On the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2020, I decided I would go hike a trail I had not done in a park that I’ve really enjoyed. It was a beautiful day; the sky was blue, temps were in the mid 60’s, and there was the slightest breeze. What actually ended up happening was not at all what I expected, but it all worked out in the end.
Miles/Elevation:
Planned: 6.5 miles, 1200 feet vertical gain
Actual: 8 miles, unknown vertical gain
About Castle Rock State Park:
Castle Rock State Park is a fantastic state park just outside San Jose. Located in the Santa Cruz Mountains, it is easily accessible, but contains miles of amazing hikes filled with awesome views of the range. Named for the prominent Castle Rock, the park begins on a ridge adjacent to highway 35, and continues down the slope into the heart of the Santa Cruz range.
Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors.
Getting There:
Castle Rock is easily visited from anywhere in the Bay Area, but of the major cities in the bay, it is closest to San Jose. Located up highway 9 from Saratoga, it is a straight shot from the South Bay.
The easiest way to get there is driving yourself. I have not seen any public transit that will get you close to the main entrance of the park, so you will likely need to have or rent a car, otherwise an expensive Uber/Lyft is in order.
Castle Rock State Park is about a 35 minute drive from downtown San Jose, a 35 minute drive from San Jose International Airport, and 50 minute drive from San Francisco International Airport.
The Plan:
So my plan was pretty simple. I had been to the park multiple times before, so I thought I knew where to go, and what to do. However, there had been a series of changes that threw my plan off.
My plan was to part at the main parking lot of the park, and complete a trail that I had found on Alltrails called the Castle Rocks Lower Loop. Thing is, there is no trail called the Lower Loops trail. It was actually a series of trails all connected and hiked in a loop.
The Lower Loop trail is listed at 6.5 miles and about 1,200 feet of elevation gain. Seemed like a great moderately difficult day hike.
Mistakes:
As I’ve alluded to, things did not go exactly to plan. The reason for this is a series of mistakes that I could have avoided, that would have made my day much simpler.
Mistake 1: Being Lazy and not Researching
I’ve been to Castle Rock before, I already know where I’m going. While I have been to Castle Rock multiple times before, it had been over a year since my last visit, and in that time, a number of things had changed. I got lazy. All I did was choose a trail on Alltrails, roll out of bed, and believed it would all go according to plan. Planning is key, and I took the easy way out.
Mistake 2: Sleeping In
Is sleeping in a mistake? Not necessarily. However, when hiking it often can be, and I know this well. I didn’t actually leave home until close to noon, and by the time I got to the park, the main parking lot was full, the overflow parking lot was full, and the street parking near the overflow parking lot was full.
Because of this, I had to park over a mile from where I had planned. No problem I thought! It’s a loop trail and where I parked was actually on the loop. Seems simple, but I had to figure out where the trail began, which direction to hike, and all the other logistics of a place that I was unfamiliar with, had never been to, and did not plan for, all while my phone had no signal.
Mistake 3: Going Off Trail
So I started in a place I didn’t know, on a trail I had not been on, without a reliable map. Not a great start. About 2-3 miles in, I knew that I needed to cross highway 35 to get to the main parking lot and continue the loop on the other side of the highway.
I didn’t know exactly where the trail came out onto the road, but I could see where I wanted to get, and there were remnants of an old trail, and it was maybe 50 yards, the foliage wasn’t too thick, let’s just go straight to the road. Mistake. Turns out in this area there is a lot of old fencing, much of it being barbed wire, which I promptly tripped on.
Fortunately, the wire was only a couple of inches above the ground so it only got caught on my shoe, and did not tear me shin open. So, after almost falling on my face, I had to remove myself from the barbed wire. Not worth it.
Mistake 1: Being Lazy and Not Researching (Part 2)
As I said earlier, one of the mistakes I made was not doing any research, and after I stupidly cut off trail, that laziness came back to bite me. As I finally got to the main parking lot of the park, I noticed a sign near the start of the trail: no entry, one way only.
Turns out all of the trails in the park were designated as one way because of COVID-19. Because I didn’t have a map, I still didn’t quite know the full ramifications of this, but for the moment, I had to backtrack from the overflow lot where I was planning to start the trail, back to the main lot where the one way trails started.
As I finally got on track and was on my way to really making some progress, I say another sign with more bad news. Another pretty major piece of information that I could have learned ahead of time was now revealed to me, there were two trails in the park that were fully closed because of COVID-19, and one of them was a trail that I needed to take to complete.
At this point, the full degree of my mistake was made clear, there was no way for me to actually do the hike I had planned. All I could do was continue on for a further mile or two, and then I would have to return to the parking lot; all the while going in the complete wrong direction, traveling away from my car. Not ideal.
