Castle
Rock State Park, Gas, food, and lodging:
There are no services in the immediate area, but you can find gas, stores, and
restaurants on Highway 9 either east in Saratoga, or west in Boulder Creek.
The Castle Rock backpack camp is for many the start of the long Skyline to the
Sea Trail trip, but Castle Rock does not have a drive-in campground.
Rules:
Dogs and bicycles are not permitted in the park. Horses are allowed on some
trails, but others are signed hiking-only. Trails close at sunset.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
Overall, this 4.7 mile partial loop hike is moderate, with about
1000 feet in elevation change. Trailhead elevation is about 3090 feet. The featured
hike descends to about 2300 feet, then gradually ascends back to the trailhead.
Some short sections of trail are steep, and there are portions of Saratoga Gap
Trail that require brief scrambles on narrow exposed paths with sharp dropoffs.
The Official Story:
CSP's
Castle Rock page
Park office 408-867-2952
Map Choices:
• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Region map to get there.
• 
This hike is described
and mapped in 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: San Francisco, by Jane Huber
(yup, that's me, the creator of this website). Order
this book from Amazon.com.
• Get the excellent state park map by sending a check for $1 and a self-addressed
legal-size envelope with two stamps to Castle Rock State Park, 15000 Skyline
Boulevard, Los Gatos, CA 95033
• Virtual
Parks features a great map and QuickTime photos.
• South Bay Trails, by Jean Rusmore, Betsy Crowder, and Frances
Spangle (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a simple map and trail descriptions.
• 101 Great Hikes of the San Francisco Bay Area, by
Ann Marie Brown (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a simple map and featured hike.
• The Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Book, by Tom Taber, has a simple
map (order
this book from Amazon.com).
• Trail Map of the Santa Cruz Mountains (map 1), by the Sempervirens
Fund (includes Castle Rock, Big Basin, and Portola Redwoods) has a great map
of Castle Rock.
Castle
Rock in a nutshell -- a printable, text-only guide to the featured
hike.
• View 38 photos from this hike
(shorter version; autumn hike on Ridge Trail, connector path, Saratoga Gap Trail,
and Castle Rock Trail).
• View 71 photos from this
hike (longer version; winter hike on Ridge Trail and Saratoga Gap Trail).
When I look
at a trail map of the Skyline-to-the-Sea route from Saratoga Gap to the Pacific
Ocean, it's hard for me to grasp the magnitude of that hike: it's 32 miles (one
way) and the elevation drops about 2,600 feet, with lots of ups and downs along
the way. From the Saratoga Gap Trail at Castle Rock State Park, the backdrop
to this awesome adventure is laid out at your feet. Although the trail
is not visible, you can see the miles of rolling, forested hills that lie between
Skyline Boulevard and the Pacific Ocean. Castle Rock is unique; in addition
to the park's stunning rock formations and beautiful views, it's a staging area
for long journeys to the sea, or just for great day hikes lasting a few hours.
From the Saratoga Gap trailhead, you can take a short
out-and-back hike along Highway 9 on Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail, or make a loop
out of Saratoga Toll Road, Travertine Springs Trail, and the Saratoga Gap Trail,
a more than 10 mile trek. For a backpacking excursion, you can hike from the
park's main entrance into Castle Rock Camp, stay overnight,
then continue west into Big Basin State Park. On the opposite extreme,
the shortest loop at Castle Rock is less than a mile, and combines Castle Rock
and Saratoga Gap Trails.
This park is popular with rock climbers, and can
get busy in warm weather. Voices carry far here, and the park also gets an unwelcome
dose of noise pollution from the gun club about 1 mile north of the park entrance
on Skyline Boulevard. I prefer visiting in winter, when the views to the
west are clear, and the weather cool. The gun club is also quieter in the
winter, especially if weather is cold and rainy. Keep in mind that it can get
bone-chillingly cold in this part of the Santa Cruz Mountains, particularly
in the heavily forested area near the main park entrance. Temps in the
20s are not uncommon in the winter months, and neither is snow. Dress accordingly,
and be careful on the roads, which
can get icy.
Castle Rock is not a park I would recommend to
beginning hikers, or those with mobility problems. The trails are narrow, the
drop offs sharp, and the some of the trails can be slippery. Although most
of the trails are straightforward, some segments are somewhat technical. It's
a tough place for knees and hips, as you must scramble up and down some boulders
and navigate steep sandstone shoots. This doesn't mean you shouldn't go if you're
in good shape, because the views from Saratoga Gap and Ridge Trails are worth
a few sore joints. 
A
trekking pole (or two) is definitely recommended.
