Like a phoenix, the blog appears again! While I am back in the United States I will be working on Photographing all 59 National Parks. Today’s entry is from the newest National Park in the US, Pinnacles, established in 2013 and located about an hour south of San Jose (an area I’ve nicknamed “SoJe”).

Best known for its large vertical rock formations (i.e. “Pinnacles”)- Pinnacles National Park is a beautiful sprawling park right in the middle of the Pacific coast mountain range.

Couple things to note if visiting:

-The best track is a roughly 11 mile loop through the Pinnacles Mountain Range and the caves below it.

-The climb is about 2500 feet and includes several very narrow, vertical passages. If you are afraid of heights or claustrophobic , I would recommend doing the climb in reverse (starting in the caves below the Pinnacles and climbing up) then looping back down- this adds a mile or two, but avoids the extremely difficult portions.

-The trail is completely exposed and quite hot (80+ degrees)- so bring plenty of water and sun protection.

-I would also recommend getting there early- the entrance opens I think at 8am and parking fills up very quickly.

Other than that- the park is beautiful and offers the perfect opportunity to see the landscapes of Northern California!

Next up, my roommate and I are heading down to the Channel Islands National Park off the coast of Los Angeles- stay tuned for that blog (I may also retroactively do one on the Grand Canyon :)).

-Morgan