In early 2014 the Devil’s Slide Trail opened to the public. It used to be a part of the famous Highway 1 which stretches along the west coast. This part of the Highway is now bypassed by the Tom Lantos Tunnel, also called the Devil’s Slide Tunnel. I discovered this place by accident when I was driving south on Highway 1 to find a good spot to watch the sunset.
This 1,3 mile-long trail gives you a nice view of the coastline and it’s a great place to watch the sunset. The area is open 24h a day, but, unfortunately, the parking lots will be locked during off-hours. For directions and times visit check here. 8 pm is way to early to watch the sunset during summertime. I talked to a Park Ranger and normally the officers from the San Mateo County Sheriffs Department don’t lock anybody in if they still see cars in the parking lots. But there is no guarantee for that. So better check for the posted closing time and get out in time.
I used to drive on this part of the Highway down to L.A. and back before the tunnel opened. To bad that I never stopped to take pictures here. Would give me a nice before-after comparison. Well, that’s life, always busy and rushing to places.
There is a parking lot at both ends of the trail for easy access no matter what direction you coming from. However, the north parking lot can only be accessed by the southbound lanes. I enjoyed the walk and used the opportunity to try out my new polarizer and neutral density filters for my camera. This was my first try to use them and the result is not quite as desired and I definitely need a “bigger” (more f-stops) ND-filter. The Devil’s Slide Trail is definitely worth a visit. I visited during the evening hours on a weekday and the place wasn’t very crowded.
There is more information about this trail on Devilsslidecoast.org.
And for the geocachers among you, there are a couple of caches along the way including an Earthcache.
If you still can’t get enough of this area, you might want to visit Gray Whale Cove State Beach, just 0.5 miles south of the south end of the Devil’s Slide Trail.
Peter has a passion for Traveling, Photography, and Geocaching. These are the best ingredients for amazing adventures all over the globe. “Traveling is fun, no matter if you stay in a luxury hotel or travel like a backpacker.” Peter shares his experiences on his Blog www.gatetoadventures.com
Some of Peter’s photos are published on corporate websites, in-flight magazines, travel guides, and much more.