Caves, condors, high peaks, woodlands, and meadows. Pinnacles National Park in California, named after the eroded remnants formed from volcanic eruptions over 20 million years ago, offers visitors a contrasting variety of environments to explore.
Although there is no active volcanism within the park, Pinnacles is still considered a volcanic park due to the nature of its beginnings. More than 20 million years ago, violent volcanic eruptions spewed forth lava to produce what is now called the Pinnacles Volcanic Formation. Around 2 million years ago, this formation was uplifted and faulted, creating cracks in the rock (jointing). Running water and wind actively eroded the rocks along these joints. Debris and other sediments in the water acted much like sandpaper, further wearing away the volcanic rock and gouging out holes to ultimately form the vertical cliffs, spires, and knobby peaks seen within the park today. If you enjoy rock climbing, these spires, or pinnacles, are ideal for both beginners and seasoned climbers, with easy top ropes as well as multi-pitch routes.
More than just a venue for climbing, Pinnacles National Park offers 30 miles (48.3 kilometers) of high- and low-elevation trails from easy to strenuous difficulty levels along canyon floors, into forests, up tall volcanic rock peaks, and even through talus caves created when large boulders or rock fragments tumbled down from cliffs to become wedged in narrow canyons or fractures.
Make a point to pack binoculars and camera when planning a visit, because you’ll have ample opportunity to use both for birdwatching in the park. You will likely spot one of more of the park’s 160 species of birds, perhaps including the iconic and critically endangered California condor. Since 2003, this national park has been a partner in the California Condor Recovery Program, serving as a release and management site for these birds with a wingspan reaching nine feet across.
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Searching For Condors At Pinnacles National Park
When I hiked at Grand Canyon National Park in January, I never spotted a California condor, but Pinnacles National Park, the first national park where the birds bred in captivity were released into the wild, raised my hopes again of seeing these magnificent birds. Even if I missed them, I could wander the 30 miles of trails through rolling hills and chaparral past steep rocky outcroppings and into caves.
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In addition to fascinating geology, Pinnacles has a rich history, from 10,000 years of Native peoples living on this landscape, to Spanish missionaries and early settlers, to the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) building and maintaining trails and infrastructure while making significant contributions to forest management, flood control, and other conservation projects from 1933 through 1942.
If you plan to visit this national park, there is an east entrance as well as a west entrance, but there is no road connecting the two entrances. This will determine where you might want to overnight during a visit there. If you feel like pitching a tent or parking your RV for a night or two of camping beneath the stars, the Pinnacles Campground is on the park’s east side. While there is no hotel/motel-style lodging in the park, the Pinnacles Campground does offer canvas-sided tent cabins reservable through recreation.gov. If those tent cabins are all taken, then the nearest towns with consistent lodging are Salinas, Hollister, Soledad, and King City, all in California.
Plan to visit both sides of Pinnacles National Park. Drive time is a little over an hour from the west entrance to the park’s east entrance. Each side offers a variety of trails, environments, and landscapes to explore and you’ll get a true flavor for this national park, east to west.
Traveler’s Choice For: Bird watching, photography, hiking, climbing
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