Pinnacles National Park Hikes: Peaks View

I walked into 2024 with a small hike in Pinnacles National Park in California. I’ve got 3 trails on my Pinnacles wishlist as of now, and looking at them from different perspectives, it only seemed right to start with the Peaks View Trail.

This trail is easy and fairly short but that’s not why I say it seemed to be the one to start with. The ‘Peaks View’ here is a view of the peaks that put the Pinnacles in Pinnacles National Park.

These are not just another set of peaks or even just a random group of pinnacles. These loosely-oblong boulders that make the peak have no relation with the rocks on the eastern part of it. Did you just say ‘so what?’ Now read this: These pinnacles actually traveled here!

They used to be a part of a volcano. Just a part. The other part of it lies 195 miles south of here; near Lancaster, CA.

The part of the volcanic mountain that stands here in Pinnacles National Park was brought here when the Pacific Plate slid up north. This is California, the land of the San Andreas Fault, after all.

A little more interested, now?

Peaks View Trail 

Peaks View Trail is the name I give to it. It’s actually a part of the Bench Trail that takes you from the Visitor Center on the east side of the park to the view of the peaks. And the trail app I use prefers to call this stretch of the trail ‘Visitor Center to Peaks View’ Trail. That’s precisely what it is.

You pass through a paved stretch and then enter into a dirt trail, which weaves through the shrubs and trees of the area. You pass through dark thicket, some bright patches that give you some valley vistas, views of nearby mountains and even a dry riverbed (dry, because the winter showers had not arrived, perhaps).

And then there’s that view you came to see (if you’re here to see this first, that is) — The Peaks View. Or the Pinnacles of Pinnacles National Park.

Things to know before you go

• This national park might seem far-flung but the parking lots do fill up fast and stay filled because most people are here to do a hike or two.
• The part of the Bench Trail — Peaks View Trail / Visitor Center to Peaks View is 3.3 miles in length.
• It is an out-and-back trail
• It is an ‘easy’ hike
• The elevation gain is just around 115 ft.
• There are restrooms on both ends of this stretch of the trail. 
• The foot traffic here is moderate

Ready to visit Pinnacles National Park? Or hike to the Peaks View?

This was an achievement of sorts. I managed to squeeze in a hike on the first day of the year and kickstart my 52 hikes for 2024 and with this, I also put a tick against the last of the list of US National Parks in the great state of California. I’ve only scratched the surface, here. I’ll be back; I have two more must-do hikes to check off here in Pinnacles NP. 

If you’d like to be an active hiker this year, give 52 Hikes a try. Sign up here and join me.:)
Feel free to send me links to your blogposts and social media posts and I’ll be happy to re-share them.
Happy New Year
&
Happy Hiking!

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Hiking Trip Ideas and Trails
from National Parks on TftT

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