#7 of 14 sights in Pinnacles
Sight · Pinnacles National Park
Picnic tables and trail access beside a low-key peaks view
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Pinnacles Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Pinnacles National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Peaks View Picnic Stop“Peaks View Parking Area is coming up, a handy picnic stop with a modest view of the formations. The spotting scopes beside the bench give you a closer look.”
Plays as you drive up to Peaks View Parking Area in the Parkwolf Pinnacles Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Peaks View Parking Area is a paved day-use lot on Pinnacles’ east side, beside a seasonal stream and rolling chaparral hills. It works well for a picnic, a restroom break, or a Bench Trail connection; the view toward the formations is modest, so keep driving if a dramatic overlook is your main goal.
You can join Bench Trail from the lot. It connects with South Wilderness, Sycamore, Blue Oak, and Old Pinnacles trails. Only part of Bench Trail is wheelchair accessible; don’t assume the onward connections are accessible too.
There are 43 paved spaces, including two van-accessible ADA spaces, plus an accessible vault restroom, potable water and a bottle-filling station, picnic tables, and spotting scopes beside a bench. The tables make this a practical place to eat a picnic. For a phone photo, keep some of the oak and grey-pine trees with the chaparral hillside in frame; use the scopes for a closer look at the formations.
Wildlife
47 sightingsCalifornia CondorMost seen around 1 PMSighting map
26 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
19 sightingsChipmunkMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
33 sightingsTurkey VultureMost seen around noonSighting map
26 sightingsAcorn WoodpeckerMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
16 sightingsSteller's JayMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Pinnacles. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyBench Trail Accessible Section0.8 mi · 30 min · At the trailheadOak shade and High Peaks views on a gentle accessible walk.
ModerateSycamore Trail1 mi · 45 min · 0.3 mi awayA gentle creekside mile between Peaks View and Bear Gulch.
ModerateCampground to Balconies Cave9.4 mi · 5 hr · 0.7 mi awayA sunny creek walk to a talus cave and a cliffside return.
ModerateCampground to South Wilderness Trail5.8 mi · 3.5 hr · 0.7 mi awayA mellow oak-valley walk on a faint, unmaintained creekside trail.
ModerateCampground to Bear Gulch Day Use Area2.3 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.7 mi awayA moderate one-way walk follows two creeks to Bear Gulch.
ChallengingChalone Peak Trail9 mi · 5 hr · 1 mi awayAn exposed climb to the park’s high point and a closed lookout.
ChallengingHigh Peaks Trail to Old Pinnacles Trail to Condor Gulch Trail Loop12.6 mi · 7.5 hr · 1.1 mi awayA full-day circuit through caves, High Peaks spires, and wild ridges.
ModerateBlue Oak Trail5.3 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.1 mi awayOak and tall grass give way to the High Peaks.
Campground · 0.9 mi awayPinnacles CampgroundA practical basecamp with the Bench Trail at your doorstep.
Sight · 1 mi awayPinnacles AmphitheaterA seasonal ranger talk is an easy evening extra.
Visitor center · 1.1 mi awayBear Gulch Nature CenterA compact ranger stop before Bear Gulch trails
Sight · 1.1 mi awayBear Gulch Day Use AreaPark once for east-side trails and a rocky-hills view.
Store · 1.2 mi awayPinnacles Campground StoreA quick campground resupply stop for basics and firewood.
Store · 1.2 mi awayEast Pinnacles Park StoreAn east-side stop for park books, gifts and a passport stamp.
Picnic area · 1.2 mi awayPinnacles Campground Day Use AreaAn oak-shaded picnic stop behind the east-side campground pool.
Picnic area · 1.2 mi awayBear Gulch Picnic AreaA small picnic grove between Moses Spring and Bear Gulch Day Use.Parkwolf’s Pinnacles ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
