Most of the Parks we go to are fairly well-known. I mean, there are only 63 of them, so most are familiar to the masses, but Pinnacles is fairly new so isn’t wildly popular yet. We love to return to Glacier and Olympic and such because we’re so familiar and there is so much to do and see. Hiking Pinnacles National Park exceeded our expectations, so we’re sharing everything you need to know to plan a visit and see what we mean!
If you haven’t heard of Pinnacles, it’s because it’s one of the newest additions to the National Parks. Formerly a National Monument and jointly managed by the NPS and Forest Service, the area was converted to a Park in 2013 giving it more, different funding and programs, and also bringing it to the forefront of many hikers’ and travelers’ minds. Huzzah for the upgrade!
Hiking Pinnacles National Park – Where Is It?
Pinnacles is located between San Francisco and Los Angeles off Highway 101. It’s not exactly sitting on the side of the road so you do need to actually plan for some time in the Park and make sure that you have ample supplies for your jaunt (see below). You can easily add it to a California Coast road trip or make it the start or end of a Central Coast road trip.
Located in the mountains between Soledad and San Benito, California, it borders farm country and the high desert. While it may look out of the way on a map, it’s is only about 1.5 hours from San Jose, or 2 hours from San Francisco.