Pinnacles National Park: Everything To Know About California's Newest Park!

Pinnacles National Park is beautiful and completely underrated! Sure, it’s not Yosemite, but this park became a National Monument in 1908, before becoming a National Park in 2013.

And because it’s a small park and California’s newest park, it often gets skipped. But not today!

Today we’ll be discussing everything you need to know about Pinnacles National Park. From the fees, to the trails, to the campground, and even the different entrances of the parks. And don’t forget those California Condors!

So let’s dive in and take a look at everything you need to know about Pinnacles National Park.

Important Links

Pinnacles National Park website
America the Beautiful Pass
Pinnacles National Park Map (PDF)
Up-to-Date Operating Hours Info
Camping in Pinnacles Campground
Camping Checklist Freebie – Never Forget a Camping Item Again!
Hiking Backpack Checklist Freebie – Always Be Prepared on the Trails
Hiking Journal – Never Forget the Details of Your Favorite Hikes Again!
Camping Journal – Never Forget Your Camping Trips Details Again!

Location

Let’s start with where Pinnacles National Park is located. Pinnacles is located in north-central California, not too far from San Jose, CA. If you are planning on driving parts of the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) this is a great little detour.

If you are flying to this part of California, you have a few airport options. The 2 closest airports are San Francisco and Fresno, which are a little over 2 hours away and 2.5 hours away respectively. If you are looking to fly into a bigger airport, Los Angeles is about 5 hours away and Las Vegas is 7 hours away.

Fees

Pinnacles National Park, just like most other national parks, charges a fee to enter the park. This money funds the park rangers, the maintenance, and all other expenses that keep the park open.

The average visitor will pay the Standard Fee of $30 to enter the park. This standard pass is good for 7 days and allows all visitors in the vehicle to enter. Motorcycles are $25 each with the same benefits.

-Annual Pass Options

If you plan on visiting Pinnacles National Park more than 2 times within a 12 month period, you’ll want to look into the Annual Pass. The Pinnacles Annual Pass is $55, good for 12 months, and allows the pass holder and a car-full of guests to enter the park with no extra fees. Just know the Annual Pass is only good for Pinnacles National Park.

On the other hand, if you plan on visiting 3 or more national parks in a year, you’ll want to invest in the America the Beautiful Pass. This pass costs $80, is valid at all federal recreation areas, and allows the pass holder and a car-full of guests into these parks with no additional fees.

East Entrance vs West Entrance

The next item on the agenda is discussing the 2 different entrances, and trust me you’ll want to pay attention to this!

The East Entrance of Pinnacles National Park is larger, offers more parking, accommodates nearly all vehicle sizes, and is the main entrance. If you aren’t sure which one to go to, choose the East Entrance.

The West Entrance on the other hand will have you driving down a narrow one-lane road that is used as a 2 lane road. There is a warning that this road is not recommended for large vehicles or for RVs. However, my husband and I drove our standard 1500 Silverado on this road and nearly had our mirror ripped off twice by other pick-up trucks.

If you are driving anything bigger than a car or small SUV, avoid the West Entrance.

You’ll also want to know that the West Entrance is gated closed until 7:30am. Truly you can’t get around it. The East Entrance is open 24-hours.

Please plan on using the East Entrance, trust me. The East side is easier to access and reaches all the same trails as the other side.

Entrance sign for Pinnacles National Park (East Entrance)

The Shuttle

Since Pinnacles National Park is on the smaller side, there is a shuttle service to help accommodate for the lack of parking. The shuttle only operates on the EAST side.

This shuttle runs on Saturdays from 8:30am – 5pm and should be used when the parking lots are full. You will park by the campground and wait for the shuttle to take you further into the park.

Visitor Centers

Pinnacles National Park only has 1 visitor center, and it’s located on the east side. There is also the Bear Gulch Nature Center on the east side, which has varying hours.

There is only a ranger station on the west side. So if you’re looking for your obligatory national park sticker, you’ll want to visit the east side.

Climate

And for our final logistical piece of information, let’s discuss the climate in Pinnacles National Park. Pinnacles is known for having dry and hot summers and cool and wet winters.

Spring and Fall are the best times to visit Pinnacles. This is going to give you the best weather.

However, I will say my husband and I visited in early April and it was very hot while we were hiking. Make sure you are bringing plenty of water and sun protection.

This leads me to the more fun things to know about Pinnacles National Park. If you want to know everything, we can’t skip all the hiking in the park!

Hiking in Pinnacles National Park

Pinnacles National Park has some great hiking trails throughout the park. There are over 30 miles of trails that take you in caves, to the high peaks area, and to their reservoir.

As far as national parks go, this is a pretty small park. After all, there are nearly 800 miles of trails in Yosemite, compared to the 30 miles in Pinnacles. However, this doesn’t mean you should skip hiking in the park.

Below are the best 3 trails that you must hike! My husband and I went hiking here in April of 2026 and enjoyed these trails here over 2 days. So let’s check out these must-hike trails!

