Pinnacles National Monument52
Campsite #52 at Pinnacles Campground, Pinnacles National Monument, CA
$43
Campsite #52
| Drive-In | 6 people |
| 18 ft | Back-In |
| 1 | fair |
3/5
3/12
Campsite #52 Features: Drive-In access, Back-In parking, 18ft driveway, Fire ring, Picnic Table, RV Site, Tent Site, Trailer Site, Pets Allowed
Campsite Reviews (21)
1.0 out of 5
| 5 star | | 38% |
| 4 star | | 29% |
| 3 star | | 5% |
| 2 star | | 19% |
| 1 star | | 10% |
@RobertB6182770 · Camped on Dec 26, 2025 at Campsite #52
Despite paying and reserving a site our tent was removed in the late afternoon while we were hiking. upon returning from our hike, our tent was missing, in a panic we had begun to ask others if they had seen our tent. To which nearby campers told us that employees had removed it from our reserved spot. In 30 weather at 8 PM we had to scramble to find our tent, and the camp store was closed. And we all know theres no cell reception in that campground. My device had been kicked off their Wi-Fi within a few minutes, so I was unable to use it to call for help. The only thing we could think of was to knock on doors of employees to track down the tent. We had to track down Rangers outside of the campground to search for employees to contact regarding where our tent was located. After nearly 2 hours in the cold, looking for our tent, the ranger tracked it down and it was found outside in their storage area. There were several issues at play:The employees did not check that we were registered at that site the next two days. Also, no sign was put on our marker to reserve the campsite when we had asked if we needed to do anything regarding, they said they would take care of it. Fortunately, our tent was located before the temperatures dropped too low. Otherwise, it couldve been a dangerous situation with no way to call for help or get warm after a long day of hiking in the park and 30 degree temperatures at night.
No Service
@LeilyKE52152D3 · Camped on Aug 22, 2025 at Campsite #52
A great campground with nice facilities. It would have been great to know the fire regulations earlier since we were expecting to have a fire as part of our activities but overall it was a good trip even without that feature.
No Service
@christoph22613 · Camped on Apr 24, 2025 at Campsite #52
Great hidden National Park. Spent the weekend hiking, looking for condors and caves were awesome. Great campground and landscape
No Service
@JackD8591053 · Camped on Sep 10, 2024 at Campsite #52
It was fun to hike, watch turkey vultures and look for a California condor, but the raccoons that came out at night in our campsite were frightening. Be aware that the raccoons in the Pinnacles Campground are habituated and fearless of humans, and will unzip and enter your tent in search of food.
@LarryE3137769 · Camped on Mar 19, 2024 at Campsite #52
Great newer NP
@ErinT2760485 · Camped on Dec 31, 2023 at Campsite #52
I knew the campground had a lot of sites, I didn't realize how sprawling and spacious the campground was. Had a lot of privacy as a result. There are lots of facilities around, everything was clean and worked well. I was very impressed with this campground and can't wait to explore the wilderness around it a bunch more
Good
@WDanHF17F4EC3F · Camped on Oct 9, 2023 at Campsite #52
I was surprised that there were flush toilets and running water at the Pinnacles campground. Also free hot showers and a swimming pool! It was a great spot to camp and very close to the trails. Bring a hat net as the flies were inn abundance. I went to Hollister 30 miles away to get mine because the store at the camp has limited supplies. After I had that my stay was wonderful. Loved the hiking.
@MihaiN070BCF37 · Camped on Aug 5, 2023 at Campsite #52
We had a raccoon circling our site during dinnertime and at nighttime. Be careful to lock everything in the car and/or the bear locker to avoid surprises. The site was partially shaded in the area where we set our tents. Beware that it gets super hot in the day, I'd avoid mid-day hiking, and hike mornings and evenings. Great location, short drive away from the main trailheads. Enough signal to occasionally get notifications / texts.
Some Coverage
@EricS9323236 · Camped on Apr 30, 2023 at Campsite #52
My favorite part of the Pinnacles is how easy it is getting to the trailheads and to get to your destination. Also, the wildflowers this year (early May 2023) were spectacular in both variety and quantity. The Talus caves are really fun to walk through and having a headlamp is extremely to keep your hands free to hold onto something while ascending or descending the rough steps (especially in Balconies Cave). I would also recommend asking a park ranger how to distinguish a condor from the more numerous turkey vultures that fly overhead.
No Service
@RichardL555896 · Camped on Feb 16, 2023 at Campsite #52
It was 440 on a Thursday afternoon there were eight people in the store standing in line to purchase things with only one person at the counter that was trying to handle peoples reservations. I spent 45 minutes in line to buy one box of wood. This is completely unacceptable and Ive shared this with all the people from my camping group to avoid pinnacles. The new concessionaire is terrible. The kid that was running the kiosk at the entry was doing nothing and is the park employee. Why is the person at the cash register doing a job that a national park employee should be doing. This is effing ridiculous.
@KaelenG78D7397 · Camped on Nov 18, 2022 at Campsite #52
Beware the racoons!! They are tenacious.
@AmandaH9252568 · Camped on Jun 12, 2022 at Campsite #52
Fantastic views, wonderful hike, and great general store. Site 52 was perfect for our family and seeing wildlife.
