Destination: Castle Rock State Park, Los Gatos
Hike Castle Rock State Park And Explore Castle Rock, Castle Rock Falls Falls, And Goat Rock
This is part of a series of family-oriented day trip outings around the San Francisco Bay Area I look forward to enjoying with my kids once social distancing and shelter in place isn’t the norm any longer.
Hiking back from Goat Rock, Castle Rock State Park, Monterey Bay in the distance by Cody Tolmasoff
Social Isolation — Day 28
Today I thought back to climbing trips to Castle Rock State Park with a class I took at Foothill College about 20 years ago. On weekends, we would go out for day trips here to learn how to climb outdoors. I have many fond memories of hiking and climbing out here. Unfortunately, this is one of the many parks that are closed temporarily due to shelter in place orders.
I look forward to a hike here soon, and maybe a little bouldering!
Destination: Castle Rock State Park, Los Gatos
Hike to Castle Rock
Hike to Castle Rock Falls
Hike to Goat Rock
By Tomwsulcer — Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18729453
Castle Rock State Park is somewhat remote, so today’s adventure involves hikes to different locations in the same park. If the day is clear, and you make it out to Goat Rock, you can see Monterey Bay. Still, it’s a lot of fun to hike through here and see all the swiss cheese sandstone all around.
Recent updates brought a larger parking area a short distance north of the original parking area. There is also some free shoulder parking near the old parking lot. Check parking fees before you travel here, bring cash.
For those interested in climbing, you might witness any of these three types of climbing while you are out. Bouldering is climbing without a rope close to the ground, routes are usually traversed horizontally instead of vertically. Top rope is where the rope in anchored at the top of the climb, one end of the rope is tied to a climber, the other is run through a belay (breaking) device to safely let the climber climb. Sport climbing, a climber ties into a rope and brings it with them and clips into bolts placed along the climb.
Hike to Castle Rock
Courtesy of California State Parks, 2019
Castle Rock is a short hike from the old parking area. It’s a spherical rock you can walk all the way around (with maybe a bit of scrambling). There are a couple of top-rope routes here, but most climbers come here to boulder. The sandstone rock has eroded exposing a swiss cheese like surface offering small caves to explore.
Hike to Castle Rock Falls
Castle Rock Falls is a popular spot for climbers. You get to climb on sandstone next to a waterfall. Setting up the top rope anchor is simple and quick for climbers, and the two climbs here are not too difficult. Plus it’s not too far a hike from the parking area.
As a spectator, you can walk onto the viewing platform (climbers set up below the platform) and look down at the falls to the left, or climbers below. People will often stop to picnic here as well.
Hike to Goat Rock
From the base of Goat Rock by Cody Tolmasoff
Goat Rock is one of the farthest spots to hike to, but it’s one of the best rock faces to climb here, or see climbers. As you face the rock, there are some easier swiss cheese style routes on the right, then on the left is a fantastic climb into a cave 50 feet off the ground. Climbers on this route have to climb along the back of the cave, then along the roof to make their way out to the dome on the summit. There is also a trail that you can follow around the rock to the summit.
Cody Tolmasoff is an author and publisher for Adventuring.in. He is a recovering programmer and a San Francisco native, raising two daughters, and regularly finding new adventures around the SF Bay Area. This article is an excerpt from an upcoming book, 52 San Francisco Bay Area Weekend Adventures, Day Trips With Your Kids!
Find him on Twitter @codyo, and read his most recent title Adventures in Getting Out on Amazon, filled with advice on successfully getting your family out for day trip adventures.
Originally published on Medium on 10 April 2020