The 3 Must Hike Trails

First up is the shortest and easiest of the 3 which is hiking to the Bear Gulch Reservoir. This trail starts at the Bear Gulch Day Use Area and takes you through the Lower and Upper Bear Gulch Caves. These caves are not technical, but do require a flashlight. There were a few skinny spots, but overall this was an easy and cool cave to walk through. You’ll then continue on to the Bear Gulch Reservoir where you might get to see some cool wildlife.
Second on the list is the Old Pinnacles Trail to the Balconies. This trail is 5.4 miles long and leads you through a valley until you reach the Balconies Caves. These caves close occasionally depending on the bats in the area. The rock structures in and around the caves are an incredible place to see and explore.
And finally we have the best trail in the whole park. The Condor Gulch via the High Peaks Trail is a bit challenging and filled with adventure. It’s also where you might get to see some California Condors! (More on them later). This trail has some steep sections, some single-foot stairs, and the most amazing views in the park. If you can only hike one trail, make it this one!

Each link in the descriptions leads to an AllTrails link where you can read the official stats and get an idea if this trail is for you. Again, I highly recommend looking for some condors while on the Condor Gulch Trail and High Peaks Trail.

California Condors

Speaking of California Condors, my husband and I were lucky enough to see 5 different California Condors while hiking the High Peaks Trail. A few were perched on rocks and a few others were flying over us.

The significance of the Condors is they are the largest birds in North America. They have a wing span of 9.5 feet as adults are truly huge birds! Sadly, there were only 22 Condors alive in the 1980s. After some careful captivity breeding and a careful reintroduction, there are close to 500 Condors alive today (wild and captive).

Identifying the Condors

One of the cool things about the approximate 120 Condors that seek refuge in Pinnacles National Park is they are nearly all tagged. There is a tag with a number and color on it to help identify the bird.

You can go to this website and search for the color tag and then number you saw. Not all the numbers are on the site, but it’s still cool to look at the history of the bird.

Climbing

Pinnacles National Park also offers some incredible rock climbing for both beginners and experts. I personally don’t rock climb, so you’ll want to refer to the Climbing section of the national parks website. There is some great information here and necessary information that you’ll need to know. So start at that link.

Time to Spend Here

This leads me to the most common question people ask, “how many days do you need to see and explore Pinnacles National Park?”

In short, Pinnacles is a very small park and can be experienced in about a half day to a day. This will give you time to stop at the visitor center, hike the high peaks trail, maybe see a Condor, and have lunch. If this is your only agenda, a half day should be plenty.

However, the answer really depends on what you want to do and see. If your first priority is hiking a few of the unique trails, or go rock climbing, then you’ll probably want 1-2 days.

But if you want to hike many/all of the trails, AND you want to ensure you see at least 1 California Condor, you should plan for 2-3 days. And a great way to do that is by camping in the Pinnacles Campground.

Camping in Pinnacles Campground

Pinnacles Campground was voted a “Best of the Best Campground for 2025” by RVLife and it’s clear why. This campground is located right inside the park (East Entrance) and gives you easy access to hiking trails.

Unlike some national park campgrounds, there are showers and flush toilets available here, as well as an inground pool!

The campground offers non-electric sites (Tent Only), electric sites (RV), non-electric cabins, electric cabins, and tent cabins. You can book any of these options on a 6 month rolling basis. For example if you want to book a site for October 2nd, you could make your reservation on April 2nd.

This park is a little on the pricey side because you are inside of Pinnacles National Park. So let’s take a look at the prices for 2026 (minus taxes/fees).

Price Comparison

Please note the below prices for camping in Pinnacles National Park are based on peak prices from 2026. Prices can and will go up, but this is to give you an idea of price options for your budget.

Non-Electric Site

$48 per night (M – F)
$60 per night (Sat & Sun)
$120 per weekend
$360 per week

Electric Camper/RV Site

$65 per night (M – F)
$77 per night (Sat & Sun)
$154 per weekend
$479 per week

Non-Electric Tent Cabin

$139 per night (M – F)
$164 per night (Sat & Sun)
$328 per weekend
$1,023 per week

Electric Tent Cabin

$149 per night (M – F)
$174 per night (Sat & Sun)
$348 per weekend
$1,093 per week

Group Camping

$140 per night (M – F)
$160 per night (Sat & Sun)
$320 per weekend
$1,020 per week

Again, these prices will change, but this is just to give you an idea of a budget for camping within Pinnacles National Park.

Now that we’ve covered the fees, location, hiking, camping and even the California Condors, you’re basically an expert! This is just about everything you need to know about Pinnacles National Park.

Conclusion

Pinnacles National Park is California’s newest national park, but this doesn’t mean it should be skipped! This little park offers quite the punch for hiking, camping, and wildlife sightings. So don’t skip Pinnacles National Park if you are visiting or road tripping in California!

As always, feel free to email me at averagewildexperience@gmail.com with any questions.

-Happy Hiking and Camping!

Pinnacles National Park: Everything To Know About California’s Newest Park!