Castle Rock State Park

The weather was near perfect today when my College of San Mateo class explored Castle Rock State Park. It was such a great day that the parking lot filled up and there were only a few parking places left along Skyline Boulevard.

From the parking lot we headed west and downhill  and then uphill on the Ridge Trail to Goat Rock. After watching rock climbers from the bottom of the rock, we hiked up the trail to the backside of the rock, which is a much easier ascent. The more adventurous students scrambled to the top of Goat Rock for spectacular views of the San Lorenzo River Valley. We then headed down the trail and made a detour to Hole-in-the-Wall Rock. The truly adventurous among us climbed to the top of the rock and then lowered themselves down a small hole and into a cave in the middle of the rock. On our way to the lunch stop I caught a big alligator lizard.


After lunch we cut over to the Saratoga Gap Trail, which has lots of spectacular views. After pausing at Castle Rock Falls, we headed uphill and took a side trip to Castle Rock. The namesake feature of this park looks like it was designed for recreation. It has lots of caves and overhangs which make it a favorite with rock climbers. On the way to the rock we came across a display of a beautiful native orchid called spotted corral root.

TO GET THERE... The main entrance to Castle Rock State Park is along Skyline Boulevard about 2.5 miles south of its intersection with Highway 9.