This featured hike travels through a lovely oak
savannah and chaparral-studded hillsides, under California bay, madrone, tanoak,
and Douglas fir, and past the fascinating sandstone rock formations known as
tafoni. Start in the main parking lot and look for the start of the
Saratoga Gap Trail to the west, near an information signboard and two low,
red-painted barricades (a path to Castle Rock Trail departs near the first information
signboard you'll encounter, on the left as you enter the parking lot; the other
signboard, and main trail entrance is across the lot). Saratoga Gap Trail
initially runs along a seasonal stream, under a heavily shaded tanoak, madrone,
and Douglas fir forest. At 0.17 mile, Castle Rock Trail departs from the
left side of the trail at a signed junction. Continue downhill on the Saratoga
Gap Trail.
The trail skirts a large rock that bulges out
onto the path. The easy downhill grade stiffens a bit. From time to time, particularly
during stormy
months, fallen trees make the trail an obstacle course. As a perennial stream
joins the (usually) dry creek, Saratoga Gap Trail crosses over the stream, and
then at a signed junction meets Ridge Trail at 0.67 mile. Look for wild ginger
and giant chain fern along the creek. Take Ridge Trail, right, uphill.
The narrow path ascends, passing
a large, white rock outcrop (disfigured with spray paint) and moss-covered live
oaks. After only a few moments, the trail leaves the woods and enters chaparral.
Look for chamise, pitcher sage, varities of ceanothus, California coffeeberry,
manzanitas, and toyon. In winter, a single flowering currant puts forth pink
blossoms on the right side of the trail at a shady spot. The views west are
breathtaking. Ridge Trail commands your attention, as tree roots amble
across the path like sleeping swollen snakes, and the trail, smooth and sandy
one minute, a pile of boulders the next, is one surprise after another. 
On
the right side of the trail, a large outcrop, know as Goat Rock, is visible
uphill. Steps are cut into some soft rock in one section. At another area,
there is a pile of boulders under the cover of a coast live oak, and the trail
is a bit confounding. "The trail is where?" you may ask, particularly in the
winter when leaves cover the path and foot traffic is limited, making it difficult
to see where others have gone before you. Like a few other confusing trail
sections, if you take it one step at a time the routing is obvious; it's just
impossible to see ahead more than a few feet. The toughest call is an unmarked
junction of sorts, where a legitimate-looking trail seems to continue on a level
course straight ahead, and an unlikely-looking rock pile heads uphill on the
right. Pick your way up the rocky slope, and the trail becomes evident
again. Follow the trail sign, staying to the right at another confusing non-junction,
and continue uphill. Wooden fencing and steps constructed in 2000 improve the
final ascent to Goat Rock, which previously was a steep, 
undefined
hillside scramble. At the top of the hill, at 1.17 miles, you'll reach the top
of Goat Rock and two signed junctions (one to the right and one to the left).
Bear left and after a few feet, at another junction, bear right on
Ridge Trail, "to Campground." (Option: at the top of the steps
near Goat Rock, turn right and take the trail marked "to Interpretive Center." The
path edges near rocks very popular with climbers, and then cuts through a grassy
oak-studded slope to the Interpretive Center. Exhibits in the open-air pavilion
include a treatise on sandstone formations, identification drawings of the 7
types of oak found at Castle Rock, and a rudimentary trail map. Exit to
the north and look for Ridge Trail, signed "to campground.")
Black oaks and California bays mingle with madrones
as the trail winds levelly through grassland. Looks like feral pigs have invaded
the park in a big way, for the ground beneath the oaks was
completely "pig rototiled" on my last visit. At 1.34 miles, Ridge
Trail meets the path from the Interpretive Center at a signed junction. Bear
left to stay on Ridge Trail.
This narrow trail cuts through grassland, gently
descending under some live and black oaks, and madrones. Stay to the
right as a faint trail breaks off and heads west, to a bird-watching viewpoint. I
love walking through here in the winter, when it is quiet (at least as quiet
as it ever gets) and many fallen leaves from the deciduous oaks litter the trail. As
a transplanted easterner, I delight in the crunch of leaves underfoot, and that
smell that defines autumn for me. At 1.61 miles, you'll reach a signed junction
with a connector to Saratoga Gap Trail. Continue straight on Ridge Trail,
"to campground."
(Option: to shorten this hike, take the trail to the left, signed "to Saratoga
Gap Trail." The connector trail between Ridge Trail and Saratoga
Gap Trail winds downhill; turn left onto Saratoga Gap Trail at a signed junction
and follow the remaining instructions below.)
The trail continues to lose elevation at
a gradual pace as it descends just downslope from a ridgeline. The trail skirts
a rock formation, where manzanitas seem to be dying out, their sunlight blocked
by encroaching trees. Tanoaks, live oaks, and madrones dominate, but the trail
also passes beneath a small grove of very tall pines. Somewhat abruptly, Ridge
Trail steps out from the trees to a viewpoint at the edge of the ridgeline.
