Peshastin Pinnacles State Park: Hiking and Climbing

ByChristine Updated on

Peshastin Pinnacles State Park is located near Leavenworth, Washington with massive sandstone slabs piercing the sky. We had seen these dramatic looking sandstone slabs on our way in to Leavenworth and knew right away it would be worth checking out.

We spent one of our days in this area doing some rock climbing here, but there is also a hiking trail to the top to get great views from as well if you’re not planning on doing any rock climbing.

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Peshastin Pinnacles State Park gray sandstone fins rise out of the hillside.

Things To Know

Opening Hours

The park is open in the summer from 6:30am to dusk. It appears to be closed during the winter from November 1 to March 15; however, an online park brochure states the winter hours from October 16 to March 14 are 8am to dusk. If you try to go during those winter dates be aware it may actually be closed.

Location

Peshastin Pinnacles State Park is located at 7201 N Dryden Rd, Cashmere, WA 98815. This is only about 10 minutes east of the Bavarian inspired village of Leavenworth Washington on US-2.

Cost

You’ll need a Discover Pass to park in the state park. The Discover Pass costs $10 per day or $30 annually.

Since this pass lets you park on state-managed public lands, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) sites, and Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) sites, it seems likely that getting the annual pass would make a lot of sense for most people.

Parking

There is a good size parking lot on site immediately adjacent to the trails.

Amenities

You’ll find vault toilets here as well as picnic tables if you want to bring a lunch. Bring your own water though as there is no drinking water on site.

Visiting With Kids

Kids would enjoy visiting this state park also. There are trails rated from easiest to most difficult so you have options for which ones you think your kids can do, but they are mostly steep and narrow. Some spots can be easy to slide on too so everyone should watch their footing.

Pets

Your dogs are allowed to come with you as long as they are on leash.

Hiking

Peshastin Pinnacles State Park has 1.5 miles of trails rated from easiest to most difficult. The Martian Loop was one of these marked as most difficult, and we could see the zigzag trail from the rock climb we did. But it also looked like it would be one of the most rewarding sections after reaching the top.

From up there you would be able to see great views of the Cascade Mountains, Wenatchee River Valley, and orchards surrounding the state park. We can vouch for the views on top of the rocks from rock climbing, so we know the steep hikes are worth it too!

Combining the trails to do a loop through all of the pinnacles with a stop at the top to admire the views would be the best way to see the park in our opinion.

Rock Climbing

We decided to do a route called the Martian Diagonal on the Martian Slab formation. Although a local guidebook called this a 5.6, we thought this route may be a bit underrated.

It’s interesting how some 5.7s elsewhere have seemed so much easier (not to mention that after climbing 5.9s, and 5.10s/5.11s in Kevin’s case, in the gym we realized that climbing outside is always tougher), but then there’s probably some wiggle room in these ratings.

It could also have been that the slabs are in full on sun, and we could tell that was very draining on us after awhile.

This is a three pitch route. After the initial slope the climb begins almost directly upward until you gain the diagonal. Gear placement was a bit tricky and Kevin had to get creative and try several notches and cracks at times. Slab climbs often seem to be that way.

Before we started climbing, we noticed chipmunks scurrying along some portions of the diagonal, and while climbing, we could at times hear them scolding us for being in their terrain. It made us especially wary of placing our hands in any spots we couldn’t see into.

I thought the crux of this multi-pitch climb came just below the first belay station, but Kevin was there to cheer me on, which makes a difference. The second pitch is shorter than the first, but took us up to the shoulder of the Martian Slab.

The belay station at the top of this pitch was heaven sent: a cave, in the shade! We were able to rest a bit here and enjoy the views.

From there, the third pitch tops out the ridge, then continues over a somewhat airy traverse, and then a short downclimb to the rappel anchors. Since the hillside rises along the length of the Martian Slab, the rappel was relatively short compared to the height we had gained from the start of the route.

We enjoyed this climb; it challenged us, and we had great views while doing it but we sure were glad to get down and out of the sun! We’ve decided slab climbing isn’t our favorite, and the quality of the rock was somewhat iffy in places, but it was still a good day. If you’re in the area this is a fun climbing site but be sure to also check out Icicle and Tumwater Canyons.

Christine is the co-founder of Never Stop Adventuring, and an avid traveler who started traveling the world as a child growing up in a military family. She even lived in Germany for numerous years. Since then she has been to 48 U.S. states, 17 countries, and traveled the U.S. in an RV for over 7 years.

With her 3 kids, the adventures continued family travel style. She has planned and coordinated travel with kids for the last 10 years and shares family travel tips and tricks, destinations, costs and even the mistakes so you can be empowered to take your own family trips with confidence!