When planning a trip to Pinnacles National Park, one of the biggest questions you may have is “how much time do I need?” We’re here to answer that question and help you plan the perfect Pinnacles National Park itinerary.
For most people, a half to a full day is all the time you need to see the highlights of the park. But for those who want to thoroughly explore this underrated gem of a national park, spending a few days and nights here is ideal.
In this guide, we will quickly cover the best things to do in the park and how to organize this into several different itineraries, ranging from a half day to several days in the park.
Top Experiences in Pinnacles National Park
Below is a quick overview of the best things to do in Pinnacles National Park. We go into these in more detail in our Best of Pinnacles guide ↓
Bear Gulch Caves: Hike and rock scramble through these caves. Bring a headlamp because you’ll need to keep your hands free for rock scrambling.
Bear Gulch Caves
Bear Gulch Reservoir: This is one of the prettiest, most iconic spots in the park. Get here by hiking through Bear Gulch Caves or on the Moses Spring Trail.
Bear Gulch Reservoir
Hike through the High Peaks: Hiking trails weave their way through clusters of pinnacles that sit on several of the highest peaks in the park. Get here by hiking the amazing High Peaks Trail Loop.
High Peaks Trail
Spot a California Condor: The best place to do this is on the High Peaks Trail.
Balconies Cave: Longer and darker than Bear Gulch Caves, with easy to moderate rock scrambling, journeying into this cave is a must for those who love caving.
Chalone Peak: Hike to the highest peak in the park for panoramic views. It’s a nice hike but not an absolute must-do. It’s good for those who are avid hikers and those who can spend at least two days in Pinnacles National Park.
On the trail to Chalone Peak
Rock Climbing: Pinnacles National Park is one of the best US national parks to go rock climbing.
More experiences include camping, stargazing, and birdwatching.
How Much Time Do You Need in Pinnacles?
With a half day in Pinnacles National Park, you can see most of the highlights. On the quickest of visits, hike out to Bear Gulch Reservoir, which can be done in about 2 hours. Hiking the High Peaks Loop checks off a lot of the park’s main attractions, including the reservoir, Bear Gulch Caves, the High Peaks, and seeing California Condors.
With one day in the park, hike the High Peaks Loop or visit Bear Gulch Reservoir in the morning. In the afternoon, hike to Balconies Cave (but be aware that you will do 10+ miles of hiking in one day).
With an additional day in the park, hike to Chalone Peak, go rock climbing, or hike to Balconies Cave, if you didn’t do that on day one.
High Peaks Trail Loop
Pinnacles National Park Itineraries
A Few Hours in Pinnacles National Park
If you are on a road trip through California and only have a few hours to spare, we recommend the hike to Bear Gulch Reservoir. This hike is 2 miles, includes Bear Gulch Caves (if they are open), and the entire experience takes about 2 hours.
Here’s how to do it.
Parking: Park in the Bear Gulch Day Use Area parking lot. There are two trails that lead to the reservoir and you can turn this into a wonderful, short loop hike.
Trail Guide: From the parking lot, walk the Sycamore Trail, a 0.25-mile trail that connects the large parking lot to the official trailhead. Next, take the Moses Spring Trail, a shady trail that runs through the forest.
You will come to a trail split. Go left to hike through Bear Gulch Caves (note: Bear Gulch Caves close several months of the year for bat nesting; if they are closed, you will have to hike out-and-back on the Moses Spring Trail; get updates before you go on the National Park Service website).
The Bear Gulch Caves were formed by a huge rockfall. To get through the caves, you will need a headlamp (don’t plan on using your smartphone because you need both hands free for rock scrambling). You will be in a dark cave, with uneven footing, and you will do some easy rock scrambling and crouching to get through the cave. There are a fair number of steps as you climb up through the cave and there can also be standing water in the cave. If you are claustrophobic, skip the caves.
The trail through caves rejoins with the Moses Spring Trail once you get through the caves.
The Moses Spring Trail runs through the forest, winds its way through piles of boulders, and has a brief section where it runs along a cliff, but the trail is wide enough that it shouldn’t be a problem for those with a fear of heights.
Moses Spring Trail
Total Distance and Time: Overall, it is a one mile hike from the parking lot to the reservoir. Spend some time at the reservoir. To return to the parking lot, hike back on the trail you didn’t take, making a loop.
Half Day in the Park
If you have half of a day, we recommend hiking the High Peaks Trail Loop. This hike starts off with the Bear Gulch Caves and reservoir and then climbs up to the High Peaks. Hiking through the High Peaks is a blast, with some easy rock scrambling, climbing staircases carved into the rock, and breathtaking views over the park, with California Condors soaring overhead.
This hike is one of the best in the national parks and not to be missed.
This loop hike is 5.6 miles long, rated as moderate to strenuous, and takes 3 to 4.5 hours. We have a detailed trail guide with a map, elevation profile, and lots of photos so you know what to expect ↓
One Day in Pinnacles
With one day in Pinnacles National Park, you have just enough time to do all of the top experiences in the park, but it will be a big day of hiking.
In the morning, hike the High Peaks Trail Loop from the Bear Gulch Day Use Area.
Midday, have lunch, either eating a picnic lunch that you bring into the park or getting a bite to eat at the Pinnacles Campground Store.
In the afternoon, hike the Old Pinnacles Trail to the Balconies Cave. This trailhead is also located on the east side of the park.
