Follow Along our Travels!

As up on national parks that I am, I wasn’t even aware of Pinnacles National Park until a couple years ago. I know it is one of the newer national parks in the system so that is probably why. It is also pretty small comparative to some of its other California NP cousins. However, since we do like checking them all out, we made some time to head to the middle of nowhere CA and spend a day at Pinnacles National Park. This is definitely a weekend strike-mission trip!

Some initial thoughts after visiting:

1. The park is definitely doable in one day. There are several hiking options but there are not a ton of them and as long as you are a decent hiker, you can do the main trails in one day and feel like you get a gist of the park. (I should caveat this by saying we aren’t climbers and I do know climbing is an option at this park so if that is your goal, you may need longer.)

2. Personally I think California Condors are pretty unpleasant looking for a bird species, however they are very majestic when they fly overhead and who doesn’t love a comeback story?! These critically endangered vulture species got down to a population of only 27 at one point. There are now around 560 of these distinguished birds and to see them flying around their natural habitat is inspiring.

3. The caves! Before visiting the park, the only thing I knew about it was that it was a sanctuary for the California condors. I did not know anything about the multiple caves and these were a highlight!

As I mentioned, this park is kind of in the middle of nowhere with almost no accommodations super close by. The closest big city is probably San Jose (this is where we flew in/out of) and you can day-trip it from there if you’d like (1.5 hours of driving each way). There are other cities that are closer (Gilroy, Monterey) that have hotels but those are still about an hour outside of the park and this is a park that you have to get there EARLY if you want a parking spot (more on that later). If you want a unique option closer to the park, I highly recommend the spot we stayed at: Bar SZ Ranch!

Bar SZ Ranch is a working ranch about 20 minutes from the entrance of Pinnacles National Park. They have several accommodation types for all group sizes. We chose the RV which is parked on property. It was perfect for the two of us. It had wonderful sweeping views of the valley the ranch is nestled in and was very peaceful. The best part about the ranch is that they invite you to take part in portions of ranch life! You can book a horseback riding trip, actual horseback riding lessons and animal feedings. Depending on the amount of time you have at the ranch, you can pick/choose your own adventure. Staying here also allowed us an early entrance to the park. It was a great overall and unique experience that you should consider!

Highlights from Pinnacles National Park:

• I’ve already said it but my highlight for the trip was the Balconies Cave and hike to it. The hike takes you near a running creek and then when you get close to the caves, you have the background of the stunning cliffs that make up most of Pinnacles National Park. But once you get to the cave, it is dark, wet and more adventurous than I would have expected. To navigate this cave, you need all your limbs and you will be using upper and lower body strength to get in/out of the cave. What I thought was really cool is how dark and disorienting it is (there are small arrows that point out where to go) but I thought it was a very unique cave adventure compared to some of the other bigger caves we’ve visited.
• Animal Feeding at Bar SZ Ranch! We chose to do the animal feeding option at the ranch (partly because it was all we had time for). This did not disappoint and it was so much more than just feeding the animals. We got to brush a horse and learn about their functions on the ranch. We discovered the various types of goats and their uses on the ranch — they were the most fun to feed. And there were baby bunnies that we got to hold and hang out with. All in all a fun and educational experience with the owner of the ranch.
• High Peaks trail is probably the most popular trail for a reason. It takes you onto the cliffs where the Condors nest and soar around. The trail itself isn’t too strenuous (although no shade warning) and on the way up it was fun to play “is that a turkey vulture or a condor?” (tip: condors have white coloring closer to their body instead of just on their wings). Once you get to the top, you scramble around the cliffs, ducking below low hanging rock formations and climbing stairs built into the rocks. There are a couple rocks that you can just perch on top of and view the condors flying around or hanging in the trees. It was a great to feel like we were hanging in their natural habitat.

Tips about Pinnacles National Park:

• Parking is a problem here! We were told to get to the Bear Gulch area no later than 8am to guarantee parking. We were there at 7:45am and got one of the last few spots. Now, we were there on a beautiful spring Saturday so I’m sure that contributed to the parking issue. Also, there is a shuttle that drops you off at all main areas if you miss the parking boat so you will get to the trailhead somehow, but just know that if you want to park, get there early!
• For the High Peaks Trail, the condors are most active in the morning and evening so you also want to get an early start. We did this trail counterclockwise which makes it a little steeper on the uphill but easier on the knees downhill.
• There are no services in the park so you want to make sure bring your own food/water for the duration you are in the park. There is a campstore which has basic goods (and ice cream for the end of the day!) which may technically be in the park but at the very entrance.
• I think we ended up doing around 13 miles this day between the two hikes and cruising around looking for lunch spots. What is nice about this park is that you can combine a couple of hikes or do them separately. The itinerary shows exactly what we did. This means we didn’t get to the whole park, but we did a good chunk of it.