Every Trail Tells a Story
North Chalone Peak
Claim the highest summit in Pinnacles with vast, 360-degree views.
Escape the crowds and find solitude on a long, rewarding hike.
Enjoy a sampler of the park’s habitatschaparral, oak, grassland, and ridgeline all in one climb.
Pinnacles National Park’s highest summit is 3,304-foot North Chalone Peak. The hiker’s reward for the climb is a 360-degree panorama that includes most of the Pinnacles, the Salinas Valley, the Diablo Range to the east, and the Santa Lucia Mountains and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
The trail offers more than just a summit. It’s a long walk into the park’s quieter side, away from cave scrambles and condor-spotting crowds, a hike that trades volcanic drama for wide horizons and solitude. On the way up, you pass through a shifting mosaic of landscapes: chaparral slopes where manzanita gleams red, oak savannas where acorn woodpeckers chatter, and ridgelines where turkey vultures cruise on the thermals. In spring, wildflowers scatter the trail with color – poppies, lupine, and paintbrush bright against gray-green hills.
About halfway up, the old fire lookout on North Chalone Peak comes into view, a squat white structure perched on the summit. The sight is both tantalizing and humbling: so close, yet still a climb away. From there the trail pushes on, switchbacking steadily until you finally reach the fence line. Climb the stile, follow the dirt road, and savor the last mile as anticipation builds with every turn.
At the summit you’ll find the locked lookout tower, some picnic tables, and those immense views: Pinnacles’ red crags clustered below, the quilted farmland of the Salinas Valley beyond, and, on a clear day, the blue shimmer of the Pacific.
For hikers with stamina (and a love of unmaintained routes), an informal 1.6-mile extension leads to South Chalone Peak (3,264 feet), offering even more solitude and another vantage point few visitors ever see.
This is Pinnacles at its most expansiveless about spires and condors, more about big country, open sky, and the satisfaction of climbing the park’s highest point.
From Highway 101 in King City, take the First Street exit and travel a mile north through town to Highway G13. Head east 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 Bear Gulch Visitor Center, where the hike begins.
From Bear Gulch Visitor Center, take Moses Spring Trail past oaks and boulders to Bear Gulch Reservoir, a favorite early stop. From here, join Chalone Peak Trail as it switchbacks above the reservoir.
The climb is steady, alternating between sunny chaparral and shaded groves. About halfway, the white fire lookout comes into view, perched tantalizingly ahead. The final approach brings you to a fence stile, then onto a dirt road for the last mile to the top. At the summit, rest at picnic tables and take in the views stretching from the Diablo Range to the Pacific. Return by the same route.