Pinnacles National Park
5000 Highway 146
Paicines, CA
The shattered remains of a volcano that rode the San Andreas Fault two hundred miles north, now a maze of spires, caves, and circling condors.
Pinnacles National Park protects the eroded core of a volcano that is not where it began. The rock here erupted some twenty-three million years ago near present-day Los Angeles, but it sits astride the San Andreas Fault, and over those millions of years the western half of the volcano was carried about a hundred and ninety-five miles north to where it stands now. Its matching half still sits down south.
What is left is a jumble of towering spires, sheer walls, and deep gorges choked with fallen boulders. Streams tunneling beneath those boulders created the park's famous talus caves, and the crags high above have become a last refuge for the California condor, one of the rarest birds on earth. It became a national park in 2013, more than a century after it was first protected.
What Guests Love
- Scrambling through the dark talus caves at Bear Gulch and the Balconies, flashlight in hand
- Watching for California condors, the largest land birds in North America, riding the thermals
- The high pinnacles and rock spires, a playground for hikers and climbers
- Spring, when the chaparral bursts into wildflowers under the crags
Worth Knowing
- The east and west entrances are not connected inside the park; you must drive around to switch sides
- The talus caves can close seasonally to protect bats or after rain floods them, so check first
- Bring a flashlight for the caves and plenty of water; summers here are very hot with little shade
- It is a smaller park, but trails are steep and rocky, so wear real shoes
Details
Paicines, CA
Learn about Pinnacles National Park
A volcano that traveled
The spires of Pinnacles are the remnants of the Neenach Volcano, which erupted around twenty-three million years ago far to the south. The San Andreas Fault runs right along the edge of the park, and the two sides of the fault slide past each other a few centimeters a year. Over the eons, the piece of the volcano on the western Pacific Plate was hauled steadily northwest.
Geologists matched the rock here to the Neenach Formation near Lancaster, nearly two hundred miles south, one of the clearest proofs anywhere of just how far the fault has moved the land. The soft volcanic rock, called breccia, then weathered into the fantastic spires and knobs that give the park its name.
The talus caves
Pinnacles has no true caves dissolved out of limestone. Instead it has talus caves, formed where narrow canyons filled with enormous fallen boulders, leaving passages and rooms in the dark spaces beneath. Bear Gulch Cave and the Balconies Cave are the two you can explore, scrambling through tight, cool, echoing passages with a flashlight.
The caves can flood after storms and close in parts of the year to protect a colony of Townsend's big-eared bats that roosts in Bear Gulch. Emerging from the darkness at Bear Gulch, you climb up to a small reservoir tucked among the crags, one of the most rewarding short hikes in any national park.
The return of the condor
The California condor, with a wingspan approaching ten feet, is the largest land bird in North America and was down to just twenty-two individuals in the 1980s, nearly extinct. A desperate captive-breeding effort brought the birds back from the brink, and Pinnacles is now one of a handful of release sites where they fly free.
The park's crags and thermals suit the condors, and the resident flock nests and roosts here. Patient visitors watching the high spires, especially at the High Peaks, have a real chance of seeing one soar overhead, its numbered wing tags visible, a living emblem of a species pulled back from the edge.
Chaparral, climbing, and seasons
Away from the rock, Pinnacles is classic California chaparral, dense with manzanita, chamise, and gray pine, home to bobcats, gray foxes, and a startling number of bee species. Spring turns the slopes green and studs them with wildflowers, and it is by far the best time to visit.
The volcanic spires draw rock climbers to hundreds of routes, though the crumbly rock demands care. Summer is brutally hot and best avoided at midday, while fall and winter are cool and quiet. Come in spring if you can, for the flowers, the flowing streams, and the mildest weather among the crags.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Tradewinds Carmel
BoutelMission Street at 3rd Avenue, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
41 miles away|Learn More ›
Carmel Country Inn
BoutelDolores Street at 3rd Avenue, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
41 miles away|Learn More ›
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