A cave at Pinnacles National Park has been closed until at least Wednesday after it was vandalized with red graffiti last week.
The Balconies Cave was originally shut off from the public last Wednesday to "address vandalism within the cave system," and slated to reopen two days later at 12 p.m.
However, the park extended the closure on Friday until November 10 due to "extensive graffiti removal operations."
"Graffiti that took a couple of minutes to spray will take well over 100 personnel hours and 500 pounds of equipment to remove," the park said in a Facebook post announcing the extended closure.
In wake of the incident, rangers encouraged visitors to read their seven "Leave No Trace" principles to prevent future damage to the park.
The park said it appreciates visitors’ patience as it works to remove the graffiti and it hopes that "thoroughly removing the paint from the cave walls will benefit countless others over the many decades to come."
According to hikespeak.com, the Balconies Cave is a two mile out and back hike or 2.4 mile loop which "crosses a playground of volcanic rock formations" and "journeys through dark, twisting passages."
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