Moss Beach began as a resort. Its first hotel was built in 1881 by Juergen Wienke, and the community grew after the Ocean Shore Railroad arrived in 1908. At the 2020 census it had 3,214 residents.
It has a cool coastal microclimate with mild summer temperatures. Within it are the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, a tide-pooling shore, the Half Moon Bay Airport and the historic Moss Beach Distillery, which began as a Prohibition-era speakeasy.
It sits about 20 miles south of San Francisco and 50 miles north of Santa Cruz, on 2.2 square miles of land, with lodging at the Seal Cove Inn. Montara lies to the north and El Granada, Princeton-by-the-Sea and Half Moon Bay to the south.
More on this site: history