Balconies Cave and High Peaks Loop

Pinnacles National Park, CA Big Sur + Central California Coast

Trip stats

Distance
7.6 mi
Net Gain
1,800 ft
Time
3-5 hrs
YDS Rating
Class 2
Route
Loop

Ratings out of 10

Effort
2.9/10
Personality
6/10
Beauty
8/10
Solitude
1.9/10
What do these mean? →

Route map + Trailhead

Trailhead Coordinates

36.494596, -121.173052

The directions link below drops a pin on the trailhead coordinates and lets Google Maps pick the route. If the drive has rough roads or access issues that GPS nav might get wrong, I cover that in my trip report.

Trip report

Outdated information

This report is from before I put more time into writing and taking route photos, so it may not be very helpful. I'm keeping it up for the memories, and will one day hopefully return to better document. Find other reports in this region.

Jun 1, 2014 — Pinnacles National Park has some really stunning rock pinnacles that reach well above the surrounding hilly landscape. This loop I decided to do hits a bunch of the highlights of the park. Starting at the Old Pinnacles Trailhead, I followed the Balconies Cave Trail through the interesting caves and over to the Chapparal Trailhead, where I picked up the Juniper Canyon Trail. This led east into the High Peaks, where I followed the High Peaks Trail as it weaved around the pinnacles using carved stairs and some fun trail construction. The trail descended on the east side through meadows, with panoramic view of the rolling California countryside.

Hire me or show some love!

Hire or refer me as a web developer, or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so it's funded by yours truly. It also takes a ton of work to edit photos and write these reports. I really appreciate it!

Photos

28 photos

  1. Looking through rocks to the formations far below. Just a fun perspective.
  2. High peaks.
  3. Gorgeous mountainside meadows at sunset on the High Peaks Trail

Photo 1 of 1

Hire me or show some love!

Hire or refer me as a web developer, or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so it's funded by yours truly. It also takes a ton of work to edit photos and write these reports. I really appreciate it!