Juniper Canyon Loop and a sunset, Pinnacles National Park

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
4/9/2026	4.2 miles	4 hours 35 minutes	1,195'	1.4 mph	74.5

Parking: 

• Chapparal Parking Area

Map:

• Gaia GPS app
• National Park map, available at the nature center.

Directions:

• Take the Juniper Canyon Trail. At the intersection, keep right on the Juniper Canyon Trail. Turn left onto the High Peaks Trail. Turn left onto the Tunnel Trail. Turn right onto the Juniper Canyon Trail.

We woke up early to hike the Juniper Loop trail. It was nice to get to the parking lot early, as there was plenty of parking. This trail is a lollypop. It involved lots of climbing. At the loop, we went right to take the loop counterclockwise. That meant ascending the steeper more difficult way (much better than descending that way). The sign calls the steep section "Steep and Narrow." That it is. The hike description says the maximum grade is 88%!!!! The trail becomes narrow along a cliff but has handrails. Then there were steep spots with footholds cut into the rock. I put my hiking poles away. 

We saw condors - both in trees & flying above. They have large visible tags on them. They also have white on the bottoms of their wings, which distinguishes them from turkey vultures. 

The trail was bursting with wildflowers! Flowers are everywhere. This was perfect timing for being here. Mornings were cool, afternoons were hotter with sun exposure. We took a few breaks to enjoy the views. 

In the afternoon, we hung out in town. We stopped at a grocery store - it was interesting to see that all of the signs were in Spanish first, with English in smaller letters underneath. Soledad is mostly a Hispanic town. We saw lots of grapes being grown between Soledad and the park - I'm sure there are some wineries to visit. We drove back to the west side of the park in the evening to watch a sunset. We drove around quite a bit & finally decided on a pullout - a sign said no camping or overnight parking, but we guessed it was okay to park there temporarily to watch the sunset. We climbed through a gate and walked into a meadow to watch the sunset. Beautiful! The park entrance on the west side closes at 8pm, so we had to leave shortly before then (the east entrance is open 24-hours, but again, you can't drive to the east section within the park). The west side of the park is about a 22-minute drive from Soledad.

Golden Yarrow

Douglas' Spineflower

California Buckwheat

San Bernardino Larkspur

California Dodder

Paintbrush

California Primrose

Butterfly Mariposa Lily

Condor with tag #24

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Tufted Poppy

Purple Chinese Houses

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Bear Gulch Loop, Pinnacles National Park, California

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
4/8/2026	2.2 miles	1 hour 58 minutes	366'	1.6 mph	70.3

Parking: 

• Bear Gulch Nature Center

Map:

• Gaia GPS app
• National park map, available at the nature center.

Directions:

• Take the High Peaks Trail from the trailhead. Where the trail splits, keep left onto the Moses Spring Trail. Where the trail splits, take the Bear Gulch Cave Trail. Go through the cave and then continue on the Moses Spring Trail. Take it to the Bear Gulch Reservoir. Turn back and return to the Moses Spring Trail. At the cave entrance, stay left on the Moses Spring Trail. Continue on the High Peaks Trail back to the trailhead.

Phyllis and I met up with Dian in Sacramento and drove to Pinnacles National Park. On the way there, we saw a sign on the highway for 20 avocados for $1. We were intrigued and had to stop in. They were very mini avocados, but we did indeed buy 20, which we used to make 2 large batches of guacamole during our stay.

We parked at the Bear Gulch Nature Center, which is small and not open every day. From there we did the Bear Gulch Loop. We went through a cave - which was rocky and we did need headlamps. This hike is on the east side of the park. No roads connect the east side and the west side of the park, so there is a long drive around the park to get between the entrances. We stayed in Soledad, on the west side of the park, so we had over an hour drive to get to our hotel after hiking. So far, I really like Pinnacles National Park! This is my 26th national park.

Orange Bush Monkeyflower, frequently seen on this hike