Montara, CA

Montara is an unincorporated coastal community in San Mateo County, one of the Coastside towns strung along Highway 1 between Pacifica to the north and Half Moon Bay to the south. The county, not a city council, handles planning, and the place has kept a rural edge that newer development never fully erased. The Ocean Shore Railroad brought the first weekend visitors in the early 1900s, and the line shut in 1920 as cars took over. Real building came later, which helps explain a patchwork of cottages, garden lots and the occasional large new house. Moss Beach, El Granada and Half Moon Bay follow in order down the highway, and weekend beach traffic ties them together. The land around town does much of the work. The Santa Cruz Mountains rise to the east, the Pacific sits to the west, and protected marine areas lie offshore. Fog is the usual weather, so layers are standard dress in every season. Eating out is a short list. Odyssey's Pizzeria on Carlos Street in Moss Beach serves pizza most days from noon, and La Costanera in Half Moon Bay has been serving modern Peruvian food overlooking Pillar Point since 2009. Coastside Market on Virginia Avenue in Moss Beach is the nearest everyday grocery, with hours running to nine at night. Highway 1 does nearly all the work of getting around. Pacifica sits one way and Half Moon Bay the other, and a SamTrans route runs the same stretch for people who skip driving. Commuting toward San Francisco or the Peninsula means planning around coastal traffic. The cost of the setting is how few options there are when something goes wrong, whether that is a closed road, a stormy week or a favorite restaurant that shuts its doors. People who settle here tend to like that limit, because Montara is small enough that the beach, the mountain trailheads and the one good bakery stay part of an ordinary week.