Where California Condors Soar

May 26, 2025—Visitors to Pinnacles National Park often spot California condors riding thermal winds as they soar high above unique rock formations in the center of the park. Seeing the condors, which not long ago faced near extinction if not for a successful breeding program at several zoos around the country, was one reason that drew my family and me to Pinnacles.

Pinnacles National Park, originally designation Pinnacles National Monument in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt, was created in 2013 for its unique rock formations, talus caves, and as a preserve to protect the endangered California condors. It’s part of the Gabilan Mountain Range that was shaped by volcanic action. At 26,606 acres, Pinnacles is America’s fourth smallest national park.

Fifteen trails throughout the park allow hikers to explore up close rock formations, talus caves, streams, a reservoir, and wildlife. Bear Gulch Cave, located on the Moses Spring Trail, is home to threatened Townsend’s big-eared bats but closed in the spring and summer during the bats’ pupping season. It’s always a good idea to visit the park’s website and check out any alerts before visiting. The rock formations also draw rock climbers.

There are two entrances—an east and west entrance. However, there is no way to drive directly from either entrance to the other. Visitors to the east side of the park can only access the western side of the park by hiking several trails, and vice versa.

There are no hotels nearby, but there is a nice campground within the east entrance of the park. If you don't want to sleep on the ground or don't have a tent, the park also offers canvas-sided tent cabins for rent. There is also a store within the park near the east entrance where you can buy items you might need during your visit. The store closes at 4 p.m.

It's a little over a two-hour drive from my daughter’s home in Modesto to the park’s east entrance. The National Park Service recommends getting to Pinnacles by 8 a.m. We were running a little late when we left Modesto, but even leaving when we did at 6:18 a.m., we were able to find parking on Memorial Day at the Bear Gulch Nature Center parking lot. That parking lot is the ideal spot for starting out on some of the more popular hikes. There is a small parking lot a couple hundred yards past the Bear Gulch Nature Center, but it was already full when we arrived.

We set out from the Bear Gulch Nature Center parking lot on the Moses Spring Trail to head up to the Bear Gulch Reservoir, passing a nicely shaded picnic area, the ideal spot for us to have lunch when we get done with our hike. This trail also takes hikers to the Bear Gulch Cave, but a gate across the cave kept hikers from entering the cave and disturbing the Townsend’s big-eared bats. We were forced to bypass the cave and take the higher alternative route.

My daughter Jennifer and Sophia, my granddaughter, got ahead of Nick, my son-in-law, and I, and we soon lost sight of them. As Nick and I proceeded on our hike, we soon came across parts of the Moses Spring Trail that were kind of challenging. They weren’t difficult, but they were tricky. Canyon walls closed in on us, as sections of the trail narrowed considerably. On parts of the trail, the width between the canyon walls barely accommodated my daypack and water bottles in the side pockets. Several times my water bottles scraped against the canyon walls.

Nick and I had to navigate a small, narrow tunnel. Farther down the trail, we found ourselves delicately balancing on a narrow rock to cross a small crevasse. This got me wondering if Sophia, who is only 10 years old, could handle this technical section of the trail.

Several social trails led Nick and I astray in some locations, forcing us to have to backtrack a couple of times. Thankfully, we came across a small group of hikers who had hiked the Moses Spring Trail before. They got us back on the right trail. We had a map with us that we had received from the Park Service upon entry into the park, but it wasn’t of much use with these social trails.

Nick and I wondered if Jennifer encountered the same issue with the social trails as we had and whether she had mistakenly taken the Bear Gulch Cave leg of the Moses Spring Trail and had turned around to head back to the trailhead. Nick and I would not have known because we had taken the bypass trail and wouldn’t encounter them if they turned around. There was no cellphone reception, either, so that prevented us from calling to see where they were. Nick and I both agreed that Jennifer and Sophia should have stayed with us as a group instead of going ahead. He and I weren’t sure if we’d meet up with them at the reservoir or not, but that was their problem.

A challenging part of the hike was a tunnel created by talus boulders that had fallen into the narrow canyon we were hiking in, forcing Nick to scoot on his butt and me to bend way over to get through the two openings. I was able to squeeze through the left opening even though I had my big camera attached to my chest on my Cotton Carrier camera vest, but the tunnel opening was tight.

Nick and I eventually came to a narrow set up stairs that led hikers up to the Bear Gulch Reservoir, so narrow in fact that my binoculars hanging from the right side of my camera vest and my water bottle in the right pocket of my daypack kept banging against the canyon wall as I climbed the stairs. A handrail to the left of the stairs was useless as it wasn’t more than two feet high, basically the height of my knees.

We finally reached the top of the stairs and arrived at the reservoir, where we encountered Jennifer and Sophia sitting at the edge of the lake. I chastised Jennifer for getting ahead of us, telling her we weren’t sure if she had tried to take the Bear Gulch Cave section of the trail and finding it closed simply went back to the parking lot. She told me that Sophia was so excited about the trail and the tunnels and kept running ahead of her. I was glad to hear Sophia was having a fun time but still concerned about us getting separated.

