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Pinnacles Campground
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About
#2 of 2 campsites in Paicines
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Campground at Pinnacles National Park.
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Property amenities
Pool
Babysitting
Pets Allowed ( Dog / Pet Friendly )
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HOTEL STYLE
Budget
Location
2400 Highway 146, Paicines, CA 95043-9762
Getting there
Monterey Peninsula Airport
63.5 km•
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We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
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Overall it was a good camping experience, marred by several issues. There is a pool and there are showers. A camping store full of various food, camping gear, ice and various other small items.
- We stayed in the group camping area with the restroom nearby. However, the restroom had no interior lights of any kind.
- The quiet hours were not enforced at all.
- The racoons were a real menace. They are completely unafraid of people or lights and will go for the food the moment you turn away, steps away from you.
- We stayed in the group camping area with the restroom nearby. However, the restroom had no interior lights of any kind.
- The quiet hours were not enforced at all.
- The racoons were a real menace. They are completely unafraid of people or lights and will go for the food the moment you turn away, steps away from you.
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Date of stay: July 2022
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
When we arrived at Pinnacles, our campsite #62, was just perfect. It was shaded by a beautiful old oak tree and had a huge stump in the middle that served so well as a kind of centerpiece table. There were also several majestic tree trunk sections positioned to tastefully delineate the campsite. The night skies stole the show though. Thousands of stars we normally don't see from our house illuminated the night sky.
While we were unpacking, a brazen raccoon explored the inside of our car. I saw a cat-like tail hanging out under the open car door and had a legitimate startle. No harm done, just dirty paw prints all over. The raccoon calmly proceeded to tease our puppy.
The night was quiet and after waking up early I started listening to birdsongs and dozed off again. So blissful.
The park itself was unfortunately closed for car traffic (due to coronavirus) and we were not prepared for a hike. So we will have to return to see the 'Pinnacles' themselves. The last loop of campsites (#60-80) are the most private. There were also some neat cabins that would be perfect for visiting in colder times of year.
While we were unpacking, a brazen raccoon explored the inside of our car. I saw a cat-like tail hanging out under the open car door and had a legitimate startle. No harm done, just dirty paw prints all over. The raccoon calmly proceeded to tease our puppy.
The night was quiet and after waking up early I started listening to birdsongs and dozed off again. So blissful.
The park itself was unfortunately closed for car traffic (due to coronavirus) and we were not prepared for a hike. So we will have to return to see the 'Pinnacles' themselves. The last loop of campsites (#60-80) are the most private. There were also some neat cabins that would be perfect for visiting in colder times of year.
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Date of stay: June 2020
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip: Sites 60-80 are the most private.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed in site number 95 for two nights, June 18 and 19. This site has a long dirt/gravel driveway and has electric hook up. It doesn't have any shade until about 4-5 pm, so it gets pretty hot. The store and Visitors Center are within walking distance. The closest restroom was quite a walk. I'm noticing now that the map doesn't show the restroom. The one we used was over by campsite number 1. The road has many potholes and is not paved. If the wind picks up, quite a bit of dust blows around. We hiked the Bear Gulch Reservoir Trail and made a loop out of it by coming back the way of the Rim Trail. Really spectacular! The bat cave was closed but that was fine with me!
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Date of stay: June 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We knew Pinnacles was not a dog-friendly NP, but were okay with it since we (family of 6 with 3 dogs) had 2 tent cabins and were planning to just try winter camping for the first time. The cabins each had a small heater, fan and weak lamp. The first night there, it was freezing cold and the other tent had a rip in the canvas, but I don't think that patching it up would have warmed anything up considerably. Both tents had 2 outlets, but after the first night, none of the electricity worked in one tent. Ours had one working and one temperamental outlet. Basically, the attraction for the tent cabins was the electricity, so the lack of it in one of the tents was a huge loss. Of all the NPs that we've visited (about 30 so far), Pinnacles was the most disappointing; there isn't much to do besides hiking. There was not a scenic route to drive along. And the tent camps were a waste of money. The only reason the trip was saved was that our group was happy to be together and agreed to overlook everything that we paid for in order to be happy together.
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Date of stay: December 2024Trip type: Travelled with family
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip: Do not count on the electricity in the tent cabins. In the warmer seasons, bring mosquito...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed here for three nights after Thanksgiving. We picked a site at random via recreation.gov and found out that the camp sites varied greatly. Some are completely exposed, and others are shaded underneath trees. You could probably call them and figure out what works better with the expected weather forecast. Note that some sites are further in than others and you will have to drive past a lot of other sites (loop C).
It was great that the RV campground was separate from the tent campground and that generators were not allowed. There are flush toilets everywhere, and they were clean and had running water. You can even take a shower at the restrooms near the camp store. It is coin operated - $0.25 for 1.5mins, with a minimum of $0.75. You can get change at the camp store.
If you really need WiFi, you can also purchase that at the camp store. It worked fine for me to download an e-book that I had forgotten to download in advance.
