Crowded beaches. Garbage-covered sands. You won’t find this at Devil’s Slide Beach.

Located less than eight miles from Skyline College is Devil’s Slide Beach where a retired military bunker on the top of the cliff still stands to remind us that the beach was once used as a military lookout during World War II.

To get to Devil’s Slide, you must take Hwy 1 towards Half Moon Bay. Once you see an old building on top of the cliff, you are close to Devil’s Slide. Parking is located on the left in an open dirt lot. If you are planning to have a party or a get together with a large group, there is plenty of parking at the beach.

After parking, go across the road to the entrance of Devil’s Slide. But be cautious, as there aren’t any pedestrian crosswalks and there are cars coming around fast from blind turns on both sides of the road.

Down a steep hill, the dirt path forks right where several conveniently placed portable restrooms are located. After the steep incline of the dirt path comes an even steeper set of stairs going down to the beach.

The beach is reminiscent of the Mediterranean Sea with light brown, tan sands with light brown rock formations surrounding a deep aqua and turquoise sea. The sands are not soft, but not rough on the feet, which makes for a good run or walk on the beach.

The steep rocky walls make for good shade for a picnic, or can be a way to stay cool and out of the sun. The beach is fairly level but goes on a decline closer to the water, which is great when you want to lay out or sit on a beach chair and be comforted knowing you don’t have to fear the tide.

This beach has warnings of a rip current, which makes it very dangerous for people playing or swimming in the water. Rip currents can drag people deeper in the ocean, and can pose a threat to people standing in deep waters near the shoreline. However, the rip current actually makes the water look very nice because larger waves appear close to the shore.
The large waves also attracts a lot of surfers to the beach, but when I visited the beach the surfers went deeper into the ocean.

Be advised, this beach is a public “clothing-optional” beach, which was a bit shocking as there were families picnicking and couples relaxing on the beach just a few yards away from where nude people were lounging.

So, next time you want to go to a public beach with a private beach setting away from crowds and trash with plenty of parking, check out Devil’s Slide Beach.