(1/10 – 1/11/2026)
This was a short weekend trip to hike in the Pinnacles National Park. We have been to Pinnacles NP a few times, starting from when it was just a national monument. The park has an eastern entrance and a western entrance. There was no road crossing the entire park; therefore, we devoted 2 days there.
Day 1: Pinnacles NP East
We left home shortly after 8:30am to drive to the eastern entrance of the Pinnacles National Park. Today was Saturday, and the traffic on the freeway wasn’t busy.
We arrived at the visitor center around 11am, and there were already many cars there. There were many hikers in the area. Pinnacles NP surely has become more popular! There was traffic control, and we couldn’t drive past the visitor center area, so we simply parked the car.
Many picnic tables scattered around the area; we picked one under the shade to have our packed lunch of Mediterranean pasta salad and fruit. There were many sparrows, juncos and woodpeckers, and I even saw a Red-Shouldered Hawk!
After lunch, we started hiking on Bench Trail; the trailhead was at the parking lot. Bench Trail was flat and very easy to walk. We saw many birds from the trail. In addition to sparrows and juncos, we also saw an American Robin and a Western Scrub Jay.
Then we turned into Sycamore Trail. This trail was mostly shaded and along a small creek. It surely was more enjoyable than Bench Trail. There were 6 small wooden bridges on the trail crossing the small creek. Bear Gulch Nature Center at the end of Sycamore Trail was closed, but the restroom was still open. The area offered a great view of the pinnacles.
Condor Gulch Trail required some climbing and was more challenging. From the trail we could see several Acorn Woodpeckers feasting. There were many hikers on the trail, and Rei even met a friend! The friend wore a Chile Patagonia cap, while Rei was wearing his El Camino cap; so, we spent quite some time chatting about our various hiking adventures before continuing to the viewpoint. There were no condors today. Even though we have been to this area several times, we only saw condors once back in 2018 (see my Bird List).
When we reached an intersection at the top, Rei decided that we should walk the Blue Oak Trail back. Blue Oak Trail was an easy downhill trail. It was shady in the afternoon, but it didn’t provide any pinnacle views. The trail connected to Bench Trail leading back to the parking lot to end today’s hike.
We were staying in Salinas tonight. We had dinner at El Zacatecano, a Mexican restaurant favored by local people. People sat at the tables around us were all speaking Spanish. I ordered 7 Seas seafood soup (“7 Mares”), while Rei ordered Chicken and Chile Relleno Enchiladas. When Rei saw my seafood soup, he immediately asked for an extra bowl to share my soup. The soup was large enough for 2 people to share. It was a bit spicy but very delicious! We ended up packing most of Rei’s dinner to-go (it became next day’s lunch).
Day 2: Pinnacles NP West
We slept late this morning. After the included-breakfast at the hotel, we checked out to drive to the western entrance of Pinnacles National Park. There were a small ranger station and a visitor center at the western entrance. The visitor center looked very new.
After a short stop to get a stamp, we continued to Chaparral Parking Area. The area offered an excellent view of the pinnacles! It was still early (not yet 11am), so we decided to take a hike first.
We started on Balconies Trail. Even though it required some climbing, it wasn’t difficult. When we reached an intersection, we decided to take Balconies Cliffs Trail on the left first. The views from the trail were magnificent! Soon we were connecting to Balconies Cave Trail.
A hiker who just finished the cave exploration told us that the trail was dark and “very wet.” We put on our headlights and continued into the cave through a metal gate. It was indeed dark inside. We reached a point that looked like a dead-end. On the right side, there was a small waterfall; on the left side, there was a tall rock wall. Rei said let’s wait to see whether there were hikers coming from the other direction.
Very soon, we saw some light on top of the tall rock wall, so we started climbing. A couple at the top asked us how far the cave continued. We told them that they were very close to the other end of the cave, and they were very relieved. I could see the light coming in; however, there was another section of the cave.
When we finally left the cave, the narrow trail was flooded with water. (It’s indeed “very wet”!). I was glad that we were wearing our hiking boots, but the water got deeper and finally reached a couple inches above my ankles! So, our socks and boots all got soaked!
There were many hikers coming from the other direction. They asked us about the cave conditions. When we informed them about the deep water, some were very excited about the adventure, while others decided that they didn’t want to get their shoes wet.
When we finally returned to the car, Rei and I both changed into our sandals. This ended our other ambitious hiking plans. Even though we both have additional socks, we didn’t have another pair of hiking shoes. In hindsight, we should have either taken our boots off to walk through the water, or we should have brought another pair of shoes in the car. (Notes to self: bring extra pair of shoes in the future.)
We drove back to the visitor center to have lunch (last night’s leftover Mexican food and fruit) there. Prewett Point Trail at the visitor center was an easy and flat trail that we could hike wearing sandals. It again offered great views of the pinnacles. The helpful ranger informed us that it’s possible to see condors from the viewpoint too, but there were no condors today.
This ended our 2-day trip to Pinnacle National Park.
Amy 'n Rei 