Pinnacles Campground

We spent three nights camping at the Pinnacles, hiking during the days and strolling and chilling the campground at night. The Camp Store and Gift Shop are both excellent, the campsites are clean and spacious, and the trails, of course, are outstanding; we hiked the Bacon-Butterfield Ranch Trail, The Condor Gulch/High Peaks Trail loop, and the Old Pinnacles Trail to The Balconies. The evening show by the bunnies and quail never disappoints.

The only downsides to our trip was the closure of the pool - it would have been so refreshing after returning from the High Peak/Condor Gulch loop in 85 degree heat, and the noise in the campground Friday night. The other campers kept up quite a din until around midnight - this was the worst I have encountered in any campground in sixty years of camping. I feared a repeat Saturday night, but a drop in temperature and a wind storm that kicked up around 8:00 seemed to send everybody to their tents.

Camping as it should be. Glorious settings with private very green wooded spaces, kids playing all sorts of fun games in the roads, guitars around campfires, frogs croaking all night ,purple irises in the stream bed, comfy but not over the top center areas. In short, just Wonderful.

Flora and fauna outstanding, as always. Lots of snakes, lizards, including a horned lizard, and condors soaring over the campsite during the cocktail hour.

The tent cabins were very cold at night, even in May. The cold air below the mattress makes the mattress cold all night. The campground should put some type of insulation under or around the mattress, or at least warn campers to bring extra blankets for underneath their bags.

The campground needs attention. The weather was hot and I fortunately had my 30 amp box working. But 3 campsites around me did not have working electrical hookups. This is dangerous in the heat. It is not because everyone was using electricity. This happened to friends of mine in 2 campsites last November. The pool, which is supposed to be open in April was covered with dirt and debris on the cover. It hadn’t been touched in months. I really used to enjoy coming to Pinnacles, but not being able to access utilities you’ve paid for is unacceptable.

Some sites are very nice with shade and privacy. Others are crammed right next to each other. Great amenities. Bathroom doors slam which is annoying in the evening when going to sleep as you can hear slamming doors across the campground. Overall great experience.

The park had nice, well tended hiking trails. Directional signs were an issue at times.

The campground’s restrooms are in serious need of upgrades. 2 of 3 toilets in the portable shower/toilet trailer were out of order. There are 3 portable toilets. Showers were nice but one was out of order.

Electricity was a problem for me and several other campers that I spoke to. It would work sporadically but always at non peak hours. The campground was full and I never got power in the mornings or at dinner times. The staff was friendly and tried to help but to no avail. A couple of them admitted the electrical needed an upgrade.

Wonderful campsite. Very aggressive raccoons. Swimming pool was out of order.

Nice access to rest of park. Working showers and running water. Some sites, like ours, are pretty hot in the afternoon with the direct sunlight. Coming back to that after a hike when all I wanted was a nap was less than ideal lol

Overall, it's a nice campground. We have campsite 21 & 22 which are across from one another and didn't have immediate neighbors. There was also a water spicket nice and close. Both sites are close to road and 21 had some nice shade but 22 didn't really have any shade.
The showers and bathrooms were nice and clean.
Staff in the shops are friendly.
It was a hot weekend and the pool was closed which was my only compliant.
It was a nice campground and experience, I would definitely return.
AT&T cell service worked fine, Visable had no reception.