The Devil's Slide is at the north end of the beach and the trail starts from a beach parking lot. A lighthouse operated as a hostel is part of the state park.

A majestic 110 acre park located in Pacifica, California, that is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The ponds and wetlands of Mori Point serve as habitat for the threatened California red-legged frog and the endangered San Francisco garter snake. Mori Point also has northern coastal scrub and California coastal prairie habitat in upland areas, and is well known for its spring wildflower displays. Trails, many newly built, connect the ridgeline to the entrances to the park.

Mussel Rock is a rock formation on the coast of San Mateo County, California, offshore from Daly City. It consists of one large and numerous smaller rocks of a type known as a stack, where a headland is eroded unevenly, leaving small islands. The rock itself is located 15 meters from the shore of Mussel Rock Park and stands 18 meters tall. The area above Mussel Rock consists of steep cliffs with frequent landslides, threatening homes in a subdivision above.

Pacifica Municipal Fishing Pier is an old concrete pier located on the waterfront in the Sharp Park neighborhood of Pacifica CA. The quarter mile pier was built in 1973 as part of the city of Pacifica's sewer system. It carries a 28-inch pipe that continues one quarter mile offshore through which treated wastewater was pumped into the Pacific Ocean. The pier is famous for salmon runs where hundreds of salmon are caught in a single day.

This is a wide crescent-shaped beach located off Highway 1 in downtown Pacifica that marks the northern gateway to the coastline stretching south of San Francisco. It is one of the most popular beginner surfing spots in the San Francisco area. Among surfers it is commonly known as Linda Mar Beach because it fronts Pacifica's Linda Mar subdivision.