Raccoons were pretty aggressive. Do not leave any food out unattended. We even had one jump into the back of our SUV in the two minutes our backs were turned setting up our tent site.
Lots of different kinds of birds around the campground for those interested, including Acorn woodpeckers, California quail, California thrasher, many sparrows, scrub jays and more.
No bugs. It was below freezing at night, be sure to pack warmly.
COVID precautions active around the campground for restrooms and store. Generally most people we saw had masks on anyway when walking around the campground, though this is not required by the staff.
Easy access to trailheads, we decided to just drive and not walk the extra miles. Shuttles not operational due to COVID.
It was great that the RV campground was separate from the tent campground and that generators were not allowed. There are flush toilets everywhere, and they were clean and had running water. You can even take a shower at the restrooms near the camp store. It is coin operated - $0.25 for 1.5mins, with a minimum of $0.75. You can get change at the camp store.
If you really need WiFi, you can also purchase that at the camp store. It worked fine for me to download an e-book that I had forgotten to download in advance.
Raccoons were pretty aggressive. Do not leave any food out unattended. We even had one jump into the back of our SUV in the two minutes our backs were turned setting up our tent site.
Lots of different kinds of birds around the campground for those interested, including Acorn woodpeckers, California quail, California thrasher, many sparrows, scrub jays and more.
No bugs. It was below freezing at night, be sure to pack warmly.
COVID precautions active around the campground for restrooms and store. Generally most people we saw had masks on anyway when walking around the campground, though this is not required by the staff.
Easy access to trailheads, we decided to just drive and not walk the extra miles. Shuttles not operational due to COVID.
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Date of stay: November 2020
Value
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My girlfriend and I drove up from Santa Barbara a couple weeks ago and had such a fun and memorable experience exploring this wonderful park. The campground itself was very clean and nicely organized with restrooms and dumpsters close to the campsites but not too close :-) We heard the campground was full but it never felt crowded even during dinner time when most people we back from the trails. Speaking of which, we hiked Chalone Peak (9mi roundtrip) and thought it might be busy but turned out we were the only ones up there enjoying the panoramic views! Our time was a bit limited and we left early Sunday morning but we'll definitely be back soon to keep exploring this highly underrated national park. Thank you Pinnacles!
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Date of stay: March 2021
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nice campground. Group sites and RV's are far enough from the rest of the loops which keeps the noise way down. Sites are pretty spacious. All sites have bear boxes. Most have at least some shade. Bathrooms are clean. Potable water spigots are all over.
Normally there is a pool but because of Covid it is currently closed. There are showers (for a fee) and I think those are still open.
There is a store at the entrance - you can get a campground map from them. They sell everything you'd need last minute (though it's not cheap) and they have wifi (just at the store) for a fee. If you don't need the map you don't need to check in you can go straight to your site.
The biggest thing to know is that you have to watch out for critters. The raccoons have no fear. One came right up and sat on my picnic table while I was making dinner like "what are we having tonight?" and I had to be really loud and persistent to get it to go away. They will come back after dark to check if you dropped anything. Some of the birds are also pretty bold about coming to get snacks. I kept a close eye on my food so I was fine but be vigilant and store everything carefully.
Note if you're hiking during Covid, the road past the campground is closed to cars and there is no shuttle service. You have to get to the trailhead yourself which adds 2.3 miles each way. It's a flat and easy hike. You can also bike on the road and there are bike racks to lock up at the trailhead. So if you can bring your bike it's not much extra work, really. Also, it means there are far fewer people on the trails.
Normally there is a pool but because of Covid it is currently closed. There are showers (for a fee) and I think those are still open.
There is a store at the entrance - you can get a campground map from them. They sell everything you'd need last minute (though it's not cheap) and they have wifi (just at the store) for a fee. If you don't need the map you don't need to check in you can go straight to your site.
The biggest thing to know is that you have to watch out for critters. The raccoons have no fear. One came right up and sat on my picnic table while I was making dinner like "what are we having tonight?" and I had to be really loud and persistent to get it to go away. They will come back after dark to check if you dropped anything. Some of the birds are also pretty bold about coming to get snacks. I kept a close eye on my food so I was fine but be vigilant and store everything carefully.
Note if you're hiking during Covid, the road past the campground is closed to cars and there is no shuttle service. You have to get to the trailhead yourself which adds 2.3 miles each way. It's a flat and easy hike. You can also bike on the road and there are bike racks to lock up at the trailhead. So if you can bring your bike it's not much extra work, really. Also, it means there are far fewer people on the trails.
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Date of stay: August 2020
Room Tip: Site 37 is very shady - you can park and set up your tent in almost full shade. There is also a...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
If you are cold tolerant or have an amazing sleeping bag, then winter is the time to come here. We saw hardly any tent campers during our midweek stay, but the toilets and showers were open. We opted for an electric tent cabin and brought both a down quilt and electric blanket and it was perfect. Note that the food locker won’t take a bigger cooler (we have Coleman Xtreme5), so we kept it in the car. The cabin was clean and comfortable. It had a fan, electric lantern and heater (which was kind of wimpy. We brought our own little space heater and used that). No raccoon problem, but the birds were definitely interested in our cooking.
