For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People: Muir Woods National Monument

Muir Woods National Monument**
Impressive little strand of Coastal Redwood Trees-if only it weren't so crowded

Top Locations:
1. Cathedral Grove ***
2. Redwood Creek **
3. Bohemian Grove **
4. Kent Tree**

Time for Visiting: 1-2 hrs
Cost: $7
Best Season: Spring, Winter, weekdays
Bring: Camera, jacket
Difficulty: Flat+ : Main trails are flat, side trails can get strenuous

Scale: ***** Must Visit
          ****   Worth Detouring
          ***     If in the Area
          **       May be Worth
                     Visiting-Once
          *         Interest only


I never quite figured out Muir Woods-it is a nice enough grove of redwood trees, but the trees are fairly small and unimpressive, even compared to those in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The only thing I can think of to its advantage is that it is close to San Francisco, and that any tourists who can't make a trip up the Redwood Highway but still want to see redwood trees, can take a 20 minute trip across the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir Woods. Perhaps as a result of this, Muir Woods seems to be the single most popular park in the entire area, with crowds in the summer that rival those of Yosemite. Still, it's worth checking out, if you are in a time crunch in San Francisco and don't mind crowds.

Introduction

Muir Woods is a small, 2.5 km² protecting one of the last old-growth strands of Coastal Redwoods. The Coastal Redwood is a member of the Sequoia family, one of only three species left; the other two are the Giant Sequoia, the largest single organisms on Earth, and the the Dawn Redwood, thought to be extinct until rediscovered in China a few decades past. The Coastal Redwoods are among the tallest living things on Earth, the current record holder being the Hyperion in Redwood National Park at 115.61 meters, its location kept secret.  The trees here however, are only around 80m in height. Besides its impressive height, Redwoods have other interesting properties. They create their own microenvironment by causing cloud condensation at its canopy, can live up to 2000 years, and a remarkably fire resistant due to its low resin content.  Fallen trees may last for decades without rotting due to its high tannin content.

Still, the redwoods could not survive the progress of man. Originally numbering perhaps 8,000 km² of old growth trees lining the Northern California coastline, by the 1900s most had been denuded for lumber in the wild quest for gold and building up the City of San Francisco (which until the 1900s had a habit of catching on fire and burning down). The grove later known as Muir Woods survived only because of its relatively isolated location in the middle of Mount Tamalpais.

Even then, the grove was eventually threatened. Progressive Republican Congressman William Kent and his wife noticed the threat, purchasing 2.5 km² of one of the last strands of Coastal Redwoods near San Francisco and donating it to the Federal government.  When President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the area a national monument, he offered to name it Kent Woods.  Kent however turned down the offer, suggesting instead it be used to honor the legendary naturalist John Muir.  Hence Muir Woods National Monument was created in 1908.

Trails
Muir Woods has basically one main trail that loops around Redwood Creek and the trees, with several secondary trails that split off and sharply ascend into Mount Tamalpais. 

1. Main Trail-Hillside Trail Loop
Distance: 3.9 km
Time: 1.5 hr
Difficulty: Moderate, Main Trail paved, flat; Fern Creek gradually sloping, Lost Trail strenuous.


The Main Trail of Muir Woods is flat, paved, and usually really, really crowded.  As soon as you pass the dramatic redwood gateway, a nice Visitor Center is on the right, selling some nice (if somewhat expensive, like everything in Marin) sandwiches and snacks. The trail quickly works its way among the Redwood Creek and the redwood trees and soon comes across the first of four bridges spanning the creek.

For first times visitors to the redwoods, this is a nice introduction.  The creek is picturesque, and between
December and early March, Coho Salmon, then Steelhead Salmon work their way upstream in the shallow waters.  You can rest on the bridges and watch the water (or people) flow by.

Further on, there are a Redwood Tree ring, showing the age of the tree from about 900 CE to 1930 when it fell.  Almost every redwood park seems to have one.

As you continue on, more and more redwoods are apparent. The trees are big (though not as big as they could be) and red.  In a few dozen steps, you will come across the Gifford Pinchot Tree, a nice redwood specimen named after the first Chief of the US Forest Service.

Even further on, you see the path first narrow, then widen into a small flatland.Surrounded on three sides by Mount Tamalpais, Muir Woods is dark, foggy and wet for much of the year, great conditions for redwoods to grow. The fog hangs here most of the morning, only evaporating completely by early afternoon.

