Its waters rise on the west facing slopes of the Montara Mountain, block and its mouth is at the unincorporated community of Moss Beach, within the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.

Historically there was a tidal marsh at its mouth, but some of this reach has been degraded by fill, especially in the construction of West Point Drive.

The streambanks of San Vicente Creek were inhabited by Native American as early as 3800 BC.

[citation needed] The first European land exploration of Alta California, the Spanish Portolá expedition, passed through the area on its way north, camping near the creek on October 30, 1769.

[3] In the year 1933, discovery of the rare plant Hickman's potentilla was made in the lower stream reach, but the species is not known to have existed past the 1970s at this location.