Nicholas Henry Martin and his brother David came to San Mateo County in the early 1850's. According to a relative, they purchased a large parcel including the beach at the end of this road. Eventually they sold the beach portion of the property and moved their farming operation up to the other side of the highway. But by then the beach was already called "Martin's Beach".
Since 2009, this beach and access road has been very controversial, and embroiled in lawsuits. Look HERE for a timeline of the events regarding Martin's Beach.
As of Sept. 2014, Vinod Khosla has lost what is probably just the first round of his effort to privatize this beach. It is now legal for us to go down again! You probably see lots of cars parked nearby. Their drivers have hopped the gate and walked down the road to the beach. Some of them carried surfboards. When we walked down on 9/28/14, we (and many others) were passed by a sheriff's car, also going down, and he just waved at us.
So if you haven't been down to Martin's Beach - DO IT! It's beautiful, unique, and worth it.