Hiking Pinnacles National Park

I came to know about Pinnacles National Park a year back. Although it was redesignated from a National Monument to a National Park in 2013, it still belongs to the lesser known Californian parks, shadowed by the big giants Yosemite, Redwoods, Death Valley and the likes. We finally got the chance to visit the park during the Christmas holidays. This park is situated in Salinas valley in Central California. Volcanic eruptions millions of years back created the unique rock formations and caves in the park.

Enjoy our hiking vlog here! We hiked on Moses Spring trail on the east side. It’s a moderately difficult 1.8 mile loop trail with 400 feet elevation gain that goes through Bear Gulch caves to the reservoir and back.

While driving southwards from our home, we passed the small town of Paicines. Some of the houses and shops reminded of the cowboy era. The park can be approached from the east entrance as well as the west entrance but there is no road connecting both the sides. We entered from the east side and paid the park fees at the visitor center. The adjacent campground was so alluring that we booked it for the memorial day long weekend. There was no cell phone reception in the park which forced us to enjoy nature without worrying about everyday hassles.

This was an active volcano region millions of years back and goes right under San Andreas fault. Volcanic eruptions created these unique rock formations and caves in the park. Minerals rendered magnificent color to the rocks.

Multiple trails provide an amazing view of the rugged mountain peaks, caves and unique rock formations. We had done our homework and picked up Moses Spring trail to start with. This is a moderately difficult loop trail that goes through Bear Gulch caves to the reservoir and back. Park documentation is kind of okay and you need to watch out for the signs.

We passed a 10 feet tunnel and hiked uphill for some time. The view of the amazing rock formation along the way was awesome. We did not pass too many hikers on the way. It was cloudy and cold, very typical of late December weather. At one point, the trail bifurcated with left trail leading to caves and reservoir while the right trail went to a strenuous hike to High Peaks. We went along the Moses Spring Trail on the left and reached the Bear Gulch cave entrance in few minutes.

The caves required flashlights to go inside. It was pitch dark inside the caves. In some places we had to squeeze through the small openings and climb on the rocks to move forward. Moses spring flowed through the caves and the sound of the spring kept roaring in the darkness. This cave is home to bats and a closed entrance prohibits visitors to get to the bats area. We climbed few hundred stairs and followed the trail to reach Bear Gulch Reservoir. It was a serene landscape and we sat there for quite sometime soaking in nature to fullest extent.