12 Beautiful Places in California with Devilishly Creepy Names

The Golden State Can Get Pretty Dark

California’s got some absolutely gorgeous places with titles that sound like they came straight out of a horror flick. From blazing hot valleys to sky-high mountains, here’s 12 spots that prove you can’t judge a place by its creepy name.

1. Hell for Sure Lake

Up in Sierra National Forest at 10,450 feet, Hell for Sure Lake earned its name from pissed-off early explorers. After several failed attempts through rough terrain, some exhausted hiker muttered, “We’ll get to that lake, hell for sure.”

Now, after a grueling 13-mile trek, the payoff is worth it – pristine waters and mountain trout that practically jump on your hook. The trail starts at Courtright Reservoir and cuts through some of the most remote High Sierra terrain around.

Summer’s your only shot at this place unless you’re into snowshoeing extreme distances. Pack extra water because the altitude’s no joke. When wildflowers carpet the basin, it’s hard to believe anything with “hell” in its name could be this beautiful.

2. Death Valley National Park

Death Valley got its name back in 1849 when some Gold Rush folks stumbled through and one person died. The landscape’s surreal – badlands painted in reds and golds, vast salt flats, and mountains that change color with the light.

This place holds the record for hottest temperature ever recorded in the US: a blistering 134°F back in 1913. It’s also North America’s lowest point at 282 feet below sea level,

Skip the summer unless you enjoy feeling like you’re being slow-roasted. Winter’s perfect for exploring Badwater Basin and catching sunset at Zabriskie Point. After dark, the star show’s ridiculous because zero light pollution means galaxies pop against black velvet skies.

3. Devils Postpile National Monument

Early explorers couldn’t believe the 60-foot tall columns near Mammoth Lakes were natural. It’s too perfect, too organized, so it had to be the devil’s work.

The truth is, nature created Devils Postpile 100,000 years ago, when lava cooled and split into perfect hexagonal columns. The monument’s only open mid-June through mid-October. Rest of the year, snow buries everything under ten-plus feet of powder.

Beyond the main attraction, a 2.5-mile trail leads to 101-foot Rainbow Falls, where afternoon sunlight throws rainbows through the mist.

4. Devil’s Punchbowl Natural Area

Hidden in Angeles National Forest, Devil’s Punchbowl looks like somebody scooped out a chunk of earth and tilted everything sideways. Early settlers saw this bowl-shaped depression with steep walls and figured it must be where the devil mixed his drinks.

The whole weird landscape happened because the San Andreas and Punchbowl faults basically had a shoving match, pushing rock layers at crazy angles. Take the easy mile loop down into the bowl or challenge yourself with the 7.5-mile Devil’s Chair hike for views that’ll stop you dead in your tracks.

5. Bumpass Hell

Wanna see Earth literally boiling? Head to Bumpass Hell in Lassen Volcanic National Park. This 16-acre wonderland of bubbling mud pots, steaming vents, and hot springs got its name from a guy with terrible luck.

Poor Kendall Vanhook Bumpass was showing a newspaper editor around in the 1860s when he fell through thin crust and severely burned his leg. Ouch.

The pools here are crazy colorful – blues, reds, yellows – thanks to minerals and heat-loving bacteria. Don’t worry, you can safely check it all out from a 1.5-mile boardwalk that keeps you from becoming the next Bumpass.

6. Mount Diablo

Rising up from the Bay Area like a boss, Mount Diablo tops out at 3,849 feet with views that’ll blow your mind. On clear days, you can see all the way to the Sierra Nevada mountains 100 miles away.

The mountain got its devilish name back in 1805 when Spanish soldiers were chasing Native Americans. When the Native Americans vanished into some thick brush, the soldiers called the spot “Monte del Diablo” (Devil’s Thicket), which later got mixed up and shortened to Mount Diablo.

These days, it’s the star attraction of a state park with over 200 miles of trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding.

