A study in geological drama, Pinnacles National Park's craggy monoliths, sheer-walled canyons and twisting caves are the result of millions of years of erosion. In addition to hiking and rock climbing, the park’s biggest attractions are its two talus caves. Balconies Cave is always open for exploration, while Bear Gulch Cove is generally closed from mid-May to mid-July when the resident colony of Townsend's big-eared bats raises their offspring.
If you do one hike on the park's Pinnacles National Park – West Entrance, make it the Balconies Cliffs & Cave Trail (2.4 miles), a two-hour loop with panoramic views and creepy talus caves. Bring a flashlight (better yet, a headlamp); the dim glow of your phone won't do. Set off from the Chaparral Parking Lot and plains of scrub unfurl before you. Tackle the trail clockwise: you'll follow ridges, hopscotch past lichen-spattered boulders, gaze at rocky cathedrals spearing the sky, then descend to a riverbed where things get noticeably cooler. Entering the cave, use your flashlight to continue on the trail. It's a narrow scramble (claustrophobes, turn around) but you'll emerge feeling reborn.
On the Pinnacles National Park – East Entrance, the Moses Spring to Rim Trail (2.2 miles round trip) generally takes 1½ hours (maximum 500ft elevation) and doesn't require scrambling on your knees; ideal for less sure-footed travelers to glimpse the park's boulder-formed caves. Keep an eye out for California red-legged frogs: this trail also leads to Bear Gulch Reservoir, one of several sites around California where conservation programs are bringing at-risk amphibians back from the brink.
The namesake spires divide the park. For the west entrance, exit Hwy 101 at Soledad and follow Hwy 146 northeast for 14 miles. The east entrance is accessed via Hwy 25 from Hollister and Hwy 146. There is no road connecting the two sides of the park but you can hike across in about an hour. There are visitor centers on both sides. While in the park, keep an eye out for endangered California condors circling above.
Pinnacles is best visited during spring or fall; summer’s heat is too extreme. Arrive early and ideally park by 9am; trailhead parking lots fill up fast from spring to fall, even on weekdays.
