Linda Mullally - Best Easy Day Hikes Pinnacles National Park

Linda B. Mullally and David S. Mullally are a husband- and-wife team who share their passion for travel and the outdoors through her writing and his photography. He is an attorney/photographer and she is a travel columnist/author. They have been inspiring readers to experience the worlds natural and cultural treasures on bike and on foot for over thirty years, with and without dogs. They share their adventures in her Monterey Herald travel column Away We Go. Best Easy Day Hikes Pinnacles National Park is their seventh book, with more titles in progress. Visit the authors at LindaBMullally.com, Falcon.com, and Amazon.com.

It was a privilege to be asked to write the first comprehensive guide to Pinnacles National Park with Hiking Pinnacles National Park and be trusted to do justice to Pinnacles in its debut as a national park. Most recently, putting together the best easy day hikes in a companion guide has been a cherished opportunity to reconnect with this amazing landscape. This companion guide would not have been possible without the resources garnered over the several months spent hiking Pinnacles National Park for the original more comprehensive guide. The parks staff, interns, and volunteers were enthusiastic about their role in polishing this new gem in the crown of national parks and eager to share their expertise and knowledge. We are grateful for their support on our mission to frame the parks beautiful ecological story and fascinating geological journey while doing justice to the cultural history.

The hiking was the easy part compared to the challenges of getting to the finish line with the first edition of Hiking Pinnacles National Park. We thank the team at Falcon for shepherding the editing process that has helped create two products designed to enhance visitors experiences, whether they have an hour or a week to savor Pinnacles National Park. Best Easy Day Hikes Pinnacles National Park, a companion guide to Hiking Pinnacles National Park, arrives just in time to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the National Park System. To echo the sentiment expressed in Ken Burnss 2009 PBS series, Pinnacles is one more affirmation that national parks are still Americas Best Idea.

This historic property is part of Pinnacles National Parks newest land acquisitions and is part of the parks future interpretive program. This is a convenient, flat, skip-and-a-hop type of hike from the visitor center or campground. It is ideal for a leg stretch or end-of-day stroll with young children or folks with limited stamina, or for visitors who like to round off the parks geologic wonders with a dose of nostalgia for early California ranching life.

Start: Picnic area parking lot behind Pinnacles Visitor Center

Distance: 0.5-mile lollipop

Hiking time: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Trail surface: Dirt

Trailhead elevation: 1,070 feet

Highest point: 1,092 feet

Best seasons: Spring for wild-flowers, late fall and winter for cooler temperatures. Although summer and early fall can be very hot, this hike is short enough to beat the heat on summer mornings and evenings.

Maps: USGS North Chalone Peak; Pinnacles National Park map; Tom Harrison map of Pinnacles National Park

Trail tips: This trail is open to the public but was too new to be on the park map or have a marked trailhead at the time of publication. It makes for an especially lovely stroll in the late afternoon light.

Finding the trailhead: The visitor center is on your left just before the T intersection for the campground on the right and the picnic area parking lot on the left. Turn left for the picnic area parking lot behind the visitor center. The unmarked trail begins at the gate signed Authorized Vehicles Only. GPS: N36 29.66 / W121 08.71.

At the time of publication, this trail was unmarked. From the gate with the Authorized Vehicles Only sign, you walk on the dirt service/ranch road through the picnic area and through the opening in a wooden split-rail fence. Sandy Creek is on the right and the main park road is on the left until you walk across the wooden bridge over Sandy Creek. The creek is then on your left and the Bacon Ranch house and outbuildings are straight ahead. Wander around the ranch buildings in a counterclockwise loop. The house is on your left, and the paddock and barn are on your right. Notice the picnic table under the oak tree inviting you to a picnic, and let yourself be transported to days gone by on this early California spread. Rejoin the main ranch road to close the loop. The ranch road continues to the right for just under 2 miles to CA 25. Turn left to walk across the bridge and go back to the trailhead the way you came.

0.0 Start at the metal gate signed Authorized Vehicles Only in the picnic area parking lot.

0.1 Come to a wooden split-rail fence and solar panels (scheduled to be removed) on the left. Walk through the opening in the fence.

0.2 Cross the wooden bridge over Sandy Creek and come to the Bacon Ranch house and buildings. Begin your loop around the buildings in a counterclockwise direction.

0.3 Close the loop back on the ranch road at the bridge. Cross the bridge and go back to the trailhead the way you came.

0.5 Arrive back at the trailhead.

This hike puts a whole other face on Pinnacles National Park. Rather than formidable volcanic fortresses and phenomenal talus caves, this hike, which is suitable for families with very young children or for any less-than-hardy hiker, is a pleasant stroll past a historic ranch house and through another homestead, crossing meadows bordered by rolling hills with majestic oaks. Whether you hike in the lush green of spring or the warmth of the golden fall, the landscape transports you back to an earlier California setting. A short spur on the way back treats hikers to a surprise peek of the High Peaks. You may be the lucky hiker who spots a bobcat.

Start: Picnic area parking lot behind Pinnacles Visitor Center

Distance: 3.8 miles out and back (4.4 miles with optional spur)

Hiking time: 2 hours

Difficulty: Easy on level terrain

Trail surface: Dirt

Trailhead elevation: 1,070 feet

Highest point: 1,193 feet

Best seasons: Spring for wild-flowers (fans of the California state flower will be in poppy heaven in the spring), late fall and winter for cooler temperatures. Although summer and early fall can be very hot in the open, this is a pleasant year-round hike in the early morning and evening.

Maps: USGS North Chalone Peak; Pinnacles National Park map; Tom Harrison map of Pinnacles National Park

Trail tips: There is no water or restroom facility on the trail past the visitor center. Restrooms are in the building behind the visitor center. The picnic area has tables, grills, animal-proof metal food-storage boxes, and trash and recycling receptacles. There is a camp store in thevisitor center building for the adjacent campground. Dogs are not allowed on these roads, but bicycles are permitted.