7. Devil’s Slide, Pacifica

What used to be the scariest stretch of Highway 1 is now a killer 1.3-mile trail with drop-dead gorgeous ocean views. The dramatic cliffs are made of ancient Miocene rock (like, 5-23 million years old) that’s still slowly creeping toward the Pacific.

Devil’s Slide earned its name because the steep coastal slope kept sliding into the ocean, taking chunks of highway with it. They finally fixed the problem in 2013 by building the Tom Lantos Tunnels, turning the old death-trap road into an awesome trail for hikers, bikers, and horse riders.

From the path, you might spot whales cruising by, seals chilling on rocks, or seabirds nesting nearby. Three scenic overlooks give you perfect spots to snap photos or whale watch. The place often gets wrapped in spooky fog rolling in from the ocean, which makes the name fit even better.

8. Hell Hole Reservoir

Despite the name that makes you want to run the other way, Hell Hole Reservoir is actually a gorgeous mountain lake in Eldorado National Forest.

Early settlers called the deep, steep valley it fills “hell’s hole” because it was so remote and hard to reach. They built Hell Hole Dam on the Rubicon River in 1966, creating this 1,100-acre reservoir with 12 miles of shoreline.

The fishing here is awesome and you can catch rainbow and brown trout or kokanee salmon. Unlike most lakes in California, this place is still pretty wild with minimal development, giving you that middle-of-nowhere feeling with stunning Sierra Nevada views.

You can only get here via Hell Hole Road, and winter snow usually blocks access from November through May.

9. Devils Kitchen, Lassen

Ever seen a kitchen run by the devil? That’s what early visitors thought when they found this steamy, hissing, bubbling landscape in Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Devils Kitchen is the park’s second-largest geothermal area, packed with steam vents, mud pots, and hot springs. The 4.2-mile round-trip hike takes you through gorgeous meadows and forests before reaching the alien-looking thermal basin.

It’s trippy to see lush greenery right next to barren, steaming ground. This weird spot sits on what’s left of ancient Mount Tehama, a massive volcano that was taller than Lassen Peak before it collapsed hundreds of thousands of years ago.

10. The Devil’s Golf Course in Death Valley

Don’t pack your clubs, because you can’t actually play golf at Devil’s Golf Course in Death Valley. The name comes from a 1934 park guide that joked, “Only the devil could play golf on its surface.”

This crazy landscape is made up of jagged salt crystals created by cycles of flooding, drying out, and crystallization over thousands of years. If you stand still on a quiet day, you can hear weird pinging sounds as the salt expands and contracts with temperature changes.

Located below sea level in the Badwater Basin area, this place gets insanely hot. The salt formations grow up to two feet tall and get reshaped whenever flash floods tear through the valley.

11. Devil’s Pulpit, Mt. Diablo

Sticking out from Mount Diablo’s eastern side is a tall rock pillar that looks just like an old-school preaching stand. Early settlers thought it looked like the perfect spot for the devil to deliver evil sermons, so they named it Devil’s Pulpit.

The rock formation is part of the Franciscan Complex, which is a weird mix of rocks that got scraped off one tectonic plate and smashed onto another millions of years ago. You’ll need to tackle the tough 5.6-mile round-trip Eagle Peak Trail to see it, but the stunning East Bay views make it totally worth it.

12. Devil’s Backbone, Mt. Baldy

You need nerves of steel to face the devil. Well, in this case, what’s allegedly his backbone on Mt. Baldy in the San Gabriel Mountains.

This heart-stopping narrow ridge trail gets its name honestly. In some spots, it’s just a few feet wide with 1,000+ foot drop-offs on both sides.

Despite the scary reputation, you’ll get some of SoCal’s most epic alpine views at over 9,000 feet up. The 2.6-mile section is part of the popular 11-mile loop that takes you to Mt. Baldy’s 10,064-foot summit, the highest point in the San Gabriels.