History

Pinnacles National Park formed over the course of millions of years as a result of plate tectonics and volcanic eruptions. In fact, the park's namesake, its Pinnacles, are the remnants of a decomposing Miocene volcano. According to anthropologists who have unearthed evidence of arrowheads and bedrock mortars, it's likely that the park was first inhabited intermittently by groups of Native Americans, primarily the Ohlone people. Their presence took a sharp decline in the 18th century following the arrival of the Spanish. In 1891, a homesteader named Schuyler Hain traveled from Michigan to California and settled in the area. Over the next 20 years, he led tours through Bear Valley and into the talus caves, which led him to be dubbed "The Father of Pinnacles." Hain, the park's unofficial caretaker, fought for its preservation, working to earn it recognition as 2,500-acre national monument in 1908. From 1933 to 1942, the Civilian Conservation Corps completed many improvements to the park including paving the dirt road to Bear Gulch and improving the trail to the caves by adding guard rails and concrete steps. Since 1908 to present time, the park has increased in size to 26,000 acres. In 2013 President Obama redeclared Pinnacles as a National Park.