If you look closely, you can sometimes see the ubiquitous banana slug, the second largest slug in the world, growing up to 25 cm in length. It is known for its distinct yellow color, and is amusingly the mascot of UCSC.

Small flowers such as trillium  are quite abundant in the spring.

A little further on, and you reach Cathedral Grove, a handsome, if not particularly noteworthy, strand of redwood trees.

Finally, the crowds start to thin out; most people have turned around, and now you have a chance to breathe and poke around! During this trip I took a right and went up the Fern Creek Trail.

 

This large 85m tall Douglas Fir (ironically not a Redwood) was William Kent's favorite tree at Muir Woods.  It was dedicated to his memory in 1928, the year he passed away.  Situated on a slope, the tree suffered severe damage during the El Niño  of 1981-1982.  High winds in 2003 finally toppled it over.  The park apparently has simply rerouted the path here.


A little further on, and you exit Muir Woods and enter Mount Tamalpais State Park. The back trails of Muir Woods connect with Mount Tamalpais, which were also property donated by William Kent to add to Muir Woods. However after the effort failed on the federal level the property was taken up by the State of California. The parks, as well as the Mount Tamalpais Watershed are now pretty well integrated into a single unit.  The trail hugs Fern Creek until reaching another junction.

If you take the Lost Trail on the right, it takes you out of the canyon.

The trail ascends rapidly, and is quite strenuous at times as you ascend the slope. The environment soon gets drier..  After about 1.7 km, the forest clears and you get a nice panorama.

Backtrack and descend back over the same trails, re-enter Muir Woods, round the Kent Tree, and take the left trail. Cross Fern Creek, then Redwood Creek at Fourth Bridge. This side of Muir Woods is pretty similar to the other, and you'll quickly run into more crowds.

 

Eventually, a large clearing appears, with the underbrush heavily covered in ferns.

This is the original site of the Bohemian Club, a somewhat secretive men's club that goes through some odd rituals/traditions every year in the Redwood forests of Marin.  These have included powerful figures past and present, including major California political figures, every Republican President since 1923 (including Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon and both Bushes), Alan Greenspan, Bill Clinton and other major politicians and heads of industry.  Here they erected a plaster statue of Buddha in the 1910's. They later moved a few miles to the North near Jenner, where they remain to this day, a favorite subject of conspiracy theorists.

A bit further, and you're back at the front entrance.


To Visit
Muir Woods requires some special preparation to have an enjoyable experience. Some 780,000 people visit a year, mostly in the summer, resulting in a population density rivaling some small cities. To visit, take HWY 101/HWY1 across the Golden Gate Bridge; keep to the right; after the sharp drop from the Marin Headlands, exit at Marin City on HWY1. Then drive as HWY1 winds up and down the hills of West Marin until you see the directions to the park. The whole trip takes 35 minutes ideally, but the reality is that HWY1 is a narrow, winding single-lane road that quickly fills up with tourists going to Muir Woods and locals going to Stinson Beach. Try to go before 9:00AM; if not, you are in for a long traffic jam. Parking at Muir Woods is also quite limited; as you descend the road to the first, unless it is a foggy/rainy day you probably will not find space at the first lot.  Park (somewhere), head towards the entrance, and pay your entry fee.

Journeys in Suburbia: Downtown San Jose--Part 6: San Pedro Square

Downtown San Jose
The R2-D2 building, the last hanging ground in California, and a statue that looks like feces.

Scale: ***** Must Visit
          ****   Worth Detouring
          ***     If in the Area
          **       May be Worth Visiting-Once
          *         Interest only

 

6. San Pedro Square***

Didn't Last

San Pedro Square is an up-and-coming area with a thriving nightlife. It seems popular with Sharks Fans. Ironically, there does not appear to be an actual "square" in San Pedro Square; instead San Pedro Street and the San Pedro Square Market form the center of this area.

Begin at the intersection of Santa Clara Street and San Pedro Street, which is graced with a large gate. 

Occasionally the gate is dressed up with Sharks paraphernalia, especially if San Jose's beloved hockey team is doing well in the season. 


A. San Pedro Square Market ***

San Pedro Square Market is a relatively new addition to Downtown San Jose. Modeled similar to other markets in say, San Francisco, Oakland or Napa, this complex is a mixture of small shops and restaurants, ranging from Asian noodles to steak bistros to pizzas, as well as a barber shop and other trendy little stores.  Sometimes live music plays, and the whole thing opens until midnight, inviting you to find a place to eat or drink, and enjoy the night.

