This weekend I made an impromptu trip to Pinnacles National Park. This was my first time to the park and I really didn’t have any specific plans as to what I’d be doing.

I arrived Saturday morning at 7am (left home at 2am to get there for sunrise) and started my first hike at the Bear Gulch parking area. I ended up going through a cave system that had a small running stream and water cascades. There was another cave in the area, but it was closed because of either big eared bats activity or dangerous conditions (these were the reasons mentioned on the national park’s website).

After that first really amazing hike, I got in my car and decided to drive to another trailhead in the area. Turns out the parking lot was full, so I would’ve had to park really far away from the trailhead (over two or three miles away). I ended up driving over to the west entrance after lunch and hiked to some more caves. Parking over there was just as challenging as it was on the east side of the park.

So, with that in mind, I have a huge suggestion for anyone who wants to visit this park: Plan ahead for the whole day! Parking is extremely limited in this national park and it’s a very popular place from what I can see. Arrive early and have a plan for which hikes you want to do and how you’re going to get to the trailhead. It’s a bad idea to park at one trailhead, do a hike, and then get in your car to drive to another trailhead. Most likely the next trailhead won’t have parking when you get there. Utilize the park’s shuttle system when it is running (it doesn’t run every weekend according to some info I’ve read). Try to visit the park during a weekday if possible since weekends are very busy.

A second thing to keep in mind is that there is no concessionaire in this park. In other words, no food or drinks to buy in the park. Bring your own food and water! I knew that going in, but it’s quite far away from the nearest town, so be prepared.

Below are some photos that I took while at Pinnacles. I definitely want to go back and take more photos. Cloudy conditions and stormy weather might be nice, but hiking would be difficult in that kind of weather.

Have a great week everyone