On our way from San Lorenzo Park Campground, we decided to make a morning stop at Pinnacles National Park. Pinnacles was established as a national park in 2013, so a more recent addition!

It took about 45 minutes to drive to the west entrance visitor center and park at the chaparral parking area. We were there by 9am on a Monday in mid May and didn't have any problem getting parking. The nearby picnic tables offered a nice place to eat our breakfast sandwiches.

Next, we did the balconies cave hike (read more about trail options here, which is a 2.4 mile lollipop-loop trail. Make sure to check the cave status here before you go. At the juncture, we opted to take the trail to the left and head up the balconies cliffs first where we treated to some nice views of the different rock formations and ridges and then return through the cave. The cave made for a unique and fun experience! It was also something that our kiddo was excited about and by delaying it, that provided some much needed motivation. The cave is not huge, but does involve a small rock scramble inside where it is completely dark. You do need light so bring a flashlight and/or headlamp (we ended up down a headlamp as our batteries were still charging in the car)!