If you are outside, drinking your coffee in the courtyard, you might see the small building from which San Jose arose.

B. Peralta Adobe **

Pueblo San Jose was founded by José Joaquín Moraga on November 29, 1777, as the first pueblo not associated with a mission, though it was only 5km away from Mission Santa Clara.

Built in 1797, this adobe house is the oldest surviving building in San Jose and the last remnants of Pueblo San Jose.  It was first occupied by the family of Manuel Gonzalez, who arrived with the 1776 De Anza Expedition, then passed on to the Luís María Peralta, a Spanish soldier who had been rewarded with the massive Rancho San Antonio, one of the largest land grants in California.

Across the street from the San Pedro Market, is a house, seemingly out of place in this small-industry section of the city.


C. Thomas Fallon House **

This was the home of early Anglo pioneer Thomas Fallon. Fallon joined Lt John Fremont's 1846 Expedition to California, eventually dropping out and settling around Santa Cruz.  Fallon joined the Bear Flag Revolt the same year, leading 22 men across the Santa Cruz Mountains to seize the Pueblo of San Jose without bloodshed on July 11, 1846. During the California Gold Rush, Fallon made a tidy profit selling picks to the miners in the Sierra Foothills, eventually becoming a wealthy individual in Santa Cruz.  After moving to Texas, Fallon moved his family to San Jose, where he built this house in 1855. Fallon was elected mayor of San Jose in 1859, and remained a generally respectable political figure (his wife filed for divorce in 1876 after finding Thomas in a compromising position with the family maid).

Continuing North up San Pedro Street, you'll come to a busy intersection at St. James Street. A group of statues are dramatically arranged in the center meridian. 


D. Thomas Fallon Statue **

Commissioned in 1988, the statues celebrate Fallon raising the American Flag over San Jose and was supposed to be erected over Caesar Chavez Park. However the statue ran into immediately controversy as the Latino population of San Jose objected to what they saw as a celebration of American Imperialism during the Mexican War, and of some of Fallon's person actions.  The statue was placed in a storage while other statues celebrating the multicultural nature of San Jose were erected-like that one feces-Quetzalcoatl.  In 2002, the statue was finally erected at one end of downtown, far from everything else.

There area has some nice places to eat; this would be a good stop if you get hungry exploring the wonders of Downtown.

Journeys in Suburbia: Downtown San Jose--Part 5: St. James Park

Downtown San Jose
The R2-D2 building, the last hanging ground in California, and a statue that looks like feces.

Scale: ***** Must Visit
          ****   Worth Detouring
          ***     If in the Area
          **       May be Worth Visiting-Once
          *         Interest only


5. St. James Park **

 The center Victorian San Jose, and where the proud courthouse of Santa Clara County still resides, St. James' Park is now a sadly neglected part of San Jose, far from the new centers of activity along Cesar Chavez Plaza and San Pedro Square and bisected by 2nd Street in the 1960s. It has been overrun by hobos and druggies, and hypersensitive traffic police, who ignore the riff-raff but enthusiastically ticket parked cars even with just-expired meters. 

Not that I'm bitter or anything.

However beneath the grime is still the original seat of Clara Santa County, and all of the old buildings nearby hold traces of San Jose's colorful history. Park nowhere near the area, walk over past the panhandling and odd singing, and imagine a more lively place more than a century ago. As a note, St. James Park is a fairly dangerous location-DO NOT GO ALONE AT NIGHT!!

Starting at the center of the park near the fountain, work your way West past the hobos. 

St. James Park created with the planning of the new City of San Jose in 1848, but did not come to its prominence until the 1890s, when famed architect Fredrick Olmsted designed the park in a Union Jack pattern, with an ornate fountain in the center and lush vegetation planted all around. It would remain the center of San Jose society until the death of the old Downtown in the early 1960s, when people started fleeing to the suburbs, leaving the battered environment seen today.  Unlike neighboring regions, St. James has little improved from revitalization.

