Best trails in Pinnacles National Park
Comprised of impressive rocks, caves, cliffs, and peaks, Pinnacles National Park showcases the results of ancient volcanic activity on landscape. The park provides spectacular heights that attract many rock climbers. The park has an abundance of hiking, in fact, the two sides of the park are only connected by foot; there is no road connecting the two sides. Please note the park is often very hot in the summer months.
Top trails
Visitor info
School groups and other academic institutions may qualify for an Educational Fee Waiver. If not qualified, please check fees for large or commercial groups.
This pass is valid for 1-7 days and includes everyone traveling on a motorcycle, scooter, or similar motorized vehicle to Pinnacles East Entrance and West Entrance.
Non-commercial groups traveling in vehicles that have a capacity of 16 passengers or more pay $15 per person up to the maximums listed for commercial groups with comparable passenger capacity ($40 or $100). People 15 years old or younger, anyone with a pass that may be used for park entry, and drivers hired for transportation only are exempt from the per person fee.
This entry fee is for a single person traveling on foot or by bicycle. It is valid for 1-7 days to Pinnacles East Entrance and West Entrance.
This pass is valid for 1-7 days and includes everyone traveling in a single vehicle to Pinnacles East Entrance and West Entrance.
This pass is valid for 12 months from the month of purchase. It covers the entrance fee to Pinnacles National Park for the pass signee and accompanying passengers entering in a single, non-commercial vehicle. Pinnacles Annual Passes are available at park entrance stations.
Join millions of people who enjoy our National Parks with the "America the Beautiful" National Park & Federal Recreational Lands Pass, otherwise known as the Interagency Annual Pass. The pass is valid for a year's worth of visits from the month of purchase at more than 2,000 federal recreation sites across the country.
No entrance pass required on these days:
Monday, January 20 — Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Saturday, April 19 — First day of National Park Week
Thursday, June 19 — Juneteenth National Independence Day
Monday, August 4 — Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
Saturday, September 27 — National Public Lands Day
Tuesday, November 11 — Veterans Day
The Interagency Access Pass is accepted here.
Both visitor centers are accessible to visitors using mobility equipment or strollers and have wheelchair accessible restrooms.
Audio-described and text-only park brochure formats are available.
Additional information about accessibility at Pinnacles National Park can be found on their website: https://www.nps.gov/pinn/planyourvisit/accessibility.htm.
Both visitor centers are accessible to visitors using mobility equipment or strollers and have wheelchair accessible restrooms.
The picnic areas are wheelchair accessible with assistance and have packed, level paths and surfaces.
There are fully accessible restrooms at the West Pinnacles Contact Station.
Service animals must be on-leash throughout the park.
Trail reviews for Pinnacles National Park
Considering the whole area, Pinnacles national park is more of a state park, but beautiful. This hike gives you the summarized view of the whole park. The whole trail is rocky and dirt, and the summit has some adventurous stone cut steps, which I liked the most. Its a loop so you can go either ways. I did it clockwise, as the person at the visitor center said it more steep, Carry lots of water. It gets really hot and most of the trail is exposed.
Overall the trails from the east pinnacles national park were great, very well maintained, bathroom at the peak and trailhead with amazing views and one of a kind experience
This was my first trip to Pinnacles National Park. My intention was to see condors as a first priority; I was hiking solo. I arrived early to secure a parking spot at the Bear Gulch area from the east entrance. I made a false start up the Condor Gulch Trail (which would have also taken me to the High Peaks Trail) but following suggestions on this app, I backtracked and used the Moses Spring Trail (a short walk from the Bear Gulch parking and nature center) to connect to the High Peaks Trail. Despite the consistent drizzle and fog, I made my way up the scenic trail which climbed relentlessly upward. The trail was trouble free to about the pit toilet then the trail narrows and gets quite steep in both ascent and descent portions over large boulder areas. I saw lots of wildlife and the landscape was wondrous. I saw lots of ravens, turkey vultures, and other birds and small wildlife. Being alone and quiet probably helped. The first condor I saw was hunkered down on a large boulder in the rain and a bit later I saw another condor perched in a tree alongside the trail on the way up to the High Peaks area. Once I arrived at the highest section of the trail, it was foggy and drizzling with most of the visibility gone. These were disappointing conditions for me as I had carried my heavy camera along in hopes of photographing condors. Almost immediately upon arrival, a condor soared right over my head and about ten condors were circling within sight. Then, just as quickly, light rain and fog enveloped the area. I could have accepted those brief glimpses of condors as my condor experience for the day, but I decided to wait out the weather for a while as rain was not in the forecast. I sat in the rain for about an hour and the fog and drizzle eventually cleared out giving way to much better visibility. I ended up staying in the High Peaks area for a couple of hours. I was rewarded with many condors sightings. I observed many soaring condors from many vantage points and a nesting area with lots of condor family mini-dramas. I took a lot of fantastic photographs and enjoyed myself immensely. The other hikers who passed by were friendly all day. The descent back down to the parking area was, for the most part, an easy trail with good footing, the trail between Blue Oaks and Sycamore Trail was often surrounded by brush limiting views, so I was glad I tackled the challenging parts of the loop first where the scenery was stunning and when I was fresh for the ascent. Along with numerous small wildlife I saw about two dozen different types of wildflowers. It was a full and fabulous day. In total, I hiked about 8.5 miles that day with the loop and my back-and-forth wandering at the highest level. My only disappointment was seeing pistachio nut shells in many places along the trail. Dear fellow hikers, please pack out what you pack in.
We started at 8:00 p.m. from the Chapparal parking lot, and it was pretty warm already. The trail took 4 hours and 10 minutes at a moderate pace. We hiked counter-clockwise, which was good. The climb to the top is easier from this direction. We consumed a little more than two 21-oz bottles of water each. The trail through the Balconies cave was a great experience. Old Pinnacles trail was nice but not unique. High Peaks Trail and Tunnel Trail were the highlights from a scenery perspective.
A beautiful hike in pinnacles! This trail hits almost everything that the park has to offer :)
My first time to the pinnacles. I’ve been wanting to come here for the last five years and I thought it was 150 miles from my house but I was surprised to learn it was only 72. I went to the east entrance and wanted to do the bear Gulch Trail through the caves, but the caves were closed so I took the Moses Creek Trail to the high peaks trail and did the loop. It took me 3 miles to get up to the start of the high peaks loop. The loop said it was 8 miles but it was actually more like nine. Then on the way down, I stopped a half mile from the top and realized I left my water jug at the top and had to go back to get it. So by the time I got to my car ended up doing 15 miles. Amazing day. Amazing place. I can’t wait to come back and explore the other trails.