From Cliffs to Caves: Monterey and Pinnacles National Park
Exploring central California’s natural wonders—with a bonus of family and friends.
Jan. 16-20
Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Pinnacles National Park, CA
“The Lord your God is with you… he will take great delight in you.” Zephaniah 3:17
After Yosemite, we crossed the coastal mountain range and landed at a familiar campground in Monterey at the Navy’s RV park.
Thanks to Monterey’s proximity to the Bay Area, my sister Courtney met us here along with her boyfriend Adam and pup Halo! We last saw Court when she surprised us in Glacier. I love having a sister who shares my love of exploring new places.
Sadie’s best friend from elementary school, Madeline, and her family came down from Palo Alto, making it a full and fun Bay Area reunion. Sadie and Madeline were in first grade together when schools shut down for the rest of the year due to covid. Thankfully these two only lived across the parking lot from each other, and so once it was safe to begin hanging out outside, they were inseparable. Best of all is how our families have kept in touch across the country and across the years, sneaking in visits whenever and wherever we can.
Whoever said they grow up too fast…
Madeline’s family and ours
We spent the weekend together in Monterey and Pacific Grove skipping from one gorgeous viewpoint to the next, one tasty meal to the next, enjoying catching up with family and friends with a backdrop of breathtaking scenery.
On our final day in the area, our family spent an afternoon exploring favorite spots along the Pacific Coast Highway. Not a bad view in the whole place.
Five years ago during the pandemic shut-down, we often came down to Monterey from the Bay Area to visit with Navy friends who were stationed here. It was an easy drive, and our previous travel trailer gave us an affordable place to base from as we discovered some favorite hikes and places just south of Carmel.
This visit, Nick and I were amazed at how much shorter the same “hikes” were now that we have bigger, faster hikers in our group. Kind of like when grown-ups return to a childhood home and remember it being so much bigger, we returned to these same spots with bigger kids to find the cliffs and tidepools took minutes to explore, instead of hours.
One last impromptu visit in Monterey came the morning of our departure from my friend’s parents, Peggy and John. I became close friends with their daughter, Kate, when we lived on Guam. Unfortunately, Kate passed away a few years ago from aggressive, late-detected kidney cancer. Shortly after the funeral, I wrote about Kate’s incredible impact on the military spouse community she was part of.
The gaping hole in our hearts from Kate’s passing couldn’t be filled, but was certainly mended by her mom, Peggy, stepping through grief to befriend her daughter’s inner circle. Through our occasional texts, we figured out we would overlap in Monterey by a few hours.
Peggy, a veteran Navy spouse, did exactly what Kate would do. She showed up with coffee and treats. And it was wonderful to catch up.
Pinnacles National Park
Of the nation’s 63 national parks, nine are in California. After we left Monterey, we went to our final park in California!
Pinnacles National Park is perhaps the least well known of California’s national parks. We lived in the Bay Area for two years and never made here even though it’s only a two-hour drive. The campground has electric hook-ups, setting us up to stay in the park—which is a treat of treats.
Our initial observations of the park didn’t seem all that spectacular until we were several miles in to the park’s signature hike — High Peaks & Balconies Cave Loop. This hike goes up two miles traversing a section of rocky pinnacles using narrow pathways, ladders, and handrails.
“We seem to always find the hikes with rails or chains.” ~Nick
About this point in the hike, I was no longer questioning why this land was set aside as a national park.
After hiking up to the High Peaks, we headed down into the Balconies Cave. Unlike places like Wind Cave (carved out by water erosion) or the Ape Caves (formed by flowing lava), Balcconies Cave is a talus cave, which is created from the outside in. These caves are formed when massive boulders from the surrounding cliffs tumble into narrow gorges and became wedged. The same volcanic activity that created the Pinnacles eventually sent the spires crashing down, stacking them into dark, narrow passageways.
We crawled through the passageways, spotted a waterfall, then walked back to the west side of the park along a sweet, flowing stream.
This hike left no question as to why Pinnacles deserves preservation as a national park. The pinnacles are so unique. The views are stunning. Being there during rainy season, when the grass was especially green and wildflowers were blooming, filled me with the familiar warm glow I’ve felt in every national park.
This was our 34th national park of the trip (out of 63), and I remain absolutely floored by how unique each park is. Though the building blocks are the same—water, rock, trees, animals, sand, etc. — no park is quite like another.
What a truly extraordinary land it is that we call home.
Pinnacles Campground at sunset
Roberts on the Road
For those just finding us, hello! Inspired by the Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25, our family is on a yearlong RV road trip in 2025-2026 to celebrate my husband’s retirement after 20 years in Naval Special Warfare, as well as our 24 years together during the ups and downs of it all.
With our 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son in tow, this trip to explore America’s national parks and beautiful places is intended to help our family reflect and reset as civilian life begins.
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For background info on who we are and where we’re traveling, we’d love for you to read the intro post. The full list of road trip blog posts can be found here. Thanks for stopping by!
