Pinnacles National Park With Kids: Bear Gulch Cave & Rim Trail Loop
Pinnacles National Park wasn’t one of our favorite national parks—but it gave us one of the most fun family hikes we’ve done.
We visited Pinnacles in early April 2026 while spending two weeks in Marina, California. After several days exploring Monterey, Point Lobos and the Big Sur coastline, Pinnacles felt completely different. Instead of beaches, foggy cliffs, and ocean views, we were suddenly hiking through dry, rocky terrain, scrambling around giant boulders and walking through caves.
Pinnacles National Park is one of America’s newer national parks, designated in 2013 after previously being protected as Pinnacles National Monument. The park’s unusual rock formations are the remains of an ancient volcanic field that has been gradually carried north along the San Andreas Fault. Today, Pinnacles is particularly known for hiking, rock climbing, talus caves and its population of California condors.
We only had one day to explore, so we chose the area that sounded like the most fun with three kids: Bear Gulch Cave and Bear Gulch Reservoir.
It was absolutely the right choice.
Getting to Pinnacles National Park From Marina
We entered Pinnacles through the east entrance, which is the side you’ll want for the Bear Gulch area.
It took us a little less than an hour and a half from Marina Dunes RV Resort.
One important thing to know about Pinnacles is that the east and west entrances do not connect by road inside the park. If you’re specifically planning to hike Bear Gulch Cave, make sure your navigation is taking you to the east side of the park.
For other Thousand Trails members, there is actually a Thousand Trails campground closer to Pinnacles than Marina Dunes.
We intentionally chose Marina anyway.
Pinnacles was only one day of our two-week trip, while most of our time was spent exploring Monterey, Carmel, Point Lobos and Big Sur. Staying closer to the coast made much more sense for our overall trip, even if it meant a longer drive on Pinnacles day.
Starting at the East Entrance
We stopped at the visitor center and did our normal national park routine: Junior Ranger badges for the kids, stamps for our passport book, and magnets and stickers for our collection.
From there, we continued into the Bear Gulch area.
Parking can be limited around Bear Gulch, and the National Park Service warns that parking lots can fill early on busy days, particularly weekends and holidays. We, however, didn’t have any issue with parking when we went.
Our plan was to hike through the Bear Gulch area to the reservoir and then decide where to go from there.
We ultimately turned it into a loop.
Moses Spring Trail
The beginning of the hike didn’t immediately look like the Pinnacles I had pictured.
We started by climbing gradually through a more wooded area. It was shaded, comfortable and really pleasant in the April weather.
Then the rocks started.
And that’s when this hike became fun.
As we got closer to Bear Gulch, the trail began winding around enormous rock formations. We walked underneath cliffs, between boulders and eventually toward the caves.
This isn’t one of those hikes where you’re walking several miles just waiting for the one impressive viewpoint at the end.
The trail itself is the experience.
Bear Gulch Cave
The Bear Gulch talus caves were easily the kids’ favorite part.
These aren’t traditional underground caves carved deep into solid rock. Talus caves form when enormous boulders fall into a narrow canyon and become wedged together, creating passageways and cave-like spaces underneath them.
That makes hiking through Bear Gulch feel like you’re climbing underneath a giant pile of rocks.
We went through openings in the rock, underneath massive boulders and through the cave sections as we worked our way toward the reservoir.
When we visited, enough of the cave was open and enough natural light was coming through that we didn’t need flashlights.
That can change depending on which sections of the cave are open, though, so I would still check current cave conditions before visiting. Bear Gulch Cave can close completely or partially to protect the Townsend’s big-eared bats that use the caves.
The kids absolutely loved this section.
There was climbing, scrambling, ducking underneath rocks and constantly something new around the next corner.
Even Forest walked the entire hike.
Those Stairs!
One of the coolest parts comes as you climb toward Bear Gulch Reservoir.
There are stone stairs built directly into the rocky landscape, including a section that passes underneath an enormous boulder wedged between the rock walls above you.
It looks like the boulder could come crashing down at any moment.
Obviously, it didn’t. 😂
But walking underneath it with three kids definitely adds a little excitement.
Between the stairs, caves and rock scrambling, this was easily one of the most entertaining trails we’ve taken the kids on.
You almost forget you’re hiking.
