Last week was National Parks week, meaning free admission at all parks. Taking advantage of the event, I went with a group of friends to Pinnacles National Park for a day hike. We decided to start out at Old Pinnacles trailhead, which was just as well because the Bear Gulch trailhead had just run out of parking by the time we got to the park (note for the future - 10am is not early enough to get a parking spot at the Bear Gulch day use area).
View of Balconies Cliffs from the trail
Rockier terrain closer to the cave
We followed the Old Pinnacles Trail for a couple miles through relatively flat terrain. Several creek crossings later, we finally reached the entrance to Balconies Cave.
Last bit of light before entering the dark cave
Flashlights were very much needed in the pitch black first section of the cave. We scrambled over and under fallen rocks and squeezed through tight crevices and eventually got to the other side of the cave.
Fallen rocks in the caves to crawl under
On the way back we took the Balconies Cliff Trail to see some different scenery.
View of the high peaks over the ridge
We got a great view of Machete Ridge on the right, and watched a couple hardcore rock climbers scaling Balconies Cliffs to our left. After a little less than a mile, the Cliff Trail merged back with the Old Pinnacles Trail which we followed back to the trailhead.
I think this is Machete Ridge
This was my first time going to Pinnacles, and was a great introduction to the park I had heard so many good things about. I look forward to coming back sometime to explore the whole south side of the park and high peaks!
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