Hi, I'm planning to visit pinnacles tmrw, but won't get there until noon to 1. Do you think I will be able to find parking in the west parking lot? I also heard there was an extended parking lot a bit further away, how long of a hike would it be to the chaparral trailhead? Thanks!

Why is the parking situation so bad at Pinnacles NP ? Parking lots gets filled up at 8:30 AM on most long weekends and people are sent back. Why can't the NP services create temp overflow parking , as such they have a lot of open space.

Anyone been on the North Wilderness trail recently? Planning to tackle it for the first time time tomorrow and curious if there is anything to know or look out for.

Long shot maybe, but a friend and I were booked on an REI trip to Pinnacles this April that just got canceled as REI exited their experiences business.

Are there any reputable local guides or outfits that would run a supported hiking and/or camping trip? Just curious before we start trying to make a travel insurance claim for our travel arrangements. Thanks!

Hi! My parents and I plan on staying two nights at Pinnacles next week. We want a place to stay (not a tent cabin) that's not very far away and not very expensive. Any recommendations? Thanks! 🙏💗

Hey all, heading to Pinnacles in late November. Want to do a cave hike but one of the members of our group is on the bigger side. Does anybody know if any of the caves would be impassable for a bigger person? Tough to tell from the pics. Want to avoid an embarrassing situation for my crew. Thanks!

We live in the bay area and takes 2 hours to Pinnacles. We have toddlers with us so no plan to hike at all. We are curious which entrance do you recommend based on this? I did some search and realized there is no drive through from East to West so have to pick of them.

Are there in caves near parking or can stop the car next to either East or West? Lastly, what is the best time in the day? Early morning? Noon? Afternoon?

Unless you recommend East entrance, we might just go with the West entrance because it's closer to Monterey which we might explore too!

Headed there this weekend for a day and heard some places are better than others depending on the season. High peaks seems to be a consistent recommendation, Is there anything else you'd recommend in October? Comfortable hiking up to 15 miles

Thanks!

Does anyone have extra spots on their campsite reservations in Pinnacles NP for Oct 25/26?

I thought I'd leave this here for people planning a night hike here but worried about the parking, as there was no clear definition of what no overnight parking was on the website.

Hi! I'm looking to go to the Pinnacles Campground and tent camp this weekend (Labor Day Weekend) just for 1 night (Sunday-Monday). The campsite is (1) fully booked and (2) requires a 3-night stay for holidays. I'm wondering... is it a terrible idea to show up on Sunday and see if there are any no-shows / open sites from people who booked the required 3-night stay but checked out early? Would love some advice on how feasible a walk-in stay might be! I keep hearing that there are tons of no shows at NP Campgrounds but wondered if anyone has had luck walking into a campground that usually requires reservations.

I’m planning to visit pinnacles national park for the Perseids meteor shower. We plan to arrive late, watch the meteor shower and drive back to the city. We have a campground reservation too. What places should we target for dark skies from where we could watch the meteor shower?

Hey hey I’m planning on staying at Pinnacles Campground for a weekend. Does anyone know if the sites have bear lockers? I was told all Cali NPs require bear vaults or food in bear lockers when not being consumed. I’m having trouble getting a straight answer for what I should do with my food while I’m on trail.

Hi All, my partner and I love Pinnacles National Park (we’re local to the area) and are considering a micro wedding or elopement there. Has anyone gotten married or attended a wedding there? I can’t seem to find much information online about specific locations inside the park to get married. Any thoughts or advice?

I’ll be Coming from Santa Barbara and probably would not arrive until 11-12 pm Was wondering If parking will be a problem at that time and also which side of the park given the conditions of arrival would be best and perhaps which hikes would be best - we are moderate to decent hikers thanks in advance for any replies

Hello, first time visitor here. I was wondering if you could buy a pass in person? Or do you have to do it online?

Hi, I booked a cabin tent site and was wondering if I am allowed to pitch a tent there?

Planning on stopping by the visitor center and then doing the Bear Gulch hike. Where can i grab a quick lunch to eat at the reservoir?

coming from the east side, likely down 25 from SF.

Just went camping for 2 nights in early June! Watch my vlog and let me know if you have any questions!

https://youtu.be/fGuemczNZtE?si=Giv6XAo8eMz-1EBk

So I’ve been reading from several sites that the campground only has porta potties. For anyone that has been there recently, is this true??

We're planning to stop at Pinnacles to do the Balconies Cave loop in a couple weeks...but I keep reading conflicting things about how easy/hard it is?

We have a 7 year old and a 9 year old that are not especially experienced with real hiking/scrambling on rocks (city kids!) but are really enthusiastic about this particular hike. I'm also a little worried about any especially tight squeezes that might be....tight for me.

With 1 still closed, we'll be driving almost right past and it looks so, so cool...but also don't want to get us into a situation we can't reasonably manage. Any insight?

Hi! First time visitor in June this year. I’m doing some prep research ahead of time and reading up on what to expect and avoid - how big of an issue is the poison oak and stinging nettle on the trails? I’m just trying to plan accordingly :)