Destination: Pinnacles National Park

There are several days each year that all National Parks are free to enter. We took advantage of a free entrance day recently and checked out Pinnacles National Park.  Opened as a National Park in 2013, Pinnacles features miles of hiking trails, talus caves, and a campground.  It's a short drive from California's Bay Area and the 30 miles of trails offer lots of family friendly hiking opportunities.

Our first view of the Balconies Cliffs from the trail

My overall impression:
Positive:  Lots of easy/flat trails for family hiking, cave exploration, great Bay Area day trip option
Negative:  Sunny/exposed campground, would be too hot to visit in summer

On the trail between Balconies Cave and Old Pinnacles

There are two entrances to Pinnacles National Park, and it is important to note that there are no thru roads that cross the park.  Check out the map ahead of time, or read the hiking trail suggestions, and that will help you determine which entrance to use.  There is no water available in the park, so make sure to bring enough water for all members of your hiking party.  Leashed dogs are allowed in the park in picnic areas and campgrounds, but they are not allowed on any trails.  Please do not leave them in cars while you hike, if you are going to hike on the trails, leave Fido at home.

Lil' H is a Daddy's Girl

We were especially intrigued by the talus caves that you can explore, so we checked the cave status page and discovered that the Bear Gulch caves were momentarily closed for bat roosting season. That narrowed our choice down to the Balconies Cave.

Depending on how many miles you want to hike, there are several ways to access the Balconies Cave.  The shortest route is from the West Entrance, hiking 2.4 miles round trip from the Chaparral Trailhead to the cave and back.  We wanted to hike further, so we actually started from the East Entrance at the Old Pinnacles trailhead.  The loop from the trailhead, over the Balconies Cliffs trail, and down through the Balconies Caves was 6.15 miles and took us 2 hours, 45 minutes, plus a lunch break on the highpoint of the Balconies Cliffs trail.  You can make this shorter by bypassing the Balconies Cliffs part of the trail, then it would be 5.3 flat miles roundtrip.

The trail out of Old Pinnacles was wide and flat and followed the West Fork Cholone Creek.  The trail alternates between sunny and shady sections, and would be even prettier if there were any water in the creek (darn drought!).  We still saw lots of wildflowers and some wildlife, including lizards, butterflies, and woodpeckers.  It is 2 easy miles from the trailhead to the Balconies Cliffs trail junction, where you can choose to go directly to the cave (you would be climbing up through the caves in this direction), or you can take a detour on the Balconies Cliffs trail.  This section of the trail is steep but the view is worth it. Lil' H especially liked watching the rock climbers who were roped up on the cliffs. If you take the Balconies Cliffs trail, you loop around to the far side of the cave, and you climb down through the cave.

Starting to wonder if this trail was a good idea, a tight fit!

About the cave itself - if you plan to hike through the caves, make sure you have sturdy footwear and a flashlight.  Do not plan to carry or wear a child for this section of the trail.  Lil' H was in a Kelty kid carrier for the first part of the hike, but it became clear after the 2nd or 3rd boulder that she was going to have to walk herself through the caves.  It quickly turns into a hands-and-feet rock scramble.  I was glad we had headlamps as carrying a flashlight in my hand would have made it harder to balance and help Lil' H at the same time.  Lil' H is an experienced and adventurous kid at 2.5 years old, but I'd say 4 and up is a better age for this trail.  If you take younger children, be prepared to assist them as you move up and down the large boulders.  This is not a good hike for kids (or adults!) who are claustrophobic or afraid of the dark.

Mr. H ducks under a rock as we enter the cave, Lil' H had to walk on her own from here.

Lil' H dons a headlamp as we enter the cave. 

Mr. H helps Lil' H into the Balconies Cave

Deep in the cave, there is a spring-fed waterfall running down the rocks.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, I mean, cave!

As we were leaving Pinnacles, we stopped at the Visitor Center to buy a snack.  The store is well-stocked and the prices are surprisingly affordable.  They have a large selection of Junior Ranger products that were so cute for a budding naturalist (good thing Lil' H was in the car with Mr. H or I'm sure I would have had to buy one of everything!).  Directly behind the Visitor Center, there is a pool so if you plan to camp, bring a bathing suit!

There is a campground at the East Entrance of Pinnacles.  There is no camping available on the West side.  We were disappointed before our visit that the campground was already sold out, but honestly, after driving through the park, the campground did not look appealing to me.  Each campsite had a fire ring (check the current fire danger status, fires were not allowed during our visit due to the drought) and a picnic table, but there was no shade to be found anywhere. We are lucky that Pinnacles is close enough to make a day trip out of it, and I think we'll keep it that way instead of camping.

I definitely plan to visit again.  We had so much fun climbing through the Balconies Cave that we are already looking forward to visiting the Bear Gulch Cave when it reopens.  Spring and Fall are the best times to visit Pinnacles, as the lower elevations in the park would be very hot and exposed in the summer months.