Pinnacles National Park Guide: Hikes & More

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM PINNACLES NATIONAL PARK

Pinnacles National Park is a stunningly unique landscape with caves, reservoirs, condors and more. The best part, is this NP is only 1.5 hours from where I live in the Bay Area! I first want to acknowledge that Pinnacles is stolen land from the Chalon and Mutsun people, who were part of the Ohlone nation and it is important to honor the true heritage of this land.

Need to Know:

Entrance Fee: $30 per vehicle, $80 for annual America the Beautiful pass

Language: English

Airports:

MRY – Monterey (1hr drive)

SJC – San Jose (1.5hr drive)

SFO – San Francisco (2.5hr drive)

LAX – Los Angeles (5hr drive)

Best Time to Visit: NOT SUMMER (too hot). Fall, Winter, and Spring are all great. January was perfect hiking weather.

Planning Your Trip

Accommodation – We did Pinnacles in a day trip since it is close to our house. If just want to visit Pinnacles for the day and spend the rest of your trip exploring other areas, I’d recommend staying in Monterey or Carmel. These are beautiful coastal towns ~1 hour from west entrance of the part. To stay close to the park you can stay in Soledad or King City. There are also options for camping or tent cabins in Pinnacles.

Getting There – The best way to get to Pinnacles NP is to drive. I’m not sure of any other options since it far out of any city. When driving south from the Bay Area to the east entrance of Pinnacles NP, there are no services for the last 30ish minutes, so make sure you have charge/gas!

East Entrance or West Entrance: There are two entrances that are NOT close together. Make sure you decide which hikes you want to do and pick your entrance accordingly. We went to the more popular east entrance.

Parking – Like most national parks, parking is limited. Given this is a less popular park, it isn’t quite as crazy as Zion or Yosemite, but I’d still recommend getting there early to snag a spot. The east side parking will definitely be busier than the west side. The trailheads for the main hikes are off the Bear Gulch Day Use parking or Moses Spring parking.

For reference, we arrived at 9:30am on a Saturday in January, and 80% of the parking was already full.

Top Sights in Pinnacles

Bear Gulch Caves The caves are hands down the coolest part of Pinnacles. You can access these caves through the east entrance and park at the Bear Gulch Day Use lot. These are a short hike away for a super cool experience. Make sure to check the cave conditions because they do sometimes close because of bats or flooding. Make sure you bring a flashlight, ideally a head lamp!

Bear Gulch Reservoir A beautiful reservoir near the caves. A short hike from the parking lot and a perfect spot to eat your lunch.

Hawkins Peak A highpoint on the High Peaks trail. This beautiful peak offers stunning views of the park!

Condors in the Condor Gulch Pinnacles is one of the best places to see California Condors. Try your best to see one of the 347 California condors left living in the wild.

My Favorite Hikes in Pinnacles (from East Entrance)

Condor Gulch to High Peaks Trail: This was the hike we did and we LOVED it. About 6 miles with 1,600ft elevation gain, this hike will take you to all the highlights I listed above, with stunning views along the way. Make sure to pack plenty of water, snacks, good hiking shoes/boots, a headlamp, and binoculars for condor sighting!

Moses Spring and Rim Trail: If you’re looking for a shorter hike, this one is a great loop that still hits the caves and the reservoir. This is a 2 mile loop with less than 500 ft elevation gain. This is a great hike for beginners.

Other Hikes in Pinnacles (from West Entrance)

We only hiked from the east entrance, so I don’t have personal experience with these hikes. I’ve read that they are essentially the equivalents of the hikes I listed above.

High Peaks & Balconies Cave Loop: This is a challenging hike of 8.4 miles and 1,863 ft elevation gain. On this hike, you’ll get to see the Balconies Caves (west side equivalent of the Bear Gulch Caves) and the beautiful views from the high peaks!

Balconies Cave Trail: If you’re looking for a shorter hike, this one is a great loop that still hits the caves. This is a 2.6 mile out-and-back with less than 400 ft elevation gain. This is a great hike for beginners.

If you loved Pinnacles and want to check out more National Parks – check out my guide to all five Utah National Parks!