If you are holidaying in San Francisco and fancy getting out of the city for a few days, join the discerning local gay population who weekend in Half Moon Bay and Pescadero.

Half Moon Bay is a spectacular 23 mile drive through the Santa Cruz Mountains, taking in magnificent forests and crystal lakes. The charming town encompasses renowned restaurants, quaint shops, art galleries, nearby wineries and redwood forests along a stunning Pacific Ocean shoreline. It’s also home to the world famous Mavericks’ surf break, and where there’s surf, there’s surfers...

The Half Moon Bay Lodge is the perfect place to call your home from home while staying in this friendly small town, with romantic fireplaces in each of the Spanish Hacienda-style guest rooms, each overlooking the stunning 36 hole Half Moon Bay Golf Links.

Perhaps as a result of all those hippies spilling out of San Francisco, two of the defining characteristics of the people you’ll meet along the route is their love of art and their respect for ecology. A great activity (if you don't mind getting up at 6am to catch the low tide) is a spot of inter-tidal eco rockpooling courtesy of Coastal Elegance Tours.

Your guides Phil and Nancy will soon have you exploring every nook, cranny, tidepool and surge channel, spotting sea stars, graceful anemones, iridescent seaweed, majestic shore birds and even perhaps even a curious seal, keen to pose for photographs.

The spectrum of wildlife in the miniature oceans of rock pools is fascinating and will give you a real insight into the delicate ecosystem usually found under the waves. If this isn't really your cup of tea, the couple also offer other activities including eco-cycling tours.

Feeling the need to indulge in some artistic pursuits? Then what about putting your hands (and mouths) to a spot of blowing? Doug at Half Moon Bay Art Glass gives hot glass blowing classes, which is a lot of fun and means you leave with a rather unique souvenir. Popular creations include glass pumpkins (Half Moon Bay is the pumpkin capital of the world, apparently) or rainbow coloured paperweights, ideal for selling at the pride festival near you on your return!

All this creativity is thirsty work, so head on down the road to the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company situated on Pillar Point Harbor in Princeton-by-the-sea. This is a seriously cool hangout both inside and out and regular live rock music and sweeping Pacific Ocean Views from the funky outside terrace complete with fire pits.

For an evening treat, why not check out Pasta Moon, a stylish yet unpretentious Italian establishment on Half Moon Bay’s Main Street, which serves locally sourced sustainable foods, including the amazing local cheeses on their mouth-watering pizzas and pasta dishes.

Just a short hop down beautiful coast is Pescadero, a quaint town straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. The only place to stay is The Pescadero Creek Inn, a 100 year-old farmhouse has been lovingly transformed into a charmingly unique bed and breakfast. Each room is decorated in period antiques and boasts queen-sized feather down beds and antique claw foot tubs.

The town makes a perfect base to explore the nearby towering redwoods and The Pescadero Creek Inn will loan you free bicycles to get out and explore. You also wont want to miss Pillar Point Lighthouse, the largest on the Pacific Coast and a great place for some whale watching, as well as Ano Nuevo State reserve, the breading ground of hundreds of elephant seals.

The evening hotspot is Duartes's, a diner and bar which dates back to 1894 when Pescadero was on the stagecoach road between San Francisco and Santa Cruz and still run by the same family. After dining, make sure you wander into the main tavern, which was like walking back in time and packed with locals and Harley Davidson bikers. It's so authentic, you should really spend the remainder of the night sipping bourbon.

After enjoying a delicious breakfast at the Pescadero Creek Inn, take a stroll up to Harley Farms Goat Dairy. The restored 1910 dairy farm in home to 200 alpine goats, as well as some llamas, who act as security for the goats, keeping away local predators like mountain lions. Who knew?

The tour is fascinating, following the milk from goat to dairy and from curd to cheese, before you enjoy a tasting session of the multi award-winning cheeses including chevre, fromage blanc, ricotta and feta. It's the perfect place to stock up on cheese so you can enjoy a picnic on the journey back. Just make sure you also grab some artichoke bread from the historic general store and perhaps cheeky bottle of Californian red for one of the surrounding wineries.

Half Moon Bay and Pescadero are towns often overlooked by many tourists, but are well worth visiting, either as part of a drive down the coast to LA or as part of a two center holiday. For more information visit the official site.