Pinnacles National Park recently transitioned to National Park status a couple years ago, and the park is so close to home for me! It’s a great day trip from the Bay Area in the North, San Luis Obispo in the South, or Fresno in the east. Interestingly, Pinnacles used to be part of a volcano down near Los Angeles. After many millions of years of plate tectonics and erosions, the western part is now in its present location. Now, the park is home to the endangered condor and bats. The condor is the largest bird in North America, and thanks to conservation efforts, its population is slowly growing from its near extinct phase in the late 20th century!
Along the hike, I was surprised to see rock climbers so close to the trail. There are actually numerous places to start; the signs on the trail make it obvious. Spot the climbers in the photo below!
When we visited the Bear Gulch Cave, it was closed to hikers due to bats roosting and raising their young. Check the status of the caves in advance if you would like to visit the cave. Though we did get a glimpse of the massive rocks and boulders that the bats chose as their home, we weren’t able to see much and continued along to the reservoir.
After climbing the stairs, we came to the Bear Gulch Reservoir, a man-made place that is a nice place to take a break and eat lunch!
After taking an extended break, we headed south a bit towards Chalone Peak, but then turned around, deciding to take the Rim Trail back to the car.
My friend and I were a bit disappointed that we didn’t see the condors and the bats. A ranger informed us that the condors generally hang around the High Peaks area. If they’re not there, they’re flying around at their second home in Big Sur or somewhere else. And well, bats are hard to see in general and don’t come out unless it’s dusk anyways.
That only means that we have to come back for a second time!
Length: 2.4 miles RT
Danger: rare chance of rock falls
(hike completed in May 2016)
