Parc national des Pinnacles - , California

Goldblum Florent

Parc magnifique, a deux heure de route de San Francisco mais il vaut vraiment le détour, attention certains passages sont délicats (il faut passer par des grottes...).

Thomas M.

Superbe parc bien aménagé. Pendant la montée au peak, attention de ne pas redescendre sur le mauvais parking sur lequel vous êtes arrivés. Au pire, il y a un très joli sentier avec des grottes qui permet de passer d'un parking à l'autre (environ 7 kilomètres).

Matthieu Tricoire

Un parc magnifique, sauvage, avec une faune préservée. À ne pas rater

xavier zaviska

Parc magnifique. Belle randonnée sur la faille de San Andrea

Zsuzsanna Sziveri

What a wonderful national park! Nice trails with great views and caves here and there. You can enter from the East or West side, but cannot drive across the park. The lots are well maintained, most of them with toilets and a few have water fountains. Make sure you have good hiking shoes and watch your step. If you are not a regular hiker and your balance is not the best a hiking pole would not be a bad idea. There are shaded areas, but you'll definitely spend a lot of time exposed to the sun- have protective clothing, sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat and 3-4 liters of water. Some caves are very dark, it's recommended to have a flashlight - I used my phone. The park has some picnic areas, but I wouldn't do it (especially in the summer) due to the high risk of wildfires. There are several days throughout the year when entrance is free (like today 9/28/24 and the next one is 10/14/2024). The NP has a campsite with an inground pool that was still open today. All the staff members that I encountered were very friendly. They said that rattle snakes are the only dangerous species in the park, but they don't bother you if you don't bother them. Pets are not allowed.

Clyde Andrews

Surprising National Park. Driving into Pinnacles and not taking a hike is like driving into Grand Canyon and not looking over the edge. We took the Bear Gulch/High Peaks loop trail, 5.5 miles, and found both the terrain, vistas, and trail itself fascinating. Many places trail steps had to be chiseled out of the rock and handrails installed to keep the path safe.

Holly Hanger

Great hiking, went up on the High Peak trail and went to Bear Gulch and the caves. Really fantastic views, beautiful scenery. Ngl the call of the void was strong on some of these cliffs. 10/10 recommend.

Make sure you bring lots of water!! More than you think you need. Parts of the hikes do not provide ANY shade, and we found ourselves drinking more water than most hikes.

Some of the rock is slippery, like loose gravel. Wear hiking boots over sneakers, good ankle support is a must.

There are a couple tight squeezes on the high peaks trails, but some wonderful fences/stairs that have been carved into the mountain. Makes it easy to traverse. Lots of switchbacks. I don’t recommend bringing super young kids on this hike (unless parents bring kid carriers), maybe 10+? It’s just long and might be a little difficult for younger kiddos, esp with how long/hot the hike has the potential to be.

Dave J

Disclaimer: this is only a review of West Pinnacles.

West pinnacles isn’t a bad place if you want to do some hiking. But to make it a national park is a bit much. And a $30 entrance fee? Not worth it.
Temps were on the low 80’s. We first hiked Balconies Cave trail and did the loop. The cave was nice. You have to do some scrambling and fitting a backpack through was tight in some areas.

After that hike, we left from the same trailhead as the cave but went up Juniper Canyon loop. It was a good hike. Gain some 1200 hundred feet. Lots of massive volcanic masses filled with smaller rocks. At the top, there is a narrow steep area that has some rails to hold on to as well as some steep areas with left/right foot cutouts as steps. Again, some narrow areas where a backpack made it quite tight and I had to lean over the rail at times so the pack wouldn’t get hung up on the rock.

I believe we saw one California Condor soaring along with numerous turkey vultures and crows.

My overall impression as mentioned above is that it is a nice outdoor area but should never have been made a national park.