Skeggs Point (California) facts for kids
Skeggs Point is a beautiful place to stop and look at the views in San Mateo County, California. It is located along State Route 35, between Kings Mountain and State Route 84. You can find it easily with a sign along the road. This area is about three miles (five kilometers) west of the town of Woodside. It sits about 2,000 feet (600 meters) higher than Woodside.
If there weren't so many trees, you would see an amazing view of the San Francisco Bay. This view would stretch south from where Candlestick Park used to be. Skeggs Point is about 2,300 feet (700 meters) above sea level. A nearby peak called Sierra Morena is even higher, at about 2,417 feet (737 meters). However, Sierra Morena is closed to the public because it has communication antennas. Much of the land around the road is owned by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. This group helps protect natural open spaces.
Who Was John Hunt Skeggs?
This scenic spot is named after Colonel John Hunt Skeggs. He was a retired U.S. Army officer who fought in World War I. After the war, he became an important engineer for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). He worked there from about 1919 until he retired in 1952.
Colonel Skeggs helped build many important roads in California. These included parts of US 101, State Route 35, and State Route 152 through Pacheco Pass. He also worked on the Waldo Tunnel and the Altamont Pass. Before the war, he worked for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Colonel Skeggs passed away on August 28, 1959, in Santa Clara, California.
Skeggs Point in Music
Skeggs Point has even been mentioned in popular culture! In his autobiography, Waging Heavy Peace: A Hippie Dream, musician Neil Young wrote about this place. He said he wrote his famous song "Like a Hurricane" while at Skeggs Point Scenic Lookout. He was sitting in the back of a 1950 DeSoto Suburban car when he wrote it.
