Hi, I'm Eric.

I’m an avid world traveler, photographer, software developer, and digital storyteller.

I help implement the Content Authenticity Initiative at Adobe.

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California Day 3: Pinnacles National Park, East Side

6 April 2025 • 287 km / 178 mi (map)

California 38

Yesterday, I explored the west side of Pinnacles National Park. Today, I made the longer trek to the east side of the park.

Though only a few miles as the crow (or maybe I should say condor) flies, it’s an entirely different trip for us humans using cars to get to the east and west side of the park.

Despite being in a much more remote part of California, the east side is far more popular. How remote, you might ask? Long before making the final turn into the park, I passed a sign stating, “Next services 75 miles.”

A green stone monument entrance sign reading “Welcome to Pinnacles National Park” in raised white letters, with the brown and green National Park Service arrowhead emblem mounted below it. The sign is backed by dense green trees and shrubs, with gravel and grass at its base.

Pinnacles National Park, south of Pinnacles, California

I did a brief hike on the “Old Pinnacles Trail” and then moved to the main area starting from the Bear Gulch Day Use Area.

A wide chaparral valley along the Old Pinnacles Trail under a vast blue sky with wispy cirrus clouds, with a brush-covered hillside topped by a rugged rock formation on the left and a large tree on the right above a dry, sandy creek bed.

Old Pinnacles Trail, Pinnacles National Park, south of Pinnacles, California

Once on trail from Bear Gulch, I began to see what the fuss was about.

Rugged reddish-orange volcanic rock formations rising against a deep blue sky with wispy clouds, dotted with green shrubs and trees, with a small climber visible high on the rock face. Dense green brush and scattered boulders fill the foreground slope.

High Peaks Trail, Pinnacles National Park, south of Pinnacles, California

A dirt hiking trail winds through a wooded canyon along the High Peaks Trail in Pinnacles National Park, with a large leaning oak tree growing beside boulders on the left and reddish rock formations visible in the distance under a clear blue sky.

High Peaks Trail, Pinnacles National Park, south of Pinnacles, California

A rugged trail winding through massive weathered boulders and rock outcrops along the Moses Spring Trail in Pinnacles National Park, with green oak and chaparral vegetation and forested hills in the distance under a bright blue sky streaked with wispy clouds.

Moses Spring Trail, Pinnacles National Park, south of Pinnacles, California

Rugged reddish-brown rock formations and craggy boulders rise above dense green chaparral and oak trees under a blue sky streaked with thin clouds and a faint airplane contrail.

Moses Spring Trail, Pinnacles National Park, south of Pinnacles, California

The Bear Gulch Cave Tail was a special treat. “Flashlights required,” they said. And they weren’t kidding.

A narrow passage between massive boulders along the Bear Gulch Cave Trail, with moss-covered rock walls flanking a dirt path that leads into a dark, sheltered opening beneath the rocks.

Bear Gulch Cave Trail, Pinnacles National Park, south of Pinnacles, California

The next photo may look brightly lit, but let me assure you it was not. (This is an iPhone photo and I’m very impressed with how it did, given the need to hand-hold for most of a second inside the cave.)

The dark interior of a cave looking toward a bright, angular opening where daylight illuminates the pale, textured rock walls and the rubble-strewn floor of the passage.

Bear Gulch Cave Trail, Pinnacles National Park, south of Pinnacles, California

Someone warned me on the way in that I should remove my hat (baseball cap) before entering the cave part of the trail because I’d likely hit my head on the ceiling. They were right about the part where I would eventually hit my head. But I’m glad I didn’t actually remove my hat. The hat absorbed the impact gracefully; I don’t think my bare skull would have done so well.

A worn concrete staircase climbs upward through a dim rock cave, flanked by a metal pipe handrail on the left and rough stone walls on both sides. The cave’s rocky ceiling and walls show shades of brown, gray, and greenish mineral coloring, with debris scattered on the steps.

Bear Gulch Cave Trail, Pinnacles National Park, south of Pinnacles, California

One last meticulously-built stairway and I was up and out of the caves:

A narrow stone staircase with a metal handrail climbs steeply between towering rock walls along the Bear Gulch Cave Trail, with green vegetation, a rocky streambed, and a stone retaining wall under a blue sky with wispy clouds.

Bear Gulch Cave Trail, Pinnacles National Park, south of Pinnacles, California

The end result of this hike is arriving at the Bear Gulch Reservoir, a popular resting point for many day-hikers.

A still reservoir surrounded by large reddish-tan boulders and rocky outcrops at Bear Gulch Reservoir, with green shrubs and trees clinging to the rocks, reeds growing along the water’s edge, and a sandy shore in the foreground. Jagged rock formations and rolling chaparral hills rise in the distance under a blue sky streaked with thin clouds.

Bear Gulch Reservoir, Pinnacles National Park, south of Pinnacles, California

A small group of hikers gathers on a metal-railed trail at the base of towering reddish rock formations and massive boulders wedged together to form a passage. Beyond the rocks, a sunlit canyon hillside covered in green trees and brush rises under a clear blue sky.

Bear Gulch Reservoir, Pinnacles National Park, south of Pinnacles, California

A still reservoir reflects a rugged hillside of weathered tan and gray rock formations dotted with green shrubs and scattered trees beneath a bright blue sky streaked with wispy clouds. Pale rocky shorelines border the calm, dark water.

Bear Gulch Reservoir, Pinnacles National Park, south of Pinnacles, California

I decided not to back track through the cave on my way back, but rather to use the Rim and High Peaks trails. While “longer” in distance, it was far easier to navigate. And it offered some nice scenery of its own.