Balconies Cave Trail
Be aware that the parking lot here is very small (it only holds about 20 cars) so you have to keep your fingers crossed that a spot will be available. If not, ride the park shuttle from the Pinnacles Campground to the trailhead. This shuttle only runs from Friday through Sunday (confirm this before you go on the National Park Service website). The Balconies Cave is also accessible from the west side of the park, but it is an hour and a half drive to get here from the east side.
If you do both hikes, the mileage really adds up. Your grand total for the day will be about 11 miles (5.6 miles for the High Peaks Trail Loop and 5.3 miles for the Balconies Cave hike). If this is too much and you like the idea of doing both of these hikes, you can split them up over a two day visit to the park.
Two or More Days in Pinnacles
With two or more days in Pinnacles National Park, there are several ways to plan your time.
As just stated, on day 1 you can do the High Peaks Trail Loop and on day 2 hike to Balconies Cave.
If you are an avid hiker, do the High Peaks Trail Loop and Balconies Cave on day 1. On day 2, hike to Chalone Peak. This is what we did and overall had a great experience.
If you are a rock climber, hike the High Peaks Trail Loop and Balconies Cave on day 1. On day 2, go rock climbing.
How to Get to Pinnacles
Pinnacles National Park is located in California, south of San Francisco. To get here, you will need to have a car/SUV/RV since there is no public transportation.
The closest airports are San Jose and San Francisco.
Here are the driving distances and times from nearby destinations to the Pinnacles Campground, which is on the east side of the park:
San Francisco: 125 miles, 2 hours 15 minutes
San Jose: 80 miles, 1 hour 30 minutes
Los Angeles: 270 miles, 4 hours 30 minutes
Yosemite (Visitor Center): 190 miles, 4 hours
Kings Canyon (Visitor Center): 186 miles, 3 hours 45 minutes
Sequoia National Park (Giant Forest Museum): 190 miles, 4 hours
How to Get Around Pinnacles
There are two sections to Pinnacles National Park: the east side and the west side. The roads in these two sections do not connect and it takes an hour and a half to drive from one side to the other.
The east side is, in our opinion, the best side to access the park. The itineraries listed above are done from the east side. The east side is open 24 hours, it’s the more popular entrance, there’s a campground and park store here, plus the visitor center.
The west side is good for those who only plan to hike the High Peaks Trail or to Balconies Cave. From the west side, it is a shorter hike to Balconies Cave than from the east side. However, the west side is gated and open only from 7:30 am to 8:00 pm (confirm these hours on the National Park Service website before you go). It’s also a less popular entrance, so it could be easier to get parking here.
Plan on arriving no later than 9 am to get a parking space, although earlier is better, especially on weekends. There is overflow parking next to the campground (on the east side), but it is a very long walk to get to the trailheads.
There is a park shuttle that operates on the east side of the park on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. These days of the week have highest visitation, with lower crowds on the weekdays. Get updated hours of the shuttle before your visit on the National Park Service website.
Best Time to Visit Pinnacles
The best time to visit the park is during the spring and fall, when the temperatures are mild and rainfall is relatively low.
In the winter, temperatures remain mild, with average high temperatures ranging from 60 to 70°F, but nighttime temperatures can drop below freezing. However, this is the wettest time to visit the park, with frequent rainfall.
In the spring and fall, high temperatures range from the low 70’s to the low 80’s, although it can get hotter than this during a heat wave. Rainfall is relatively low. The springtime months, in particular March and April, are the best time to see wildflowers in the park.
It gets hot in Pinnacles in the summer. The average high is in the mid-90’s and during heat waves, it can soar well above 100°F, sometimes even hitting 110+°F. These high temperatures make hiking dangerous. Rainfall is extremely low.
Another thing to keep in mind is the bat nesting periods. The lower Bear Gulch Caves are generally open from mid-July through mid-May, although they can close periodically throughout this time frame. The upper caves are generally open 2 to 4 weeks of the year, sometime during the month of October. Get updates on cave status here.
Our visit was during the first few days of May. Morning temperatures were cool, with high temperatures in the mid 70’s during our visit.
Pinnacles National Park appears in our Best US National Parks Month-By-Month series as a great park to visit in March, April, and November.
Where to Stay
The closest place to stay is in the Pinnacles Campground on the east side of the park. Reservations can be made on recreation.gov.
We stayed in Hollister, which is a small town north of the national park. This town has several hotels and restaurants, making it a good home base for your time here. From Hollister, it is a 45-minute drive to get to the east side of the park.
In Hollister, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites – Hollister and had a positive experience. It is the highest rated hotel in the area. There is also a Fairfield Inn & Suites in Hollister, but this gets mediocre reviews.
In Soledad, the highest rated hotel is the Soledad Motel 8, which gets decent reviews. Soledad is a good place to stay if you plan to access the west side of the park. From Soledad, it is a 25-minute drive to the Chaparral parking lot (west side) and a 1 hour 15-minute drive to the Bear Gulch Day Use Area (east side).
Where to Eat
For dinner, we loved The 19th Hole, which is a western style steak house that looks like an old saloon. This restaurant is located in Tres Pinos, a tiny town that sits between the national park and Hollister.
In Hollister, we had dinner at La Catrina Mexican Grill (on Cinco de Mayo!) and had a nice experience.
Nearby Places to Visit
Pinnacles National Park is conveniently located in central California, making it easy to add on to a trip to San Francisco, the Pacific Coast Highway, or several other California national parks (Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia).
California Road Trip Ideas
If you have any questions about how to plan your Pinnacles National Park itinerary, let us know in the comment section below.
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