@VSB9237749 · Camped on Feb 13, 2022 at Campsite #52
Pinnacles has, hands-down, the BEST showers of any of recreation.gov campgrounds weve visited. The showers were so clean, the water pressure incredible, and the water hot. The only request, a couple of more hooks for hanging stuff would be perfect.We enjoyed the hikes, the roaming turkey families, the condors, the arguing raccoons at our campsite, and the rangers bringing around firewood. Pinnacles is a pocket-sized National Park, but still wonderful and full of surprises.
@MelissaH741580 · Camped on Dec 22, 2021 at Campsite #52
Campsites werent as nice as we hoped and the grounds were difficult to stake out our tents.
@MelissaH481 · Camped on Dec 22, 2021 at Campsite #52
Campsites weren’t as nice as we hoped and the grounds were difficult to stake out our tents.
No Service
@JohnW631 · Camped on Oct 5, 2021 at Campsite #52
Great campground in a stunning setting. You can choose a more private site or an open site on a loop. If you have kids, the loop sites are great for making friends. Or if you are an adult who likes to make friends.
Some sites have poison oak on the edges, so be careful. It really isn't too much of a problem if you remember where it is and/or make that area off limits.
The camp hosts/managers are friendly and helpful, and the campground is run smoothly by them and the other employees.
Bathrooms are cleaned every day and it shows. There is always toilet paper and hand soap in stock, and the tile floors and stalls were kept spotless. They also had signs stating that masks were required and there was a 4 person max occupancy. I did see the mask requirement being ignored by some guests and conservation workers who were staying in the campground. Of course, the employees cannot be everywhere and monitor everyone constantly.
The pool was a real treat, even though the nights were cold, which made the pool cold. But it was refreshing after a day hiking, and the kid loved it. We only went in the pool when it wasn't crowded, which was generally in the morning and early afternoon. The pool bathroom/shower/ changing room is small and tight, even with a max occupancy of four. Maybe an expansion/renovation could be done. And again, the young conservation workers, when they came home from work, completely ignored the covid requirements for the bathrooms.
Needless to say, the main attraction is the Park itself. There are a couple trails starting from the campground that are of historical and natural interest, not to mention beautiful examples of high desert. The hikes to the pinnacles and/or the caves themselves are amazing and they can be done from the campground, which provides a flat warmup stretch before the climb.
I will be coming back soon, with my kid and with friends.
Some sites have poison oak on the edges, so be careful. It really isn't too much of a problem if you remember where it is and/or make that area off limits.
The camp hosts/managers are friendly and helpful, and the campground is run smoothly by them and the other employees.
Bathrooms are cleaned every day and it shows. There is always toilet paper and hand soap in stock, and the tile floors and stalls were kept spotless. They also had signs stating that masks were required and there was a 4 person max occupancy. I did see the mask requirement being ignored by some guests and conservation workers who were staying in the campground. Of course, the employees cannot be everywhere and monitor everyone constantly.
The pool was a real treat, even though the nights were cold, which made the pool cold. But it was refreshing after a day hiking, and the kid loved it. We only went in the pool when it wasn't crowded, which was generally in the morning and early afternoon. The pool bathroom/shower/ changing room is small and tight, even with a max occupancy of four. Maybe an expansion/renovation could be done. And again, the young conservation workers, when they came home from work, completely ignored the covid requirements for the bathrooms.
Needless to say, the main attraction is the Park itself. There are a couple trails starting from the campground that are of historical and natural interest, not to mention beautiful examples of high desert. The hikes to the pinnacles and/or the caves themselves are amazing and they can be done from the campground, which provides a flat warmup stretch before the climb.
I will be coming back soon, with my kid and with friends.
@KenY105 · Camped on Sep 27, 2021 at Campsite #52
Enjoyed the fact that the tent-only camp sites and the RV sites were apart from each other. Minor drawback, but I wish there were more available bathrooms around.
No Service
@DonaldW278 · Camped on Aug 17, 2021 at Campsite #52
Great campground with lots of shady spots along a creek. Lots of amenities. Walking distance to hiking trails.
No Service
@PhillipU564 · Camped on Jun 11, 2021 at Campsite #52
Well maintained campground. Helpful staff. Swimming pool and showers are a nice bonus.
No Service
@CarrieRE449B63 · Camped on Nov 29, 2020 at Campsite #52
The hiking was awesome, the 1 star is for the campground. Ours had a nest of raccoons that werent at all afraid of humans and continuously terrorized us so badly we ended up sleeping in the car and leaving early. The manager I spoke with was surprisingly unkind and mocked me for mistakingly calling the men and women that worked at the store rangers (since they are in many of the places Ive camped). When I tried to correct myself and stop him from explaining my mistake further, he called me hostile. Incredibly rude and honestly kinda hurt my feelings. The man I was directed to email about this also never answered. Very disrespectful. (On a side note, the women that worked there were all very nice. It was the men that we had negative experiences with.)
@WyndhamR99F712 · Camped on Nov 9, 2020 at Campsite #52
Lots of great hikes: North Chalone Peak trail, Blue Oak trail, High Peaks trail, etc.
map icon in the lower right corner.
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