James T.

Palo Alto, CA

Joined September 2018

160 acres on a peak in the Gabilan Mountains

The campground is small but there are 22 individual sites and a group site that can hold up to 50 campers. Good water is available with pit toilet facilities. The peak is where the first American flag was raised in the state of California. There are few trails that take you through mixed madrone/ pine chapparal but the real attraction here is the view. The views driving to the campground are spectacular and a relatively easy scramble to the peak itself provides a 360 degree Vista. On a very clear day you can actually see the Sierra's to the East.

Well equipped and laid out camping for both tent camping and RVs

The Pinnacles can be hot so the riparian sites in the trees are my preference. Lots of bathrooms nicely spaced, each site has a metal food box, mostly to discourage the raccoons.

They have 9 first-come, first served sites if you can get there by 9:00 AM when the office opens. I was able to get one at 9:00 AM on Labor Day weekend. They even have a pool, which is really nice after a hot, dusty hike. It is not heated and is quite bracing on a 90 degree day. The office also has minimal groceries available, as well as some equipment and kitchen stuff.

Only draw back to the park is there is no backcountry camping allowed. There are plenty of trails and large parts of the park are lightly traveled but it makes for long hikes to return to the only place you can camp, in the East side campground. One really cool thing; there are tarantulas in the park and they mate in the fall so they get active in the evening. Amazing to see them in numbers.