We hung around the reservoir for a while, eating snacks and taking in the view of the lake. A couple of California ground squirrels kept begging my daughter for some food, but she spurned their actions, knowing that it is illegal to feed wildlife in the park. Meanwhile, I tried photographing what looked like a western bluebird.

Leaving the reservoir, we headed back on the Rim Trail. As the name implies, the trail runs along the rim of the rocks we observed from the Moses Spring Trail before descending and looping around to join the Moses Spring Trail near the parking lot. There wasn’t much shade on the Rim Trail, so the hike back was hotter.

Not sure how we all missed it, but we missed the switchback and instead kept hiking what we thought was the Rim Trail. After hiking about a half mile, we began to wonder why the trail was going uphill and away from the parking lot. Encountering some hikers coming down the trail, we asked them if we were still on the Rim Trail. They informed us that we were on the High Peaks Trail, which is one of the most strenuous trails in the park. We turned around and started downhill the way we came, eventually coming to where the Rim Trail and High Peaks Trail meet. There was a wayfinding sign where the two trails merge. How we missed that sign is a great mystery. We continued down the trail and soon found ourselves in the shade. We eventually merged with the Moses Spring Trail and returned to the parking lot.

The plan was to have lunch before setting out on the Condor Gulch Trail, but the descent down the Rim Trail irritated the arthritis in my daughter’s right knee. There was no way she could tackle the moderate climb of the trail. So instead after lunch, we walked over to the nature center to inquire about an easier trail that might be more suitable on Jennifer’s knee. I wanted to find a trail that might also allow me to see and photograph California condors. A park service volunteer recommended we try the Sycamore Trail, which she described as mainly flat and in the shade. She also told us it would take us to the Peaks View parking area where we had a chance to spot the condors.

The trail didn’t disappoint. While not a difficult trail or particularly scenic, it did follow a wash that required us to cross several footbridges. We hadn’t walked far before I spotted three California condors soaring high over the peaks. They were extremely high and difficult to photograph, even with my 600mm lens, so it took me a while to get some shots of them. Just when I was getting ready to snap a photo, the condors would soar behind a tree or one of the peaks. I finally managed to get a few photos, but it took some time. They weren’t great shots, but at least I captured a shot of one in the wild after only seeing them in my local zoo.

I suppose my daughter had gotten tired of waiting for me to get the shots because she and Sophia went ahead of us, leaving Nick and I alone once again. We eventually caught up with them near the Peaks View parking area where we were to catch the shuttle back to the Bear Gulch parking lot. Jennifer’s knee was bothering her so badly that she couldn’t hike back up the Sycamore Trail to the nature center. While waiting to catch the shuttle at the Peaks View parking lot, we spotted a western fence lizard, western whiptail lizard, and I had a gopher snake cross the trail one foot in front of me. It was too fast for me to get a photo of it before it disappeared in the tall grass. The dry wash near the parking lot was the perfect habitat for reptiles.

We departed the shuttle at the camp store so my family could buy some souvenirs and I could purchase another park patch for my collection before boarding the return shuttle for the nature center.

The shuttle made a stop at the parking lot on Old Pinnacle Road. We had planned to drive over to this parking lot, but seeing it from the shuttle negated the need to make the drive. The parking lot on Old Pinnacles Road is where hikers set out on the Old Pinnacles Trail to the Balconies Cliff Trail and Balconies Cave Trail. The latter is a popular destination for hikers. Sadly, we didn’t have the time to hike to the Balconies, nor was Jennifer’s knee in any condition to make that hike even though it’s a relatively easy trail. It’s also a long trail that takes hikers 3–5 hours to hike, way too long for Sophia.

Arriving back at the nature center parking lot, Jennifer and Sophia rested while Nick and I set out on the Condor Gulch Trail. Today’s original plan was for all of us to hike to the viewpoint on the trail, then Nick and I would make the steeper climb to the top where it meets up with the High Peaks Trail, but Jennifer’s knee issue changed our plans. Instead, Nick and I ventured far enough up the trail until we reached a location that seemed popular with acorn woodpeckers.

Pine trees alongside the trail were riddled with holes excavated by the woodpeckers. In many of the holes, the birds had stuffed acorns into the soft tree bark. Several woodpeckers were spotted in the area. I had chosen to leave my 600 mm lens back at the truck, so I had to settle on using my smaller 70–300 mm lens, which I had brought along to photograph more scenery. The birds were too far away to get spectacular shots of them, and I soon regretted leaving my big telephoto lens back at the truck. However, I was able to get a shot that included a woodpecker and a pine tree riddled with holes stuffed with acorns.

It was getting late and time to leave. I have an 11-hour drive back home ahead of me tomorrow and didn’t want to get back too late to my daughter’s house.

I have to say that I enjoyed my visit to Pinnacles National Park, an enjoyment shared by my whole family. Sophia really had fun hiking the Moses Spring Trail. On the drive back to Modesto, my family talked about returning to the park in October when the Bear Gulch Cave would be accessible. There isn’t a large variety of activities available at the park like there is at Yosemite, Rainer, or Olympic; however, if you like hiking in canyons or rock climbing and want to witness condors in flight and you find yourself within a two-hour drive of Pinnacles, then a visit to that park is worth it.