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Date of stay: January 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip: Showers are a hike from the tent camping.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This is for the campground and not the park. The park is fabulous.
There are very few restrooms in the campground or trash cans. You have to walk quite a ways and when you get there, they are not clean. Worse still, there might be a big line.
There were showers but only one per gender for the entire campground.
The visitor center consists of an unmanned folding table with some maps on it and a chalk sign saying carry water and a compass. There is a bookstore open a few days a week from 10-4 though inexplicably closed during some of that time.
There is also a camp store open from 9:30-5. Not sure if it is every day. Not sure how helpful they are with campsites if you have a problem while they are there. There are big signs in front of the store advising you to just grab a campground map and go to your site (as it is reservation only).
Some of the sites are fairly nice and some are right out in the open, next to trails with no trees, maybe a random bush. Downright depressing. Some of the RV sites look like you are parking in a giant football field of decomposed granite. No generators at any time.
We saw one person with a government plate driving through the campground once during our two night stay. There were crew cleaning trash cans at the store. Other than that, no staff on site to make sure fires weren’t being started during wildfire season (our neighbors ignored the signs on their firepit and started one). No one even there to check you in. Downright strange!
The campground is on the east side of the park and there is no road to the west side where many of the more interesting hikes are unless you can do 8 mile strenuous hikes. This is the only campground in the park though.
Tons of wildlife and birds in the park though. There is a trail (poorly marked but super accessible) right off the campground where we saw quail, jays, tons and tons of woodpeckers, deer (which are plentiful in the campground), bunnies and more.
Not all bad but not what you expect when you go to a National Park campground.
There are very few restrooms in the campground or trash cans. You have to walk quite a ways and when you get there, they are not clean. Worse still, there might be a big line.
There were showers but only one per gender for the entire campground.
The visitor center consists of an unmanned folding table with some maps on it and a chalk sign saying carry water and a compass. There is a bookstore open a few days a week from 10-4 though inexplicably closed during some of that time.
There is also a camp store open from 9:30-5. Not sure if it is every day. Not sure how helpful they are with campsites if you have a problem while they are there. There are big signs in front of the store advising you to just grab a campground map and go to your site (as it is reservation only).
Some of the sites are fairly nice and some are right out in the open, next to trails with no trees, maybe a random bush. Downright depressing. Some of the RV sites look like you are parking in a giant football field of decomposed granite. No generators at any time.
We saw one person with a government plate driving through the campground once during our two night stay. There were crew cleaning trash cans at the store. Other than that, no staff on site to make sure fires weren’t being started during wildfire season (our neighbors ignored the signs on their firepit and started one). No one even there to check you in. Downright strange!
The campground is on the east side of the park and there is no road to the west side where many of the more interesting hikes are unless you can do 8 mile strenuous hikes. This is the only campground in the park though.
Tons of wildlife and birds in the park though. There is a trail (poorly marked but super accessible) right off the campground where we saw quail, jays, tons and tons of woodpeckers, deer (which are plentiful in the campground), bunnies and more.
Not all bad but not what you expect when you go to a National Park campground.
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Date of stay: August 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip: Make sure your site has trees. Many are out in the open.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A couple friends and I spent a long weekend at Pinnacles, staying in a camping cabin. We all had a great time. The camping cabin looked new. It was as advertised on the website: basic, but fresh and clean, so it was a great base camp for us. The solar powered lights are not bright, but good enough to allow us to play card games late into the evening. Then all we had to do was step outside to view the Milky Way! We all look forward to coming back.
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Date of stay: October 2022Trip type: Travelled with friends
Room Tip: Do keep your food in the "bear box" (which we called the "raccoon box", as there are no bears,...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
"Do not count on the electricity in the tent cabins. In the warmer seasons, bring mosquito repellent due to the rips in the tent canvas."Read full review
"Do keep your food in the "bear box" (which we called the "raccoon box", as there are no bears, but they are certainly are clever raccoons!)"Read full review
"Site 37 is very shady - you can park and set up your tent in almost full shade. There is also a good tree for hanging a hammock."Read full review
ALSO KNOWN AS
pinnacles campground inc hotel paicines
LOCATION
United StatesCaliforniaPaicines
NUMBER OF ROOMS
134
Prices are provided by our partners for one room, with variable occupancy rules as provided by the property, and reflect total costs of the stay, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Pinnacles Campground
Which popular attractions are close to Pinnacles Campground?
Nearby attractions include Pinnacles National Park (3.0 km), Bear Gulch Caves (4.0 km), and Balconies Cliffs Trails (5.4 km).
Are there opportunities to exercise at Pinnacles Campground?
Yes, guests have access to a pool during their stay.
Are pets allowed at Pinnacles Campground?
Yes, pets are typically allowed, but it's always best to call ahead to confirm.