At the West end of St. James Park is:



A. The Old Santa Clara County Courthouse **

Built in 1868, this ornate building originally had a large dome that was created to try to persuade the state legislature to return the state capitol to San Jose (See Part 1). Here, Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company (1886) would first lay the claim of corporations as "persons" under the United States Constitution-in my humble opinion, one of the worst legal decisions ever made in the history of the legal profession. Notorious outlaw Tiburcio Vasquez was hanged in 1875 after a trial here, while the Brooke Hart killers were put on trial in 1933. The trial would never conclude (See Brooke Harte Murder). The courthouse was badly damaged during a fire in 1931, which destroyed the dome. The building was restored (without the dome), then restored again in 1994 after damage from the Loma Prieta Earthquake.  Interestingly, while restoration was underway, workers found two old high-security holding cells deep in the basement.

Facing the courthouse is the President McKinley Monument.


B. President William McKinley Monument***

On May 13, 1901, President William McKinley addressed a large crowd gathered at St. James Park.  Four months later he was assassinated in Buffalo, New York. Like their counterparts in San Francisco, San Jose quickly erected a monument (1903) to commemorate the trip, complete with part of the speech he gave here.

"The Constitution is a sacred instrument; and a sacred trust is given to us to see to it that all its virtue and its victor is passed on to the generations yet to come".

Amid the public mourning of yet another presidential assassination (3 in 36 years), people conveniently forgot about McKinley's extremely pro-business and imperialistic administration.    

At the front of the monument is a small 12lb-er cannon, perhaps a reflection of McKinley's foreign policy. In 1918, one George Koetzer was tarred, feathered, and chained to the cannon by the shadowy "Knights of Liberty of San Jose and Oakland", supposedly for stating pro-German remarks. Then in 1932 someone added gunpowder to the same cannon and set it off, destroying windows of the Santa Clara Courthouse.  The individuals were revealed in 2007, 75 years later.

Near the monument was the site of the elm tree where John Holmes and Thomas Thurmond, kidnappers and murderers of Brooke Hart, were beaten, stripped naked, and hanged by car light before a mob of 5000.  Former child actor Jackie Coogan (of Charlie Chaplin and Addams Family fame) and close friend of Brooke, was rumored to be among the mob. Afterwards, the tree was torn to pieces as souvenirs.

To the left of the courthouse is a large, ornate building. 


C. San Jose Post Office*

Built in 1934 by the WPA to replace the former post office near Cesar Chavez Plaza, this Spanish Colonial Revival remains a regional post office.  During the Brooke Hart lynchings, the mob pelted the prison near the courthouse with Spanish tiles from the unfinished building, then used a drainage pipe as a ram to smash into the prison.

In St. James' Park, facing the post office at the Southwest corner, is an large concrete platform.

D. Robert Kennedy Forum*

On March 23, 1968, former US Attorney General Robert Kennedy and brother to assassinated President John Kennedy gave a speech here before 2000 people, just days after announcing his intent to run for president.  Evidently the speech was not particularly memorable, as no one seems to have bothered to write it down (though it was recorded).  Just days later, after winning the important California State Primary, Robert Kennedy was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan in Los Angeles.  In 1970, to honor the man and occasion, San Jose erected a large concrete speaker's forum as a monument. Inscribed on the walls were evidently a far better quote Kennedy made:

"Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not."

Evidently what the forum sees these days are the homeless, who use the structure as a bed/kitchen table/bathroom.

From the Forum, continue along the Southern end of the Park. At the intersection of St. John's Street and 2nd Street is a large church.


E. Trinity Episcopal Cathedral**

Built in 1863 out of Santa Cruz redwood and consecrated in 1867, the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral is the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino, the oldest Episcopal Cathedral in California and the oldest continuously used church in San Jose. When the congregation expanded, the church was literally cut in half and pulled apart by teams of horses. It was then enlarged in a cross shape and a bell tower added.

Facing St. John's Street near 2nd Street is another monument.


F. Henry Naglee Monument **
The highest ranked officer from Santa Clara Valley,  Henry Naglee was a capable leader who unfortunately was involved in very public sexual scandals that shocked Gilded Age California.  A graduate of West Point, Henry Naglee participated in the occupation of California in 1846 as an officer during the Mexican American War, but left the military to become a banker and the leader of 1st California Guards, the eventual California National Guard. After touring Europe to study viticulture, Naglee opened a vineyard in San Jose to make brandy famed throughout the country, one of the earliest contributions to California's massive wine industry. In 1861 with the advent of the American Civil War,  Naglee rejoined the US Army fighting in the Peninsula Campaign, and was wounded at the Battle of Seven Pines while leading a brigade.  By 1863 Naglee was appointed to command the Union VII Corps garrisoned around Suffolk, Virginia but would soon be removed from active duty and mustered out a year later.

