Pinnacles National Park Foundation

09/01/2026

We're in need of Visitor Services Volunteers to help folks have great experiences at Pinnacles National Park! Click for details:

Help visitors make the most of their time at Pinnacles National Park!With limited Park staffing, volunteers play an important role in helping visitors get oriented and enjoy their visit. The

08/11/2026

Lower Bear Gulch cave has reopened! Bring a headlamp and enjoy. You can always find the status of the caves on the NPS site here:

Check here for information about the status of the Bear Gulch and Balconies Caves.

07/23/2026

There's no running water at the moment at Bear Gulch. 🚱 Maintenance is on it, but plan to bring plenty of your own water if hiking up the toasty High Peaks over the next few days!

07/02/2026

Bear Gulch Cave is still closed, just for a little while longer, to protect the Townsend's big-eared bat pups. (But Balconies Cave is open, close to the West side entrance.) Are their ears really big, you ask? Yes indeed!

Since Pinnacles National Monument provides important and unique habitat for bats, baseline information on populations is critical to management needs.

06/10/2026

Peel your eyes off the scenery occasionally to read the instruction manuals 🤓

06/04/2026

Bear Gulch Cave remains closed. Get your cave fix at Balconies Cave instead—and bring a headlamp!

Secure .gov websites use HTTPSA lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

05/28/2026

Thursday it'll rain. Saturday it'll be crowded. Could this Friday be the perfect day for a visit to Pinnacles National Park? 😮

05/22/2026

As we're sure everyone is aware, this coming weekend is the Memorial Day holiday weekend. As has happened in the past, this weekend typically is very busy. It is not uncommon for long waits just to enter the park. These waits affect both the east and west entrances. Once the park's nine parking areas fill, the rangers will close the entry roads and limit access until parking spaces become available. There is no set time when this occurs but likely by mid-morning.

Additionally, the park is operating one shuttle bus on the east side and only on Saturdays. The is no shuttle bus on the west side. And, Monday is an entrance free day which usually has less visitors than Saturday and Sunday.

There is no time that you need to leave the park once you arrive, the gates always stay open for exiting on the east side. And on the west side, the entrance gate closes at 8:00 PM but the automatic gate will allow you to leave anytime you like.

All this being said, if you plan to visit the park this weekend and would like to assure parking without a long wait, we recommend arriving early, like by 9:00 AM or later in the afternoon around 3:00 PM or later. Or, even plan for attending on Monday or other days of the week.

Please enjoy the park this weekend by taking your favorite hike!

And, Go Hike!

05/18/2026

As of May 15, 2026, the lower section of the Bear Gulch has been closed in an effort to protect the maternal colony of bats inside the cave. With the upper section of the cave being already closed, this is now a complete closure of the Bear Gulch cave system. This is a seasonal closure, and the lower section of the cave is expected to reopen in the middle of July.

For hiking to the Bear Gulch Reservoir from the Bear Gulch Trailhead, the cave can be bypassed by taking the Moses Spring Trail that passes over the top of the cave.

Go Hike.

05/16/2026

Calling all area cyclists: join us for this amazing event!

The inaugural Condor Gravel Challenge, hosted by Visit San Benito, celebrates gravel riding, expansive landscapes, and the natural beauty of San Benito County.

Inspired by the legendary Condor Classic, which drew more than 1,000 riders nationwide, the event returns with the same spirit of adventure. San Benito County—home to Pinnacles National Park—remains one of California’s hidden gems along the Central Coast.

The goal is simple: welcome riders from near and far to experience this unique destination while supporting tourism in San Benito County.

Learn more by visiting: CondorGravelChallenge.com