The sheer rocky drop is softened by thick stands of buckbrush, manzanita, and
chamise. Ridge Trail pops back under tree cover, but then draws near the cliff
again, where a wooden fence guards against what would be a nasty fall. This
is my favorite viewpoint, and a nice spot for lunch on a sunny day. The trail
sweeps back into the woods, and continues a descent toward the campground. At
2.40 miles, Ridge Trail meets Saratoga Gap Trail at a signed junction. Turn
left onto Saratoga 
Gap
Trail.
Tanoaks and madrones line the hiking-only trail, which
soon takes a sharp turn left and leaves the forest. Saratoga Gap Trail narrows
as it creeps beneath a rocky outcrop still somewhat shaded by live oaks and
California bays. A metal guidewire helps you navigate a short steep drop over
a small boulder. Then the path edges along an exposed hillside, with wonderful
views to distract you from the demanding trail. Manzanitas, ceanothuses, and
chamise dominate, but look for silktassel, lupines, coyote brush, yerba santa,
and monkeyflower as well. There's another tricky section of trail where you
must scramble up and then down a small outcrop. With so many scrambles
you may not notice the trail gradually ascending. Saratoga Gap Trail makes a
transition into oak grassland, where poison oak is common in the understory.
This area is lovely in autumn, when black oak trees put on a foliage show. At
3.06 miles, Saratoga Gap Trail meets the connector path to Ridge Trail at a
signed junction. Continue straight on Saratoga Gap Trail.
A patch of sagebrush flourishes on the left, and
a few buckeyes huddle together in a little gulch on the right. The trail leaves
oak grassland and returns to chaparral. There are nice views to the rock formations
on the hillside near Goat Rock. Saratoga Gap Trail crosses through a California
bay wood near a stream, where a bench sits just before a narrow bridge. There's
no view from here, but it's nice and shady. Look for a small young redwood
grove on the right. After crossing the stream the trail climbs slightly, passing
a handful of madrones, which in winter drop curled strips of bark that look
like cinnamon sticks. As the trail crests, it veers left and edges along
the side of the mountain, through chamise, manzanita, ceanothuses, and aromatic
pitcher sage. 
Saratoga
Gap Trail follows the contour of the slope and features views to the north and
southwest. You may glimpse bobcat and coyote tracks on the trail, some brief
sections of which are steep and awkward to negotiate. Even before spring reaches
Castle Rock, some plants enliven the chaparral with their blossoms. Manzanitas
put forth urn-shaped flowers around late February, and you might also see blue-witch
nightshade and Indian paintbrush at that time. Buckbrush and wartleaf ceanothus
generally bloom in March. There are a few flat rocks on the west side of the
trail, perfect perches on which to sit and stare out into space. I have
one flat boulder I call my sitting rock. It's a meditative spot, peaceful and
serene. On a December hike I watched two hawks fly so far up in the sky I could
barely follow their movements. I wished I could join them; something about
this view makes me want to fly. On the east side of the trail, across from
my special rock, there's a well-preserved tafoni formation. If you stop
and sit on this rock, or any other, be careful not to fall off the side of the
hill! 
Saratoga
Gap Trail tapers off to a mostly level grade. Along the trail occasionally a
few California bays provide a little shade. The path squeezes between two boulders,
and then begins a return to a California bay, live oak, Douglas fir, and tanoak
forest. On the left side of the trail two huge old live oaks seem to be growing
out of a patch of moss-covered boulders. You must climb through a pile
of large rocks, a rather illogical stretch of trail which seems to me could
have been routed down the slope a bit. In late winter, look for the delicate
flowers of wild strawberry, 
nestled
close to the ground. Sounds of rushing water drift down the trail, indicating
that you're nearing the falls. For the best view of Castle Rock Falls,
hop down onto the viewing platform on the right side of the path at 3.85 miles.
From there you'll have a view of the water as it sluices through a rock channel
and then drops 75 feet or so. Even before the storms rage in the winter,
this waterfall is active.
Continue up Saratoga Gap Trail
to the previously encountered junction with the Ridge Trail, at 4.05 miles. Turn
right and retrace your steps uphill on Saratoga Gap Trail. (Option: when
you reach the signed previously encountered junction with Castle Rock Trail,
turn right. This gently graded path meanders uphill underneath oak, California
bay, madrone, and Douglas fir to the tafoni formation known as Castle Rock.
The rock is large and impressive, although unfortunately the area surrounding
it is sometimes defiled with broken bottles, so step carefully. Castle Rock
juts out from a flat spot, like a fairy tale mansion, and the formation may
set your imagination in motion. Weird stone pockets look like secret caves,
and rock cascades off the side like a cresting wave. When you're done daydreaming,
continue on Castle Rock Trail, pass another group of large boulders off to the
right side of the trail, and then as a fire road continues straight, turn left
toward the parking lot at a signed junction. Follow the trail back to a fork,
and then take either branch to return to the parking lot.)
Total distance: 4.72 miles (5.3 miles if you decide
to visit Castle Rock)
Last hiked: Tuesday, March 5, 2002
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