Before he left to join the war, Naglee had signaled his affections for one Mary Schell. During the conflict, Naglee wrote a continuous stream of lurid love letters to Schell as well as other observations. However after returning to California, Naglee rebuffed Schell, who furiously published his letters as "The Love Life of Brigadier General Henry M. Naglee, Consisting of a correspondence on Love, War and Politics".  His passionate prose, mixed with his dim views of comrades in arms, sent tongues wagging and drove Naglee into seclusion.

A second scandal erupted only five years later. In 1871, after the death of his wife in childbirth, Naglee employed Emily Hanks as a nursemaid for his children.  In 1877 however, Hanks filed a breach of promise suit, stating that Naglee had proposed marriage and then attempted to seduce her.  Two lurid trials occurred, and though the courts initially ruled in favor of Hanks they finally ruled in favor of Naglee.

Naglee's vineyard property was later sold by his daughters to form the San Jose residential district of Naglee Park.  His daughters also erected this monument to their father in St. James Park.

From the Negley Statue, cut across the playground (that I have never seen any kids play at, by the way).  This area seems to have been redeveloped in the 1960s, leaving pretty boring office spaces and parking lots. At the at the Eastern face of the park near the middle is another church.

G. The First Unitarian Church of San Jose **

Built in 1888, this Richardsonian Romanesque church is on the National Register of Historic Places.  It was gutted during renovation in 1995, but has since been restored.

Immediately to the left of the church is another large, church like building.  However this is a very secular institution.


H. The Capital Athletics Club**

This building was built in 1924 as a Scottish Rites Temple, with Beaux-Arts and Egyptian influences.  It is now the Athletics Club, a members-only gym/workout space/gossip corner for the lawyers and city and county officials nearby. The interior is supposedly nice, if dated and run down.  Membership apparently is around $100 or so.

From the Northeast corner of the Park, head West until you hit 2nd Street and St. James. Another old-timey building lays across the street.


I. St. Claire Club**

Another clubhouse, this was built by San Francisco Mayor and Senator from California James Phelan in 1894.

Continue Westward, and you'll come to an imposing but abandoned building surrounded by fencing.


J. First Church of Christ, Scientist *

Built in 1905, this Neoclassical/Byzantine building stands on the edge of St. James Park.  The congregation moved in 1946 and the building was utilized for a series of functions, including a theater and child-care center.  It has however been empty for decades.  Recent efforts to restore the church faltered after the Great Recession, and it remains abandoned, a favorite of hobos and the druggies nearby.

To the left, the empty lot was once the site of Letcher's Garage. Clarence Letcher opened one of the first garages on the West Coast in the 1880s, moving to this spot in 1907. For years, he was famed for selling Cadillacs, Packards and Pierce Arrows, as well as custom-made cars, and signs advertising his garage were placed as far away as Los Angeles. In 1926, learning about an affair, Letcher's wife drove to the garage, had an argument with her husband, and pulled out a gun and shot him in the head before turning the gun on herself. In 1987, the garage became Club Oasis, a trendy bar, at least until someone was brutally beaten to death there in 1996. The club was then closed.  Though Letcher's Garage was on the National Register of Historic Places, it was recently torn down, probably for a parking lot.

So it goes.

The Great California Outdoors: Devil's Slide

Devil's Slide ***

Formerly-infamous stretch of Highway 1-now hiking trail (while cars go through new tunnel)

Top Locations:
1. Devil's Slide
2. Geology
3. WWII Fortifications
4. Pacific Ocean

Time for Visiting: 1-2 hrs
Cost: $0
Best Season: Anytime that is not Winter
Bring: Camera, windbreaker
Difficulty: Flat + : Well paved, two large hills

Scale: ***** Must Visit
          ****   Worth Detouring
          ***     If in the Area
          **       May be Worth Visiting-Once
          *         Interest only

Any local of the San Francisco Bay Area knows about Devil's Slide. For years, HWY 1 ran through here, and the area had an sinister reputation of accidents and landslides that would close HWY1 and cut off Pacifica to the South (locals apparently dubbed themselves "the World's longest cul-de-sac"). However after the recent Caltrans project, the area has been sealed off from cars, and made into a hiking trail, though whether the area continues collapsing remains to be seen. It appears popular.

