Family Fun at Pinnacles National Monumnent

After a brief hiatus (yes, I took a full time job) I’m happy to be blogging again.

We recently took a day trip down to the Pinnacles and I was amazed that this park is so close (about 2 hours from Palo Alto) yet we had never been to it with the kids. You can go to either the East or West Entrance. We went to the West Entrance, mainly due to missing the East Entrance turn (it was early!). Both entrances have ranger stations but the East Entrance is the “main” entrance with a more extensive ranger station.

That said, we loved the West Entrance. It is reportedly quieter, particularly in the morning and offers a great moderate trail for the family as well as some terrific caves. Talus caves can be accessed from the either the East or West Entrance. We went through the Balcony Caves and it was an awesome adventure. The trail is a loop and you should make sure that the caves are at the end of the trail so that the mucky part of the hike is last. The caves were pitch dark, we were knee deep in cold water and the kids absolutely loved it.

Here are a couple tips if you are heading to Pinnacles with the kiddies.

1. Go early, to beat the traffic and the crowds.
2. Pack a lunch. At least where we were, there were no options to purchase food.
3. Check out the Pinnacles website to get the latest on the conditions. Sometimes caves get closed due to water, breeding bats, and etc.
4. If you are planning to hike through the caves that have water, either wear water-proof boots or be prepared to change shoes. Bring a change of clothes as well. We got soaked!
5. Definitely bring flashlights for the caves.
6. Consider bringing binnoculars so you can check out the condors (we saw several).

We also got the junior ranger books at the ranger station. The kids had fun filling them out and loved the badges they get in return for filling out the book.

Remember to visit before it gets too hot! February, March, April and May are prime time.