I checked out the four parking areas with viewpoints at Pinnacles National Park east and Bear Gulch Day Use Area was definitely the best IMHO. Lots of action going on: park shuttle bringing in visitors who parked near the visitor center, a sweet park volunteer lady setting up a little information booth about California Condors, and the Bear Gulch Nature Center bustling with tourists. Fun stuff!

I decided to visit the park on a whim, so hadn’t read much about it beforehand and didn’t know that they highy recommend hikers bring a flashlight or headlamp when walking through the Bear Gulch Caves to the Bear Gulch Reservoir.

Now I know and so do you! It’s really important—parts of the trail are slippery and it was pitch black at my feet in some areas. Note: I only went part way, I’d walked a bunch earlier and was a bit wiped out but you can see the inside of the caves and what the hike is like.