Pescadero Creek Road
A winding connection through Loma Mar and redwoods to the farms and coast around Pescadero.
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Planning the drive
Pescadero Creek Road runs longer and mellower than the ridge roads that feed it — 13.6 miles with 55 bends, a density of 4 per mile against West Alpine's 11 — but the character is different, not easier: single-lane width in places through Sam McDonald County Park's redwoods, with blind curves that call for watching for oncoming cars and cyclists rather than carrying speed. Traffic is light most of the week, heavier on weekends as a through-route between the ridge and the coast. San Mateo County: Pescadero Creek Park
Pescadero Creek Road brings a change of scenery to a Peninsula drive: redwoods around Loma Mar, then the country around Pescadero and the coast. Memorial Park sits on this road and gives you a place to plan a proper stop among the redwoods. Check the park’s visitor information if you want to combine the drive with a walk. San Mateo County: Memorial Park
At the coast, Pescadero Creek Road meets Highway 1 beside the southern access to Pescadero State Beach. This makes the road a useful link in a mountain-to-ocean outing. Use the coastal driving guide for the full Highway 9–Skyline–Highway 84 approach and decide which direction you want to take on Highway 1 before reaching the coast. State Parks: Pescadero beach access
Leave time for downtown Pescadero before the beach. It’s small, full of character and a lovely coffee stop between the redwoods and Highway 1.
Roads to connect
- West Alpine RoadThe steeper, tighter descent from Skyline that feeds into this road.
- La Honda Road · Hwy 84Highway 84 supplies the inland approach from the La Honda side.
- Highway 1 · CoastsideThe coastal continuation at Pescadero State Beach.
Full route: Highway 9, Skyline & Pescadero coastal drive →
Driving notes updated .
Road shape
- Length
- 13.6 mi
- Bends
- 55
- Switchbacks
- 8
- Bends per mile
- 4
- Turning per mile
- 448°
- Curviest rank
- 70of 168
Measured from the OpenStreetMap centreline at a 20 m sampling step — road shape only, not a safety or speed judgement. How bends are counted.
Elevation
- Total climb
- 1,972ft
- Climb per mile
- 145ft
- Highest point
- 1,060ft
- Steepest grade
- 8.2%
Sampled every 100 m from USGS 10 m elevation data, a public-domain federal dataset. Total climb counts vertical change in both directions, so it does not depend on which way you drive. How elevation is measured.
Speed limits
35 mph
Published limits
35 mph near Pescadero; other sections vary.
Cloverdale Road to Butano Cut-Off only; other sections vary. County ordinance adopted December 2021.
Posted signs always govern. How speed evidence is handled.
Sources
Difficulty 2/3 (Winding) is our editorial rating of width, bends and sightlines; “Medium speed” describes character, not a target speed. Full method. Identified from:
- r/Touge · Bay Area drives
- r/bayarea · Favorite driving roads
- OpenStreetMap road data (25 ways in this trace)
Reviewed 2026-09-08. The trace shows selected road sections, not a navigation route.
Drives that include this road
Roads nearby
Distances are approximate straight lines between road centers, not driving distances or direct connections.