The San Francisco Chronicle reports the two 13-year-old girls and 23-year-old man called for help around 9:30 p.m. Friday but it was too dark and windy for rescuers to get them from the Pacifica cliff.
North County Fire Authority spokesman Klaus Zalinskis said the three made their way up a trail but it ended. He said by then, the tide had risen and they were trapped.
He said the hikers were about 40 feet above the shore.
A California Highway Patrol helicopter reached them around 10 a.m.
Zalinskis said no one was injured.