The Pinnacles

"Oh deer, this was an awful experience. On my way to Deer at the full moon with the first creek crossing, I slipped. Not only that, when I got to Deep Creek to cross, it was raging. Had to find a smoother shallower way a little up away from the trail. The moment I got to the trail for Deer, that was enough for me, but onward. Lost the trail here and there, but thankfully there was service. Was already dredging the crossings on the way back. Not only Deer was summited, I planned to combo with The Pinnacles, and lets just say that added extra torture. Almost lost strength to pull myself up from climbing boulders. Definitely a hike I will leave in the dust." — ChristianFlowerstheczywildhikr • Feb 1, 2026

"Parked at the western parking area and took the spur trail to the main pathway. I found myself losing the main pathway a few times thereafter, since the route isn’t always clear. I concentrated on the ducked route on the summit climb to wind up at the right place on top. Last visit was two decades ago, so it seemed like a new hike to me!" — MikeTeeples • Apr 18, 2021

"Cruised up this fun peak before the weather turned. Trail is easy to lose in a few spots, but just keep following path of least resistance and you'll end up in the right place. Had snowshoes in the car, but not a drop of snow up here - a far cry from the coverage around Lake Arrowhead. Great views of the San Gabriels and distant Tehachapi and southern Sierra ranges. Fun morning hike!" — edg • Feb 17, 2019

"Peak 2 of 5 on the day and this was the best of them. The trail can be a little tough to follow, but there are metal poles marking the route now an again that help keep you on track. It's steep and rocky and fun, but never more than class 2. I found beer and peanut butter at the summit, but did not partake." — klotito • Apr 1, 2018

"Great exploration hike today. First I drove to Skyforest in search of the LaFuze Memorial. This memorial was created in honor of Pauliena LaFuze who was a member of the Lake Arrowhead Woman's Club since the 1930's. She was the great aunt of one of my high school friends from Oregon. Even in 2005 she was planting trees in Switzer Park to help it recover from the 2003 Old Fire. After visiting her memorial (which was only about a 1/4 mile off the road) I drove over to the northern area to hike the Pinnacles. This was a 5.08mile hike with and elevation gain of 1522 feet. This made for a perfect day of hiking and exploring." — Philip-Yoho • May 27, 2016

"This hike is a quad buster. The brochures don't do it justice. There are a lot of rocks to climb over and steep parts in the trail. Still, it's a pretty cool little world unto itself there. The rock formations are formidable and impressive, and the views are not so bad. There's a bit of a rock scramble up to the top, right at the end, but it's manageable. I ran into 3 hikers coming down just as I reached the top. Two were human, and one was a rather nimble dog. Of course, his dog-sized hiking boots probably gave him an edge. I dig meeting people on the trail. They never feel like anyone but friends I haven't had the good luck to make yet." — jimduvall • Jul 5, 2014

"Just messing around...there is no trail all the way to the top...but you can take a 2.5 mile pleasure hike along a mostly flat trail to the base of the peak. There, you can scramble ...occasionally having to cut through brush and avoid extremely rocky areas where rock fall could be easily caused by climbing too ambitiously or without caution. Also, watch out for rattlesnakes. " — Snowcarcass • Nov 8, 2008

"The striking terrain of the Pinnacles National Monument might make you feel like you're at least a couple of state borders from San Francisco's Bay Area, but in truth this national park is less than a hundred miles south of San Jose. http://www.trailspotting.com/2008/05/pinnacles.html" — trailspotting • May 1, 2008