Parking
Park at the West Visitor Contact Station on the west side of the park, reached via CA-146/Chaparral Road. The trail starts from the station parking area; the park entrance fee applies. Water and restrooms are at the station.
Overview
About Prewett Point Trail
Why go
- Wide, easy route to High Peaks and Balconies views.
- The National Park Service lists it as accessible for wheelchairs and mobility devices.
Heads up
- Little shade; late-morning and afternoon sun can be intense.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Pinnacles map
Full mapElevation1,953–2,022 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Pinnacles alerts
- CautionVery high fire danger restrictionsVery high fire danger is active; follow Pinnacles’ fire restrictions. - Because fire danger is VERY HIGH, wood-burning fires and charcoal grills are prohibited.Official details
- CautionHot conditions and heat alertHot conditions and a heat alert are active; limit strenuous hiking to early morning and late evening and prepare for temperatures above the forecast.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Pinnacles Tour Guide
Your drive to Prewett Point Trail, narrated.
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 trailhead
Prewett Point from the Contact Station0:00 / 0:25
“You're approaching the West Visitor Contact Station, where the walk to Prewett Point begins. This is my pick for a broad look at the High Peaks and Balconies Cliffs without a strenuous climb.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Pinnacles Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Woodpeckers’ Acorn Pantry
- Chaparral and Balconies Cave
- Bear Gulch Cave and Reservoir
- Bear Gulch to High Peaks
- 12 audio storiesacross Pinnacles’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor California Condor, Mule Deer, Chipmunk, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 25 trails, 23 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Prewett Point Trail
An easy walk for the big viewPrewett Point Trail is an easy, roughly one-mile round-trip lollipop loop from the West Visitor…
Prewett Point Trail is an easy, roughly one-mile round-trip lollipop loop from the West Visitor Contact Station to a broad view across the High Peaks, Balconies Cliffs, and Hain Wilderness. Allow 30 to 45 minutes if you stop at the pullouts. Most of the route climbs gently on compacted dirt; it’s a good low-effort way to see the west side’s rock formations. The National Park Service lists the trail as accessible for wheelchairs and mobility devices.
Take the wider loopFrom the station, follow the path beside the open field.
From the station, follow the path beside the open field. Near the quarter-mile split, take the wider branch to the right, stay on Prewett Point past the Jawbone Trail junction, and continue around the hillside until you rejoin that split. Walk back along the same short access path to finish the round trip. Jawbone heads toward Chaparral and adds a separate, longer hike.
A homestead sign, then the open viewAbout a tenth of a mile in, a sign marks the Lyons family homestead.
About a tenth of a mile in, a sign marks the Lyons family homestead. The High Peaks start coming into view soon after; the later pullouts open toward Balconies Cliffs and Hain Wilderness, with benches at some of them. At an overlook, leave some of the open hillside in the foreground of a photo so the rock skyline reads against the wider landscape. California condors and turkey vultures can pass over the ridges, and deer or wild turkeys may be in the field early or late, but sightings aren’t guaranteed.
Sun and trailhead servicesThe path is a 3-to-5-foot-wide dirt track with little shade, and the sun can be intense in late…
The path is a 3-to-5-foot-wide dirt track with little shade, and the sun can be intense in late morning and afternoon. There’s no water along the trail; fill up at the station, where restrooms are available. Pets aren’t allowed on park trails; service animals are permitted.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Pinnacles
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.
