Walking with the Devil

Devils Slide Trail Storm Hike

{NOTE January 2024: Due to rains, before visiting this spot check ahead for any road and trail closures and/or hazards before heading out, and exercise good judgement for overall safety.}

It used to be a treacherous stretch of highway. Today it’s a beautiful stretch of paved trail, perched high and hugging some of California's most scenic coastline. The Devil's Slide section of the California Coastal Trail is a 1.3-mile (one-way) multi-use path just south of Pacifica. It's usually much less crowded when gray skies and rain are around. And it's a prime spot for viewing all that's wild about the weather and the sea.

devilsslidelookout_lrg-image-jpeg

Bring your raincoat and start on the out-and-back asphalt path. Follow the path as it meanders and curves to huge cliff-hugging views of the Pacific, Pedro Rock, and numerous sea stacks and small islands often thrashed by storm-swelling waves. You're high enough to observe the drama safely and can take a closer look via an on-site viewing telescope (50 cents, please). Benches and informational placards pepper the pathway. Aside from the rumble-tumble of the Pacific, keep an eye out for jutting Egg Rock, home to the once endangered common murres now making a comeback due to conservation efforts. You'll also see the precipitous and off-limits stairway cutting up and into the side of a hulking cliff that was once a strategic military surveillance base. Return the way you came.

Map. Park at the Devil's Slide trailhead north parking lot, off Hwy. 1 just before the Devil's Slide Tunnel, heading southbound (there's another trailhead and parking lot at the southern end of the tunnel). Make sure to arrive early on weekends; the lot fills up quickly.

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. Field of Light at Sensorio in Paso Robles

    Light This Way

    Hidden in the bucolic hills of Paso Robles lies one of the greatest light shows on earth. The lighted art exhibition, Sensorio, is as if the rainbow magic of the aurora borealis was plucked from the sky and planted in the fields.

    View
  2. Bikers and walkers on the Bay Area Ridge Trail with the Golden Gate Bridge behind them

    National Park City Walk

    See San Francisco the way locals do by hiking the Presidio, a national park right in the city! Wooded trails, secluded beaches, and epic views of the Golden Gate Bridge feature on this 5.5-mile out-and-back on the Bay Area Ridge Trail. It’s a lovely slice of the City by the Bay.

    View
  3. Bucks Up!

    Come on in, the water is beautiful. Whether you like swimming, kayaking, stand-up paddling, or heading out on a bigger boat, Bucks Lake is a high mountain haven that’s easy to access, blissfully uncrowded, and surrounded by sandy beaches, picnic areas, pines, and aspens.

    View
  4. Surfboards and tents for shade are set up on the beach at Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area in the Swim Lagoon Area

    Switchbacks and Swimming Holes

    Hike hard, play hard! This 7-mile out-and-back in Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area is a great workout with payoff vistas and a relaxing post-hike picnic and dip in the water.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories
  1. Bear Hug

    This 5.5-mile loop through Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch County Park explores one of the newest segments of the acclaimed Bay Area Ridge Trail, one redolent with trees ranging from madrone and manzanita to buckeye and blue elderberry (with a bubbly post-hike bonus).

    View
  2. Two kayakers on Upper Klamath Basin on tour with Sky Lakes Wilderness Adventures

    Zen & the Art of Kayaking

    It’s the most meditative and relaxing experience you’ll ever have on a kayak. Yes, you read that right, a Zen experience on a kayak. It all happens in beautiful Klamath County when you head out on a guided tour with Sky Lakes Wilderness Adventures.

    View
  3. A Rose in the Pines

    A crackling fire, a bottle of wine, a bubbling Jacuzzi tub with a waterfall … now the big question: Marvin Gaye tunes or not? In the morning (ahem) it's breakfast in bed and a leis

    View
  4. Alex Villicana, Villicana Winery and Re:Find Distillery

    Locals' Feature: Alex Villicana

    Tech booms, AI revolutions, okay that’s all fine, but you wanna know what else is really cool? Being a pioneer in a world-famous industry that—in Paso Robles—remains solidly down to earth. When Alex Villicana established Villicana Winery in 1993, he clearly had grape expectations...

    View