National Park Week 2023 Day 5 – Pinnacles National Park!

Today, I wanted to highlight Pinnacles National Park in western California because it is one of the newer national parks and may not be as well known as other California parks, such as Yosemite or Sequoia. We visited here several years ago as part of a Pacific Coast trip and spent an afternoon hiking in the park.

Pinnacles NP is part of the Gabilan Mountain Range, formed from volcanic eruptions, and as its name suggests, consists of many tall pinnacles! This park is popular for hiking, camping, and wildlife spotting. We saw lots of raptors flying around during our trip. It is not as big as some of the other national parks, so it is a little more laid back and usually not as crowded either.

This is a more rugged park with fewer amenities, so be sure to bring your water and other provisions. There could be spotty cell service as well, so make sure to have offline maps. Of course, there is a Visitors Center where you can learn about the park and get a paper map too. Check in for trail updates if you’re going hiking.

There are two entrances to the park. The West entrance is easier to reach from Monterey, off Highway 101. The East entrance is a little more remote, about 2 hours around the park from the West entrance. There is no driving road inside the park that connects the two sides, so you have to drive around the outside of the park. You can hike through the park from end to end but it is a pretty rugged 2 hour hike with some caves in between, so come prepared, especially if you have to hike another 2 hours back to your car. We just did a smaller hike on one side.

Pinnacles National Park is just about an hour east of the Monterey peninsula area so I would recommend making it a part of a trip to the Pacific Coast. Monterey is a quaint beautiful area with lots of cute shops and restaurants and the popular Monterey Aquarium. You can also drive the scenic 17 Mile Drive and the Pacific Coast Highway. There are tons of spots to stop for activities along the Pacific Coast Highway.

If you want to venture farther, you can drive about 2 hours north to the Santa Cruz or San Jose areas, or another hour further north to San Francisco. From the West entrance, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks are about 4-5 hours east, if you want to do a loop of national parks. Otherwise, you can just take the Pacific Coast Highway all the way south to Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Diego, and many places in between, about 4-6 hours south.

Feel free to contact me if you would like to chat about planning a trip here.