The Pinnacles

The Pinnacles, taken from the west, photo by Sunny Yi

The Pinnacles, taken from West #2, photo by Sunny Yi

The Pinnacles, photo by Steve Russell

The Pinnacles, taken from the west, Photo by Sunny Yi.

Peak Name

The Pinnacles

19E

Elevation

5737

feet

Status

active

Region

Lake Arrowhead

Range

San Bernardino Mountains

Nearby peaks

Mount Marie Louise

Location

34.3066709,-117.228098

Description

The Pinnacles and its sister Mount Marie Louise lie northwest of Lake Arrowhead. Although not visible from the usual route, the peak and its pinnacles stand out dramatically when viewed from the west. It has sweeping views of the Hesperia area and the Mojave Desert beyond, Silverwood Lake, and multiple HPS peaks including Cleghorn, Luna, Round and Rattlesnake. It is typically hiked together with neighboring Marie Louise.

Route 1 starts from a clearly signed parking area, not the trailhead on some older maps that passes next to a shooting range. It proceeds on good use trail around interesting rock formations. The final section is more difficult to follow and involves second class rock scrambling to reach the summit.

Maps generated from CalTopo.com, reproduced with permission

Downloadable Maps, Files, and Guides

Route 1

Elevation Gain

1100′

Navigation Difficulty

Difficult

Distance

3 ½ miles round trip on trail with some rock scrambling on the summit

Estimated time

2.5 hours round trip

Route Rating

Class 1, class 2 summit block, easy

Leader Rating Required

“I”, normal conditions

Driving route

Drive east on I-10 to I-215.
Drive north on I-215 to SR 210.
Go east on SR 210 to SR 18 (Waterman Avenue) in San Bernardino. Exit the freeway and turn left (north).
Drive north on SR 18 to Daley Canyon Road about 5.5 miles east of the Crestline SR 138 turnoff. Turn left (north) on Daley Canyon Road. Note your odometer and go as follows:
At 0.5 mile, junction with SR 189. Turn left.
At 0.8 mile, fork. Go right and then immediately left onto Grass Valley Road.
At 2.8 miles, fork with Grass Valley Road on the left. Turn left.
At 5.3 miles, intersection with SR 173. Turn left.
At 5.5 miles, intersection with Pilot Rock Road (2N33). This is the turnoff for Mount Marie Louise.
Continue on SR 173 about 0.7 mile to a sign “Pinnacles Trail Head” and park in an open area on the left side of the road.

Hiking route

Follow the maintained trail generally northwest to where it drops down to a grassy area with two Coulter pine trees. Just past this point a prominent wash, coming down the slope from the right, crosses the trail.
Turn right (north) and go up this wash, keeping to the right where it forks, and following a fairly prominent use trail to a shallow saddle just west of bump 5078′.
Follow the trail northwest up a gully to the flat area just southeast of the summit.
Continue on the trail up to the base of the summit and follow a ducked route through the rocks to the summit.

Route Notes

Printable Route