Sunset on Skyline Blvd
Skyline Boulevard follows the mountain ridge between the Silicon Valley and the more popular coast Highway 1 between Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Bikers love Skyline Boulevard, a curvy road winding through the mountains with a few restaurants, scenic overlooks and many regional parks. During the summer months, the restaurant in Sky Londa boasts the largest motor biking lot in this region of California.
Bicyclists and drivers of convertibles make up the second and third largest groups. Most people are out to enjoy themselves and their favorite mode of transportation. Not too many people indulge in serious photography, which makes Skyline Boulevard one of the most under-photographed areas right next to one of the most populated areas.
How to get there
From Highway 280 near San Mateo take 92 toward Half Moon Bay and turn left on top of the mountain onto Highway 35 (Skyline Blvd). From the South Bay take Highway 9 out of Saratoga (toward Big Basin) and turn right on Highway 35. From Half Moon Bay take Highway 92 and turn right on Highway 35.
There are many other curvy roads leading up here. From Woodside take 84; from Pescadero drive to La Honda and take 84; from Palo Alto take Page Mill Road.
GPS position
How to photograph Skyline Blvd.
Golden Grass Landscape
You need to look a little harder to find exceptional photos here. The rolling hills that glow golden during the sunset hours or the fast moving fog that starts to engulf everything quickly during summer are my favorites. I love to compress the hills with a long lens to create an abstract of the landscape.
Drive into one of the side roads and go for a stroll during the late afternoon. Try to find a unique composition of the meadows that adds some interest (maybe a lone withered tree) and add a foreground element pulling the viewer into the picture.
Use fog to add depth to your pictures or to create a spooky mystery feeling (some post processing required).
San Mateo Bridge from Skyline Blvd
If you like bikes, if you are a biker or if you just like to take photographs of bikers, this is a great place to be. Put a nice long lens on your camera (lets say 200mm) and set it to 1/50s exposure time. Try panning with the bikes speeding by to blur the background while keeping the biker in focus. It takes some practice and not all shots will turn out, but it is a lot of fun. Alternatively you can also find the parking lots full with fine bikes.
Best Time of the Day and Best Season
Spring is the best season. Wildflowers will bloom on the meadows and transform the grassy hills into colorful patches. In summer, the grass will turn brown and look rather unappealing for most of the day except during the golden hour (sunset or sunrise) when the grass turns golden glowing in the sun.
I find this area very appealing on foggy days too. The best chance of fog is during the late afternoon hours of the summer.
Time required
It takes some time to drive the windy road up here from the valley below. Take at least 3 hours but consider spending a day if you want to go hiking and drive the entire distance.
Equipment
- Telephoto Lens for overview shots of the Silicon Valley and to pan with the bikers
- Macro Lens for Insects and Flowers in the Parks
- Normal Lens to photograph the meadows
- Tripod for Night Shots
Difficulty Getting There
Some of the roads leading up here are very curvy and some people get uncomfortable with the drive. Drive the entire distance from Highway 92 all the way to Saratoga Highway 9 to avoid most of the curves. Highway 35 is a favorite track for bikers and motorcyclists. Pay attention to them and don’t lose your head when you see a great photograph in your mind’s eye.
Difficulty Photographing
Depending on the weather, (I like fog to photograph the parks but not the valley) you may have more or less things to photograph up here. It is a great feeling to drive along the alleys in a convertible, but there is not that much to see.
Close Locations
- Big Basin Redwoods State Park
- Santa Cruz Pier and Boardwalk
- Santa Cruz Natural Bridges State Beach and Santa Cruz Lighhouse
- Stanford
- Half Moon Bay
- Devils Slide
- Moss Landing Sea Otters
- Pacifica
- Ano Nuevo
- Filoli
- Winchester Mystery House
- Pigeon Point Lighthouse
- Roaring Camp
- Mission San Jose
- Capitola
Useful Resources
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2 Comments
You should work for the California Department of Tourism (or whatever they call it there). Are they aware of you? You make everything look spectacular.
Yet another excellent post. This looks like a very interesting drive. Maybe the next time we visit the Monterey area, we will take Route 1 down from SF and this route on the return trip… or visa versa. Really lovely photos as well.