Bear Gulch Reservoir
Eventually, the stairs brought us to Bear Gulch Reservoir.
The reservoir itself wasn’t necessarily spectacular.
When we visited, the water looked fairly brown, especially compared with some of the ridiculously beautiful lakes and coastlines we’d been seeing throughout California.
But it was still a nice stopping point.
We rested for a little while, drank some water and enjoyed the scenery before deciding what to do next.
This is also where families have a choice.
You can turn around and return through the Bear Gulch/Moses Spring area, or you can continue onto Rim Trail and make the hike into a loop.
Naturally, we chose the loop.
Because if I can avoid walking past everything I literally just saw, I usually will.
Taking Rim Trail Back
We continued from Bear Gulch Reservoir onto Rim Trail.
Our overall route was essentially the Moses Spring and Rim Trail Loop, which is roughly two miles and commonly estimated at around 1½ hours without extended stops.
With three kids, exploring the caves, stopping at the reservoir and occasionally figuring out exactly where we were going, I would plan closer to two hours.
We did get a little confused near the end. Rim Trail intersects with the trail system leading toward High Peaks, and for a moment we weren’t completely sure which direction would bring us back toward the Bear Gulch parking area.
We figured it out, but this is one place where having your trail map downloaded beforehand is helpful.
I actually liked doing the loop clockwise. We climbed toward the reservoir through the shaded Bear Gulch area and caves, then took Rim Trail back down.
The tradeoff is that Rim Trail is considerably more exposed.
In April, that wasn’t a problem. In the middle of summer? I would think twice.
Hiking Pinnacles With Kids
For our family, this was a fantastic kid hike.
Forest walked the entire thing, and because there was so much happening along the trail, the kids never seemed particularly focused on how far they were walking.
They were too busy climbing around rocks and wondering what was coming next.
That’s something I’ve learned about hiking with kids: two miles of interesting trail can be dramatically easier than one mile of boring trail.
Bear Gulch is interesting.
We brought a hydration pack and ended up drinking all of the water in it. Because temperatures were comfortable, that was enough for us, but Pinnacles can become extremely hot and exposed later in the year.
The National Park Service specifically warns visitors to carry plenty of water and notes that summer temperatures can exceed 100°F.
If you’re visiting with younger kids during warmer weather, I would seriously consider hiking through Bear Gulch Cave to the reservoir and then simply returning rather than adding the more exposed Rim Trail portion.
Wildlife at Pinnacles
Pinnacles is famous for its California condors, and we hoped we might spot one.
We didn’t.
Pinnacles is one of the few places where these enormous endangered birds can regularly be seen in the wild, with wingspans approaching 10 feet.
Unfortunately, the condors didn’t get the memo that the Williams family was visiting.
We did see plenty of birds and squirrels along the trail, but no major wildlife sightings.
Maybe next time.
Would We Spend More Than One Day Here?
Probably not on this particular trip.
There are longer and more difficult hikes throughout Pinnacles, particularly around the High Peaks area, and rock climbing is a major activity in the park.
We saw climbers while we were there, which makes sense when you look at the landscape.
There is also another cave system on the west side of the park—Balconies Cave—that could be fun to explore on a future visit.
But with only one day available, I don’t feel like we missed something essential by choosing Bear Gulch and leaving afterward.
We came to Pinnacles wanting to experience what made the park different.
Bear Gulch delivered that.
Final Verdict
Pinnacles National Park is a funny one for me.
It wasn’t one of my favorite national parks—but Bear Gulch was one of the most fun hikes we’ve ever done as a family.
The park itself didn’t have the diversity that makes some national parks places I could explore for several days. After spending time along Big Sur and Point Lobos, Pinnacles also had some pretty serious competition during this particular trip.
But Bear Gulch was completely unique.
Our kids got to scramble around giant boulders, hike through caves, climb stone stairs underneath rocks that looked impossibly balanced above their heads and reach a reservoir before looping back through a completely different landscape.
That’s exactly the kind of hike our family loves.
It wasn’t just about reaching a viewpoint.
The hike itself was the adventure.
If you’re already visiting Monterey, Carmel or Big Sur and have an extra day, I absolutely think Pinnacles is worth adding—especially during the cooler months.
And if we went back?
I’d hike Bear Gulch again.
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