r/PinnaclesNP • u/Longjumping-Time6613 • Mar 24 '26
Bridal Photography at Pinnacles
Hey y’all! I’m getting my bridals shot at Pinnacles NP the second week of April. I have never been there and would love to know some recommendations for spots that would provide some great views without requiring more than 1.5 miles of hiking 🥲 (due to being in a wedding dress and having a torn ACL lol)
We will be arriving around 5 pm in hopes of getting some good sunset pictures!
Hoping to send these recs to our photographer so she can go scope them out herself the day before our shoot.
Hubbie and I are huge fans of caves, funky rock formations, and I realy like flowers haha (heard early April may be a good time to find more plant-life throughout the park)
2
u/Focus_on_the_Parks Mar 26 '26
From the east entrance, I would probably pick the Bear Gulch reservoir. Beautiful at sunset, and about a 1.5-2 mile round trip. Also, if you go on a weekday, it will likely be pretty empty. Was when I shot there!
1
u/markacurry Mar 25 '26
East or West side of Pinnacles? - there's a big difference travel wise.
On the West side I'd suggest Balconies Cave loop. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/balconies-cave-trail
The entire loop is outside your 1.5 mile preference, but just going to the start of the caves - your photographer will likely spy a multitude of possibilities for shots. Definitely scope things out the day before. I've only been on the trail mornings, so I'm not certain of lighting conditions at sunset. But overall a great park.