Pinnacles Campground, Pinnacles National Park, Paicines, California

Pinnacles Campground is the only campground you will find in Pinnacles National Park. The park has two main access roads, one from the east, and one from the west. Neither road passes through the entire park, and instead dead end in the center of the park, so plan accordingly. Pinnacles Campground is only accessed by the eastern park entrance, about half way between King City and Hollister. The caves, pinnacles and condors can all be viewed from the east side of the park.
The campground sits just inside the park boundary. The campground offers a small convenience market, a pool (late spring/summer/early fall only), picnic areas, NP bookstore, free
shuttle services during peak season and ranger programs. Sites in the campground are broken into two groups, those in the RV loop which offer electrical hookups and those in the loop that do not offer hookups. Since Pinnacles is known for extreme temperatures during summer months, we decided to visit at the start of its peak season, mid-February. Temperatures this time of year can be lovely, with daytime temperatures in the mid 70's and nighttime temperatures dropping into the 40's. We chose to stay in a site in the RV loop so that we would stay comfortable during the cooler evenings. Sites in this loop are less private, closer together at times, and are set along the main entrance road, yet offer beautiful views of the surrounding mountains, which were green and lush after some winter rains. The non-hookup loop offers even more private sites, some set along the creek, and many of which were shaded beneath massive coast live oak trees. I found these sites to be more desirable, but we did have concerns about maneuverability as bigger rigs approached sites furthest from the main road. Interior roads are a mix of asphalt, gravel and dirt. Site pads were all dirt/gravel mix and most were level. We found the views from camp and our stay here to be enjoyable, however slightly disappointing in that we did not have any views of the Pinnacles. 
About a two mile, easy hike leads you further into the park to the Bear Gulch area where you can access other trailheads and see the Pinnacles, condors, and Bear Gulch Caves. The Balconies Cave is also accessible from this side of the park via a moderate hike. If hiking into the park to see its features is too daunting for you, the campground offers a free shuttle that runs every twenty minutes during peak season.

Location
Best Sites: 32, 49-83, 95, 97, 99, 100, 102, 103, 105, 114-120,
Poor Sites: 1, 101
Hookups: Electrical at sites 1-4, 84-120
Potable Water: Yes
Dump within Facility: Yes

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