Every Trail Tells a Story
Condor Gulch and High Peaks
Walk among cathedral-like crags on one of California’s most dramatic short mountain loops.
Chance to see condors soaring overhead, wingspans wider than a hiker is tall.
CCC-built staircases and handrails: history, humor, and high adventure carved in stone
One of the Pinnacles’ best hikes is a circuit through the High Peaks area that begins from the visitor center on the east side of the national park. By combining a couple of different trails you can climb brushy ridges, penetrate oak-dotted gulches, and get great views of – and from – the Pinnacles.
The Civilian Conservation Corps built many miles of trails throughout our western national parks and forests during the 1930s. Some of the very best efforts of these young men can be enjoyed today in the High Peaks. Picture it: fresh-faced kids from Oklahoma or Nebraska, shipped west during the Great Depression, suddenly handed picks and dynamite, and told to carve steps into volcanic cliffs. The “pigeon hole” staircases they chipped directly into rock are still here. Their handrails are still here toospare, sturdy, and reassuring, but never overdone. The CCC didn’t coddle hikers; they gave us adventure with just enough safety to keep us coming back.
High point, both literally and figuratively, is the High Peaks themselves: a reddish-orange jumble of crags that soar like cathedral spires. In early light they glow copper; at dusk they flush pink. Climb into them and you feel as though you’ve stumbled into a natural fortress built by giants.
And then there are the condors. This is the trail to walk if you hope to see one of the largest birds in North America glide overhead. With wingspans stretching nearly 10 feet, California condors once teetered on the edge of extinction. Thanks to an intensive reintroduction program, Pinnacles has become one of their strongholds. On a clear, warm day, you may look up from a rocky saddle and see a condor circling effortlessly, catching thermals above the crags where the CCC once swung their hammers. Ravens will scold, turkey vultures will wheel, but the condor dwarfs them alla prehistoric silhouette in a modern sky.
Condor Gulch Trail, which leads to the High Peaks, also serves as the first half of the 3.8-mile Pinnacles Geological Trail. Those who love science will appreciate its story of lava flows, shifting plates, and the 23-million-year journey that split the Pinnacles from their twin rocks in Southern California. But even if geology isn’t your thing, the sheer drama of the High Peaks makes this one of California’s most memorable short mountain circuits.
From Highway 101 in King City, take the First Street exit and travel a mile north through town to Highway G13. Head east on the highway (called Bitterwater Road in Monterey County and King City Road in San Benito County) 15 miles to a junction with Highway 25. Turn left (north) and continue 14.2 miles to Pinnacles Highway (146). Turn left and drive five miles to the Pinnacles National Park Bear Gulch Visitor Center.
Signed Condor Gulch Trail ascends one mile up a slope blanketed with manzanita, ceanothus, and chamise to a viewpoint. From here, look down on the visitor center and up toward the jagged High Peaks. Continue the stiff ascent on switchbacks, climbing another 0.75 mile to a ridgecrest junction with High Peaks Trail.
Turn left toward the High Peaks. After 0.6 mile, the path splits; keep left to enter the heart of the Pinnacles. The famous 0.6-mile section of High Peaks Trail begins here, threading among volcanic towers on CCC-cut steps, with handrails bolted into stone. This is the best stretch to watch for condorsthey love to ride the thermals above the spires.
The trail then delivers you to a saddle and a junction with Juniper Canyon Trail. A rock restroom and bench mark the spotproof that even CCC workers enjoyed a good view break. From here it’s all downhill: High Peaks Trail descends a brushy ridge, passing climber paths and joining Moses Spring Trail. Stroll through Bear Gulch picnic area before closing the loop at the Visitor Center.