Harkins Ridge, Craig Britton, Purisima Creek Trail is a 7.6 mile heavily trafficked loop trail located near Half Moon Bay, California that features a river and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, running, and mountain biking and is accessible year-round.
A classic redwoods hike if there ever was one! Doing this hike counter-cockwise, the first section follows peaceful Purisma Creek up an old logging road. Branching off the road after 2.6 miles, you turn onto a wooded pathway and delve into what seems to be the heart of mother earth in the deep, dark forest. Then, climb above the treetops to a gorgeous view that takes in the surrounding ridges and mighty Pacific in the distance, and start your way back down. Because the climb up seems so gentle, you'll definitely be testing your knees on the descent. Watch your time as these woods get dark well before sunset, and if you see any large felines- they aren't of the housecat variety! Hiker be ware!
Note: This trail will be closed for bridge construction between Grabtown Gulch Trail and Craig Britton Trail from September 3 through November 2019. Park at the staging area off of Purisima Creek Rd.
April 11, 2021Beautiful this time of the year with unique wildflowers, different birds, rabbits and banana slugs. We went clockwise and the first 2.5 miles were a steep ascent followed by a steady descent back to the parking lot. There is limited parking available. Need to get here early to find one.
April 9, 2021Lovely trees. Lovely spot for a picnic. We recommend the manchego from Trader Joe’s for your picnic. 10/10.
April 1, 2021great trail but not easy for someone with knee problems. parts of trail is very steep. parking is also extremely limited.
March 28, 2021Steady climb up and a slow woodsy meander down is a trail after my own heart. Took me 50 minutes up to the ridge (definitely do this first if you want to be kind to your knees) and about 65 minutes back down. Beautiful morning, lots of wildflowers and bunnies.
March 21, 2021March 13, 2021Neat little trail through the redwoods - we saw 117 banana slugs! Parking is very limited, advise arriving at 8am or earlier on weekends. It was a bit muddy today due to rains earlier in the week, but nothing unmanageable.
March 8, 2021Will come back and hike clockwise.
March 7, 2021March 7, 2021Beautiful! Would hike again!
March 6, 2021February 27, 2021Initial part of the trail was a steep climb. After you reach the top, the rest is a gradual descent. Good amount of shade. Nice views. Lots of water features. Not a lot of parking.
February 22, 2021The trail was great, fairly simple track. If you start clockwise you will hit an incline but once at the top the rest is fairly downhill. Some good views of the ocean when you get to the top. The last part of the trail was very wet and muddy. Parking is a pain since there are only 6-7 parking spots in the parking lot. The police had ticketed every car parked along the road. If you have to park on the roadside, make sure you're off the paved road then you can avoid the ticket. Just make sure not to park too close to the edge as the ground is really soft these days, I ended up having to call a tow truck.
February 20, 2021February 17, 2021Gorgeous hike mostly under redwood shades. I like the waterfall in the end.
February 15, 2021Great trail! I went the clockwise route and the last two miles are literal uphill and doesn’t stop till the very end. The creek was awesome to hike next too along the way. Counted 25 Banana Slugs!
February 14, 2021Really cool but quite muddy towards the end.
February 14, 2021Absolutely stunning hike! If you take the trail clockwise you’ll be going uphill for about two miles and then it’ll be very easy-going from there! We counted the banana slugs along the way — 128. If you’re coming in from out of town (which we did) this feels like the perfect regional hike.
February 13, 2021We did this hike clockwise and I’m glad we did as we got the steep climb out of the way then enjoyed the rest! Lots of mud along the Creek trail but manageable. Few people and almost all had masks and were respectful. 20 banana slugs were noted as well as beautiful fungi on trees and on ground.
February 13, 2021This was a great trail with ton of views and the creek made beautiful sounds!
February 9, 2021My wife and I didn’t have much time, but what we did see of this hike was gorgeous! We counted 12 banana slugs!
February 8, 2021Beautiful loop. Some good variation throughout. Very relaxed once you get to the top of the mountain, although it’s pretty strenuous up to that point. Would definitely do again. Only issue is this trail took me a little under 3 hours, and AllTrails has it listed as taking 4. Still a ton of fun though!
February 8, 2021Beautiful and quiet. Limited parking makes for a pretty solitary experience and the creek and redwoods are just gorgeous.
February 7, 2021February 6, 2021Beautiful view of half moon bay, lovely dark Redwoods, and a good work out. There were more people on the trail than usual but it wasn’t too crowded.
February 6, 2021February 6, 2021Goodness, this was really close to 5 stars. If you read this review and think it deserved it, that's fine by me. The loop is about 7 1/2 miles total, but it makes a difference if you start with the steep ascent and long descent (clockwise) or long ascent and steep descent (counterclockwise). This review is based on the first option. The first part of the trail is glorious: lush, green, completely shaded, wonderful smell of nature. If the entire trail had been this good, it would be one of the best in the country! Alas, the ascent began perhaps a half mile in: intermittent shade and a steep incline. If you're in great shape you can handle it, but if you're in so-so shape you'll need to take it slowly and stop in the shaded parts. You'll have about two solid miles before you reach the summit. Make sure you take the correct fork at the top so that you can complete the loop (the AllTrails app really helped in this case). Once you get past the uphill part, though, it is just magnificent all the way down. Dense forest, ferns, cool air -- and banana slugs! -- provide plenty of natural incentive to push to the finish line. I will likely hike this trail again but with 1/3 the water I took: the proximity to the ocean and dense shade over 70-80% of the trail means that you will not sweat profusely. Granted, I hiked this in the middle of winter, so conditions could be considerably different during the summer. Finally: even with a slow pace, I covered the trail in 4 1/2 hours. Typical hikers would probably need only 3 1/2. Runners might do it in half the time or less. But if you're taking it slowly, get there by 1:00 at the latest as it will get dark before sunset.
February 4, 2021It’s a quintessential redwoods hike with some great ocean views and sections that give a good workout. I did it clockwise because I prefer a long descent over a long ascent. Parking can fill up but I arrived at 2pm and it was past the peak of parking demand.
