Pinnacles Visitor Center - Paicines, California

Marco Ceri

Abbiamo fatto delle passeggiate lungo i sentieri ben segnalati, panorami non sono male. Dove c’è il Visitor Center c’è pure la piscina. Comunque resta un parco secondario rispetto ai NP più famosi.

Peter Carcione

Absolutely beautiful. At first I questioned if this truly deserved to be a national park but the combination of a caldera and the San Andreas fault make some striking scenery that has luckily been preserved for all of us. All you got to do is go out and enjoy it. Bring water.

GiJoe J

Love the Bear Gulch trail and cave. A must hike with a beautiful view at the top of the rim trail. Great camping spots. Have to get there early, if not camping, before 9AM or else you will have to park near the entrance parking lot.

Jayant

A family trek to Pinnacle National Monument. 109 Miles south from our stay in Dublin, San Fransisco, it was one of best trails ever we took with a child as little as 5 years old to me at 68.

The valley has huge rocks rolled down from mountains long ago. So there are natural tunnels, caves, narrow paths, a water body called The Reservoir and scenic time of four hours !

There are some three car and RVs' parkings, a camping site, wash room, & a store at the base. However you need to carry drinking water and snacks on long trail. The entry fee of some $25 facilitates transport from east entrance to beginning of trail.

So pack up for a nice week-end and enjoy.

Willie Ruiz

The west side was closed. East side was a good half day adventure. Visitor center was right after the entrance. Staff was friendly. Did the small hike, about 2 miles, to the little lake that takes you through a few little cave spots then up to the lake. There’s a narrow stairs spot but there’s a rail. Hike up to the lake is easy.

Anthony Fernandez Jr.

First time at Pinnacles National Park even though it is only ~2.5 hrs south of the East Bay. Spring hiking was great as we enjoyed Bear Gulch Lower Cave, Bear Gulch Reservoir, Rim Trail to High Peaks Trail, and back down Condor Gulch Trail. All-in-all, we had 9.25 miles of hiking in under 4 hrs. High Peaks certainly was the hardest and had a number of very narrow and steep stairways cut into the rocks. The temperature did get hot as we climbed the High Peaks Trail at probably 90°F (third week of April). The highlight for me were the California Condors spotted on the highest peaks. Great day. I look forward to returning.

Star Musick

This place is absolutely amazing, and I will definitely be back, but KEEP IN MIND that it is LITERALLY Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom out here, and resources are limited.

My last day, I was packing and a deer came into the ravine behind my camp. I watched it run around in circles for 5 solid min before I realized that it was making sure I wasn’t a threat. Then it signaled to the tiniest baby fawn I’ve ever seen that it was okay to come out, and I spent the next 5 watching it run around with a case of the zoomies. It wasn’t 50’ from me, it was the happiest creature I’ve ever seen, I had it all to myself, and it was GLORIOUS. But if you’re camping…

Lock. up. EVERYTHING.

There’s a food box on site, but the raccoons can be aggressive and will walk right up and take stuff right off the table you’re sitting at - also the biggest ravens I’ve ever seen. My neighbors left their stuff out, but I put all of mine away, and I still lost some shinies, including a tent peg that the raccoons had to have pulled right out of the ground.

I met my neighbors when they came to inform me that they had chased a raccoon out of my trunk, and I might want to close it between trips while unloading.

I camped for two nights IN the campground, and a wild boar came into my campsite, even with everything put away. I fled my tent to sleep in the car, because even the raccoons I had been battling for hours were terrified and they outnumbered it 8:1.

No backcountry camping is available due to animal and fire risk, but even at HIGH level we were allowed a fire in the campground. Firewood is for sale in the camp store, which closes at 5pm.

I was advised against hiking alone at night, because there are mountain lions! The guy at the visitor center was quite detailed about how they hunt.

DON’T hike alone here at night!

Bring BUG SPRAY(I used an entire bottle), sunblock (same), a hat with a wide brim, at least twice as much water as you think you’ll need, and don’t forget to drink even if you’re not sweating. You are, it’s just evaporating too fast to accumulate, or you’re already dehydrated. DRINK. MORE. WATER.

Wifi is available at the campground visitor center starting at $3/hour up to $10/week, but I didn’t use it, because I found that I got a decent signal sitting at the picnic table by the shuttle bus stop, though no signal AT ALL anywhere else.

Grades can be steep, cover is limited, altitude can be high - so again: WATER, SUNBLOCK, HAT.

Wear long pants and boots, EVEN IN THE HEAT, because there are RATTLESNAKES, and most trails are considered “Moderate” to “Strenuous” due to rough terrain. I wore 5-11 tactical boots even on the Condor Gulch Trail and I was glad for them.

The only drinkable water in the campground is at the showers, and there are only 4 (2 men, 3 women) for the whole camp to share, but there’s also a pool! It was ICE cold, even on a 92 degree day, but it’s only open 10-6, and will be busy in the hot afternoon, so plan accordingly.

I was there Tu-Th in June and I felt like I practically had the place to myself, but parking is VERY limited, and they don’t allow street parking, so if you’re NOT camping, especially on weekends and during peak season, come early or you’ll have to wait to get in. Parking for two vehicles was available at my tent-only site.

It’s kinda pricey to visit ($30/car of up to 5 people), so if you think you’ll visit again, or have plans for any other National Parks, be sure to ask them to apply your admission to the cost of a yearly pass. The National Parks pass is $80/year, so after three visits, it’s paid for itself.

All in all, I had a great time, and I will definitely recommend this place straight across the board. Please don’t let any of these things deter you, I even managed to go home without a sunburn as a ginger, so it’s totally doable for you too! Just be prepared, or you’re gonna have a bad time.

It’s the wilds out here!

10/10 would definitely battle raccoons to defend marshmallows again

Oh, yeah - and there’s condors! ?

T Chloe

The staff were not friendly. We visited on New Year’s Day. We had some questions but it looked like we bothered them. We were disappointed. We love this national park but did not like staff.