Crazy Cliffside Shack Near Pacifica Seen on Viral Video Destroyed in Winter Storms; Hermit Must Still Down There

We have a real, honest-to-goodness, mysterious hermit in the Bay Area that no one seems to photograph or see alive. And his precarious and sublime cliff dwelling, made of driftwood and tarps, has become a recent source of fascination thanks to some drone footage.

The elaborate, 3+ story shack, built into a cliff maybe twenty feet above the surf, had been there for about 10 years, or at least since 2016, when it was spied on last fall by a drone flying was by a man named Nick. Nick posted the video on YouTube, under the heading “Impossible Driftwood Shack, Pacifica SF.” The location is actually in the Pedro Point Headlands south of Pacifica, not far from the Devil’s Slide Trail.

SFGate published a story this week about the mysterious structure, which certainly seemed inhabited – up close shots showed several buoys, signs, and at least one or two enclosed rooms tarped off from the elements. There was also a rope attached to a flatter area above the steep cliff, which looked like it was there to help the resident climb up and down if needed.

Subsequently, the Chronicle did some research and found a more recent photo by a Chronicle photographer — taken aboard a Coast Guard helicopter in January — that showed the same cliff with a large mound of debris where the shack was. Of course, that ramshackle structure didn’t survive last winter’s crazy storms, but it’s not clear if it’s been rebuilt since then — and no doubt this wasn’t the first time in ten years that a storm had damaged it.

Samuel Casillas, president of the Pacifica Land Trust, tells the Chronicle, “We were aware there was something down there, but we didn’t know whose it was or whose property it was. It’s in a dangerous location that’s really is not accessible.”

Casillas goes on to say that he hopes visitors will enjoy the beauty of the Pedro Point Headlands, but that no one should try to get their own photos there or contact the hermit, assuming he is still there.

“We were not bothered by a person who wants to be a hermit. We know that someone has been there, but we just don’t know who it is… The dude should just be left alone,” Casillas tells the Chronicle .

But it’s certainly a source of curiosity, and there’s already a Reddit thread wondering how the dude gets food and water there, joking about the prime real estate he’s been inhabiting for free for a decade. “Rome, open concept waterfront property for only $3400/month,” jokes one.

Casillas said the land trust had reached out to the county to try to find out whose land the shack lives on, and they never got a response.

Of course, this hermit’s semi-secret spot shouldn’t be blown up by looky-loos — or drone operators anymore — but the media coverage makes that feel a little inevitable. Don’t run down there though! It seems treacherous.

Top photo via ParallaxEffect/Youtube