devil's slide trail

This walk is beyond Beautiful. I have driven this route many times, and was always in awe of the beauty around me. Then they closed a portion of the road, and turned it into a nature trail. WOW!!!!!!!! It is an easy walk first of all. There is parking, restrooms, picnic area, benches along the way, information about wildlife, sea life, the railroad. Lots of birds, Flora and fauna. Telescopes to look out at the sea. They offer a free scuttle on the weekends. Its just Great!!!!!!!! I Highly recommend checking it out.

This is a pedestrianised section of Highway 1 (which has now been diverted to a tunnel as the old road was too dangerous).Ample free parking at the start of the road and information points and leaflets readily available.Route well paved for walkers and cyclists and an absolute joy to walk so close to the cliffs without having any traffic to dodge.Look out for the wildlife & take a camera.Slight incline but nothing too strenuous.

I found easy parking morning during week at southern end of trail. Clean bathrooms. Only a few people on trail all paved. Great views of the ocean. Nice to walk what I have driven over for years.

Now you can look over the Pacifica at Devil's Slide without worrying about driving off the cliff! Parking is more available at the south end. There are interpretive and historic signs along the way. Fun use of the old road.

I live in Pacifica and so we all were anxiously awaiting the opening of the Devil's Slid trail. We were not disappointed. The trails is well designed and has bathrooms for the kids. The trail is cut into the cliff so you can see the years of rock formations. It's wide enough so that you are not crowded by cyclist. Totally worth the wait. This is a "don't miss" site if you are visiting. They also have a free shuttle that will take you there that you can pick up at Crespi and highway 1 in front of the community center.

My hosts recently learned about this attraction from their office mate so we decided to visit it on our way to their favorite restaurant in Half Moon Bay, California. Parking is limited, but note that there are more parking spaces in the area closer to the Trail's entrance. There are restrooms at the entrance of the Trail. Adequate signs are posted along the Trail. It is a short uphill walk so we took our time walking. The views are spectacular - Pacific Ocean on the left side and high boulders on the right side of the Trail. We sat down at the benches, used the telescope and admired the beauty of our surroundings. (Please see attached pictures).I learned that due to frequent land slides in the area, a tunnel was constructed. That part of the highway (the Devil 's Slide Trail) is now closed to traffic and is at present, a Tourist Attraction in Pacifica, California. "Thanks" to the land slides, we now have another tourist attraction!

This is a lovely trail on the old "abandoned" road but nicely fixed up with informational boards. The problem is that one can hardly ever find parking there. We went at 11 AM on a weekday morning - not a holiday. We tried again another time and finally got the only place available around 1 PM on another weekday. Good Luck!!!

Well maintained walk or bike ride. Great for families. It has a couple of up hill parts but nothing major. Great views of the ocean with picture opportunities. Parking is very limited, fewer than 20 spaces.

After a week in the city we needed a day out. This was a great destination and a great costal ride. There are several other stops along the way that are enjoyable too.

Devil's Slide Trail, a former section of CA HW 1, is located about 16 miles south of San Francisco, west of Pacifica, and north of Half Moon Bay. The trail can be accessed from parking lots at each end of the trail (HW1 southbound from Pacifica or HW1 northbound from Half Moon Bay).Visiting on a Sunday afternoon, the parking lots were full, and we were lucky to get a parking spot after waiting only a few minutes. The trail has plenty of space for bi-directional bicyclists and pedestrians. The trail is evenly paved with a 9% grade. Benches, seating and coin-operated telescopes are available along the trail. The end-to-end trail takes about 30 minutes. However, know you will be able to see magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean without walking the whole the trail. If you are in the Bay Area, the Devil's Slide Trail provides magnificent, unobstructed views of the Pacific Ocean

Once the tunnel finally open after decades of battling to build a sanctuary for local birds and wildlife is left , the old road provides a nice walking and cycling trail for those cycling further south. You can park on both ends and just enjoy a leisurely couple hours with the ocean crashing below

Devil's Slide is a steep ocean-side cliff face about 20 min S of San Francisco (between Pacifica and Montara), north of Half Moon Bay. New highway tunnels opened recently which divert auto and truck traffic on CA-1 through two bores slightly inland from the alignment of the old road built approx., 70 yrs ago. The geology of the area is quite complex, but the Achilles heels in the coast-side roadbed were the shale formations and unconsolidated rock and soil which literally undercut the roadway, causing frequent and sometimes long-lasting closures for repair.Since the opening of the new tunnels, the San Mateo County Park district has repaved the old road, striped it for bikes and pedestrians, constructed three parking lots for visitors, one at the top of the grade and two others at the bottom - both near the entrances/exits from the new tunnels. Parking areas have rest room facilities and water fountains. There are benches along the way to sit and rest, and to soak up the amazing views.This has always been one of my favorite spots in the entire Bay Area. When the announcement came that the tunnels were to be built, I feared access to the old road's alignment would be eliminated and the roadway allowed to erode away, gradually, into the ocean below.But, the San Mateo County park district went beyond what I ever expected. We've been given a 3 mi walking/biking route with unparalleled views of the ocean, the Devil's Slide formation itself, and coastside vistas that extend at least 25 mi in each direction. For example, one can easily see Mt Tamalpais in Marin Couinty, even on hazy days.I usually park by the Montara portals of the tunnels and walk up to where the old alignment curved abruptly heading inland briefly before dropping down into the Linda Mar Dist of Pacifica. . Doing a round trip walk (which is basically necessary unless you park a car at either end) will take a couple of hours depending on how aggressive you want to be, or you can promenade then sit and enjoy the views from the numerous benches provided. There are also numerous informational signs which can enlighten a visitor about the areas geomorphology, and plant & animal life. The park district is making a commendable effort helping to restore the area to its natural habitat insofar as that is possible.CA-1 through this area is well-traveled by locals and visitors alike. I will never tire of the views and rock formations, because no day is ever the same. Common sense dictates the place is not well suited for visiting on rainy or foggy days unless you are a die-hard fitness junkie and need to run this course every day. I go when the wind is calm and skies are clear. But, if you're stupid like me, you won't have to jog back to your car just because you forgot an umbrella. I can think of only one tree one could duck under for a while, and it was much further up the hill than I was when the rain started spitting a couple days ago.

This is simply a 1.3 mile section of old Hwy 1, before the construction of the Lantos tunnels redirected traffic underneath the rock-slide area. It is now a walking and bicycle path with spectacular and peaceful vistas of the Pacific far below. One of the locals, walking her dog on the trail remarked that before the tunnels were opened she drove this stretch of the coast everyday but she never dared to take her eyes off the road and look at the view (a prudent choice). Now it is a quiet peaceful nature refuge. Thanks California

Definately worth visiting, great recommend. Beautiful views and worth visiting. Nature at its finest and the best trails we have hiked in a while.

We loved this paved trail. The views seemed to shift with the light and the fog, but it was a nice way to spend a few hours. Start at the southern end if you like to get the uphill in your hike out of the way first. There is parking on either end of the tunnel, but you have to look for it.