Description
Find wild turkeys, rabbits, condors, and the sun shining on your (hopefully) sunscreened face. Pinnacles is a great campground that even has a general store and a swimming pool.
It's a great base to explore the nearby balconies cave. There is also a ton of rock climbing in the park.
Be wary that it might get crowded and super hot during the warm season. Do your research to find the best campsites!
Activities
Offered near the campground.
Hiking
See those magnificent rock spires protruding out of the earth? Yeah well you can hike all around those things! Pinnacles Nation...Read more
Climbing
There are hundreds of routes on both sides of the park. If you've never climbed at Pinnacles, be sure to go to the visitor cent...Read more
Swimming
Pinnacles has a swimming pool available for recreational use (typically from April to September).
Wildlife watching
Pinnacles is a great place to look to the skies and bird watch. Over 181 species have been recorded in this park, but most peop...Read more
Terrain
Natural features you'll find at Pinnacles Campground.
The vibe at Pinnacles Campground
35 Reviews
Site 18 is secluded. Located at the end of the road, right by a closed gate. Few hundred feet beyond the gate stands a huge tree where we discovered California Condors chill in the morning.. lots of them!
They have a section of sites specifically for walk-ins, so don't be discouraged if all the online sites are booked. Come early and try to get a site.



Very family oriented and some sites are in very close proximity to each other! We got shhed a lot even though we weren't loud and it was barely 8:30 pm. The guy next door placed his tent right next to our fire pit and told us his son needed to sleep.
No cell reception starting 20 miles away from the park. You can get reception at the top of the Peak, though most people forego that trail to go to Balconies instead because the caves are epic.




We had a great stay here. Unfortunately we went in August when it was crazy hot. The sites we reserved were directly in the sun with zero shade (sites 16 & 17). They were good to us and let us move to a group site in the shade. We will be back...in the spring.


Campsites can be mildly crowded, but it's totally worth it for Bear Gulch Caves and the view from the peak!
We stayed in August and there was only a handful of people in the whole campground for a good reason, it was hot as hell! To avoid the mid day heat hike in the early morning or evening or go to the caves it was way cooler in there. So much wildlife to see.




Went in mid-December, and temperatures at night dropped to the low 20's. As long as you're prepared, it's a great place for a winter getaway from the Bay Area! However- this place has some seriously ballsy raccoons. They will hop on the picnic tables (right next to you!) and try to snag food if you turn around for even one second. Be prepared to chase them away the entire time you're trying to enjoy dinner.


The camp itself is quite comfortable and civilized. It has showers, several bathrooms, a small swimming pool and a convenient store in case you forget something, including ice, some food, beer, ice cream, wood, gas bottles, etc...
The tent spots are mostly back to back so you are likely to have a neighbor, but they all have their own table and a grill which is nice.
The camp has 134 spots total including Tent and RVs which are separate from each other.
If you are looking to do car camping (or glamping) this is a great place for that, it has everything you need, it's family friendly, RV friendly, etc... If you want a hidden remote small camping spot this wouldn't be my first choice.




- Park
- Pinnacles National Park
- State
- California
- Country
- United States
- Phone Number
- (831) 389-4485
- Directions
- View on Google Maps
- Official Website
- View Website
- Coordinates
- 36.493° N, 121.183° W
- Unknown price
- Tent Only: 1 Site (Up to 6 people per site)
- Unknown price
- RV / Trailer: 37 Sites (Up to 6 people per site)
- Unknown price
- Tent / RV / Trailer - Group: 14 Sites (Up to 20 people per site)
- Unknown price
- Tent / RV / Trailer: 82 Sites (Up to 6 people per site)