Entrance station · Pinnacles National Park
Get oriented before the east-side road continues to Pinnacles Campground.
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 area
Condor or Turkey Vulture?“California condors usually soar with their wings held flat. Turkey vultures tend to hold theirs in a shallow V and rock from side to side.”
Plays on the road 0.4 mi from Pinnacles East Entrance Station 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
Pinnacles East Entrance Station is the east-side fee and information booth, reached from CA 25 on East Entrance Road. It’s the way in for Pinnacles Campground and makes sense if you’re exploring the east side; the east and west entrances don’t connect by road through the park. The entrance road is open 24 hours, but the booth can be unattended, so don’t count on a staffed welcome.
Visitors can pick up a park brochure and map and ask for information when staff are present. A park entrance pass is required year-round. If the booth is unattended, you can handle the pass digitally or pay on your way out.
The Pinnacles Park Store and campground visitor center are a separate stop about two miles farther down the park road. Continue there if you want the store or visitor-center services; this station is the brief entry point, not the campground complex.
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
EasyBacon-Butterfield Ranch Trail2.8 mi · 1.8 hr · 1.4 mi awayAn easy valley walk through two old homesteads.
ModerateCampground to Balconies Cave9.4 mi · 5 hr · 1.9 mi awayA sunny creek walk to a talus cave and a cliffside return.
ModerateCampground to South Wilderness Trail5.8 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.9 mi awayA mellow oak-valley walk on a faint, unmaintained creekside trail.
ModerateCampground to Bear Gulch Day Use Area2.3 mi · 1.5 hr · 1.9 mi awayA moderate one-way walk follows two creeks to Bear Gulch.
ChallengingHigh Peaks Trail to Old Pinnacles Trail to Condor Gulch Trail Loop12.6 mi · 7.5 hr · 2.3 mi awayA full-day circuit through caves, High Peaks spires, and wild ridges.
ChallengingHigh Peaks to Balconies Cave Loop8.9 mi · 5 hr · 2.3 mi awayA steep loop through Pinnacles' spires and a dark talus cave.
ModerateOld Pinnacles Trail to Balconies Cave5.4 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.3 mi awayA cave passage and cliffside loop beneath Machete Ridge.
ModerateBlue Oak Trail5.3 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.3 mi awayOak and tall grass give way to the High Peaks.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayBacon RanchHomestead buildings with the story of early park hospitality.
Picnic area · 1.4 mi awayPinnacles Campground Day Use AreaAn oak-shaded picnic stop behind the east-side campground pool.
Store · 1.4 mi awayEast Pinnacles Park StoreAn east-side stop for park books, gifts and a passport stamp.
Store · 1.4 mi awayPinnacles Campground StoreA quick campground resupply stop for basics and firewood.
Sight · 1.6 mi awayPinnacles AmphitheaterA seasonal ranger talk is an easy evening extra.
Campground · 1.7 mi awayPinnacles CampgroundA practical basecamp with the Bench Trail at your doorstep.
Sight · 2.5 mi awayPeaks View Parking AreaPicnic tables and trail access beside a low-key peaks view
Visitor center · 3.2 mi awayBear Gulch Nature CenterA compact ranger stop before Bear Gulch trailsParkwolf’s Pinnacles ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
