This hike is definitely moderate in difficulty. Do not expect a walk in the park! If you are willing to put up with the uneven terrain (with lots of sand and rocks) and potentially getting lost, you will be rewarded with very scenic 360-degree views. The hike takes you through a granite boulder field to a small plateau, then through an intimidating boulder-pile summit, where you finally reach The Pinnacles peak. Total elevation gained is about 1,000 feet and it's about 4 miles roundtrip. Expect to take about 2-3 hours. It probably would have taken less time, but I stayed for a good half hour at the peak to soak in all the goodness.
The official start of the trailhead actually begins right next to a shooting range and can be found easily by typing in "Pinnacles Trail" on Google Maps. Parking is virtually non-existent there. For plentiful parking, search for "The Pinnacles Trail Parking" on Google Maps. This dirt lot is not too far away and you can actually begin the hike there too, which I did. Make sure you have a parking pass displayed since you're in the San Bernardino National Forest.
There's little to no shade for most of this hike, so plenty of water, a hat, and sunscreen are highly recommended. Trekking poles will help with navigating through the uneven and steep terrain, but make sure to attach them to your pack when crawling up boulders. You'll need both hands to climb. Of course, wear a good pair of hiking shoes to stay sure-footed.
There are a lot of splits and side trails that threw me off the official path. I counted about 5 trail markers throughout this hike, not nearly good enough to solely rely on. Luckily, my phone had plenty of battery and I was able to rely on its GPS to guide me on the trail path listed in Google Maps. Almost all modern phones have built-in GPS, but I recommend downloading a good GPS hiking app that supports offline maps and turning on airplane mode to conserve battery. I saw less than 10 other hikers from start to finish, so you definitely don't want to get lost here. read more