Faulting at the north end
I used photo editing software to ‘move’ the rocks back to their original orientation (the image with the red arrows on it). Notice how the layers match perfectly. The offset here is about ______ (distance coming after our next hike).
Geology
coming soon.
History
This section of Highway 1 was notorious for being closed. The geology of the area made it prone to slides, and there was no easy alternative route.
The highway opened in 1936. Major landslides occurred in 1940 and 1995, and in 2006 Caltrans closed the road to work on stabilizing it. In 2013, Caltrans shut down the road and opened the Tom Lantos Tunnels which bypassed Devil’s Slide, and in 2014, the Devil’s Slide Trail was officially opened. 1
The trail is open now, but if any part of it slides in the future (which is likely), the plan is to convert the trail into two trails with a gap in the middle.
Our hike
We usually hike the San Pedro Beach to Devil’s Slide trip as described on AllTrails. All trails calls it 6.7 miles, 1,099 feet gain, and ‘moderate.’ We’ll hike through the Pedro Point Headlands
Getting there
Meeting location
We’ll meet near the public restrooms at San Pedro Ave and The Cabrillo Hwy (aka the Pacific Coast Highway).
Parking
Our geology hikes start at the south end of Pacifica, and the hike is about 5.6 miles. If you’re going on your own, and just want to hike the trail, know that parking at either end of the trail may fill up at the parking lots on busy weekends. There is some parking near the public restrooms, but if that lot is full, try Pacifica State Beach Parking Lot A, just north of the Taco Bell. Most parking requires payment; read signs carefully.
Public Transit
SamTrans buses will get you to the Linda Mar Blvd & Highway 1 stop, which is just across the highway from our starting point. SamTrans route 110 goes to Daly City BART, but it looks like it takes about 35 minutes on weekends.
Resources
Videos
Websites
- Devi’s Slide Coast History, Devil’s Slide Coast
- Geologic Field Trip Guide to Devil’s Slide Trail, San Mateo County CA, Nor Cal Geologic Society, Nov 1018
- The Rocks of Devil’s Slide, KQED Quest, April 2013
- Geology of Devil’s Slide Area, KQED Quest, Oct 2010
Past hikes
- November 8, 2025 (upcoming)
- July 3, 2014 (a shorter version) Photos from this trip.
Footnotes
- Wikipedia has a nice page on the history of the road. ↩︎