Mudstone, with stratification

Montara Mountain Granite

The Devil's Slide in California is a promontory with a steep, collapsing slope just South of Pacifica. Here, the Cretaceous granite of Montara Mountain  pushed against the Paleocene mudstone, a mix of marine shale, sandstone and conglomerate, of the San Mateo Coast.  Though the fault is now inactive, the mudstone has for decades been collapsing into the Pacific.

Devil's Slide

Due to its dangerous geology, Devi's Slide was undeveloped until 1907, when the Ocean Shore Railroad linked San Francisco to Half Moon Bay. The company quickly found the area difficult, as landslides required frequent maintenance, and finally stopped in 1921.  In 1937, HWY 1 opened here on the site of the old railroad, allowing drivers to move along most of the California coast.  Within days of opening, a landslide closed the road, and since then, landslide closures, became a frequent occurrence, including in 1942, 1951, 1952, 1977, 1982, and in 1983. In 1995,  a large side of the road collapsed, taking months of repair.  It occurred for the last time in 2006.

The periodic collapses of HWY1 at Devil's Slide provided a headache for Caltrans, the manager of the highway system.  In 1958, proposed a massive six-lane freeway going over Montara Mountain.  Complete with this would be a massive development of a corridor linking San Francisco to Half Moon Bay.  Caltrans waited for a disaster to allow Federal emergency funding to push through the plan. During this wait, locals, beginning to fight urban sprawl and appalled at the planned 200000 new residents in the area, and the destruction of wetlands for the endangered California Red-legged Frog, began forming local environmental movements. 

New Bridge passes over Shamrock Ranch

After local lobbying, in 1972, the California Coastal Commission put the 6-lane highway plan on hold.  Caltrans responded with a very large two-lane highway. The Sierra Club and other local groups then sued Caltrans based on the new National Environmental Policy Act. Though the groups were successful, Caltrans simply put the plan on hold, hoping to push it through during emergency repairs. After intense lobbying, Caltrans revised its plans, decreasing the new road, though it continued to run through critical watersheds and cut straight across a State Park. Another lawsuit in 1986 stopped the project.

Finally, in 1995 a tunnel plan was created, through Caltrans continued to state the freeway bypass was more cost-effective. After intense local outreach, and a leaked Caltrans document suggesting that the costs of the tunnel plan were purposefully inflated, the local community in 1996 passed Measure T by 74%, forcing Caltrans to utilize the tunnel approach.

Tom Lantos Tunnels

After Measure T passed, Caltrans changed its tune and began working on the tunnels. San Mateo Cong Tom Lantos had consistently pushed for Federal emergency funding to repair HWY1 at Devil's Slide, and with Sen Barbara Boxer helped secure Federal funding for this tunnel project.  In 2007 the boring began, which completed in 2013. The new tunnels, named after Congressman Tom Lantos, are 9m in diameter and 1265 m long Northbound (right) and 1222 m long Southbound (left), the second, and third longest tunnels in California.

The Devil's Slide Trail opened on March 27, 2014 as one of the newest trails in California.  It is 2km long and goes through Devil's Slide over two high but undulating hills.

San Pedro Rock is visible in the background

There are amazing views of the Pacific, of Devil's Slide itself, and of old military bases. Some interpretive signs are present.

Here, viewing the WWII-Era Fire Control Station which contains bunkers, pillboxes and a steel observation post,  the sheer instability of Devil's Slide is visible.

During WWII, Devil's Slide and Little Devil's Slide Military Reservations were set up, as at so many locations around the California coast, allowing visual triangulation of enemy ship and aircraft locations.  They have been abandoned since then.

Known locally as the Stairs, this forward fire control station would originally have been located firmly on cliffslide.  However heavy erosion around the bunker has now left it hanging tenuously alone. Sooner or later, it will collapse.

To reach Devil's Slide from San Francisco, Take HWY 1 to Pacifica.  After passing the Linda Mar District (with a Safeway and Denny's to the left), the road will begin to ascend.  Right before you come to a bridge, a small flashing light shows a pullout to a road on the right (the former HWY1).  Turn and park.  If you miss the turn (or find the parking lot is full), continue through the tunnels, and take the first right to another small parking lot, or just a little further, left to a large parking lot for McNee Ranch State Park.  The parking lots are often crowded and if you're unlucky you may need to park alongside HWY 1 and continue to the trail by walking along the curb.

 

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