Mistake 4: Not Being in Shape
Being only two days after thanksgiving, it’s safe to say I was still working off the extra pounds I had packed on over the holiday, not to mention I had not hiked for a full two weeks (the weekend before was a great football weekend so that’s what I spent my time on).
Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, so what if you’re just a little bit tired? The problem for me is throughout my life I’ve dealt with knee problems, and those problems are usually the worst when I am out of shape, especially when I push myself too far while being out of shape.
Safe to say that with about 3 miles left, my right knee started acting up. Thankfully, it did not progress to the point of being unbearable, but it certainly slowed me down. It was a long slow slog back on trails I had just seen back to the car.
The Reality:
As I have already droned on about, this hike did not go remotely close to how I planned. While I set out to hike the Castle Rocks Lower Loop, I ended up hiking a weird combo of trails: the Skyline Trail, the Summit Rock Loop, and the Saratoga Gap Trail to the Ridge Trail
Part One: Skyline Trail to Summit Rock
Starting at the Summit Rock Parking Area on highway 35, I began my hike on the Skyline Trail. I didn’t know this going in (poor research) but this trail was actually a part of Sanborn County Park. The Skyline trail is a very nice wide, well graded, and not too steep hike.
It was a little boring; there weren’t any big views, you were very close to the highway, and it overall was nothing special. Eventually, I arrived at the intersection to Summit Rock. Summit Rock lies at the end of a short side trail off of the Skyline Trail.
Taking the Summit Rock side trail leads you to the rock, which I was underwhelmed by. I was hoping for a sweeping view of the South Bay, what I got was a 30 foot tall rock covered in graffiti. Unfortunately, it wasn’t what I was expecting. You are able to climb Summit Rock if you’re interested, but I decided to continue on.
Considering hiking in bear country? Be sure you are prepared to be bear safe.
Part 2: Summit Rock Loop to Castle Rock Parking Area
Back at the intersection, I decided to follow the Alltrails map and continue on to the Summit Rock Loop Trail. The loop trail actually drops down off the ridge, and you quickly descend down towards the heart of Sanborn Park.
After descending, you eventually will climb back up towards highway 35. This was more of the same, wide well graded trails, but not overly interesting, and no big views to speak of. This was also by far the steepest section of trail that I hiked, and I was totally winded about ¾’s of the way back up (not in good shape!).
If I were to do a similar hike again, I would definitely skip this section. There are much nicer trails in the area.
Part 3: Saratoga Gap to Ridge Trail Loop
After I tripped on barbed wire, and stumbled around before finally finding the correct trailhead, I finally started on the heart of the hike. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do the full loop, so I planned on following two one way trails and complete a short loop which would bring me back to where I was now.
Starting down the Saratoga Gap trail, you descend through a ravine down from the ridge. This section was more of what I had already seen, but it was a singletrack trail, which was a pleasant change. Eventually, you will arrive at Castle Rock Falls, and the accompanying overlook.
This was the first big view all day, and it truly is a great spot to stop. The falls were completely dry this late in the fall, but from the overlook you are afforded sweeping views of the Santa Cruz Range, all the way to the Pacific, and down to Big Sur.
Continuing on the Saratoga Gap Trail, you continue to have huge views as the trail is totally exposed on the hillside. The foliage thins out, and you feel the heat of the sun. On a hot day, this section is brutal. A few hundred yards past the falls, the trail becomes much more interesting.
The trail heads into a rocky section, and you end up with a few spots of fun class two scrambling. Use your hands, and it’s easy to get through, but it’s a pleasant surprise to find a bit of scrambling on an otherwise flat trail.
Eventually, I took the connector trail to the Ridge Trail heading up to Goat Rock. You are rewarded with more views and lookout points, but they are fewer and further between. Making my way past Goat Rock, which was packed with people, I descended back to the main trail where it rejoins near the falls overlook, and headed back up the ravine towards the parking lots.
Part 4: Skyline Trail to Summit Rock Parking Area
The final section of the hike looked like it would be uninspiring, and it was. I knew most of the trail was a standard walk through the woods, and it turned out that the still untraveled sections were more of the same.
I had a bit over a mile, but the flat and smooth trail was a welcome easy finish that allowed me to nurse my knees home. On this section, the nearby shooting range erupted into sound as gun enthusiasts began unloading. For the last mile back to the car, I hiked through the woods to the sounds of dense gunfire.
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 8/10
While the trail itself wasn’t spectacular, it was a nice finish to a strange and unexpected day. The trail was easy, the forest was green with specks of fall color, the sun was soft and beginning to set, and the temperature was beautifully in the low 60’s. It was the day I was expecting, but I made it back to the car after a long day on the trail tired, but content.
Castle Rock is an awesome park, and the Saratoga Gap Trail has been one of my favorites in the Bay Area for years. I wouldn’t do this particular route again, but the views, the the light scrambling, and the nice trail make this an excellent place to hike!
Don’t be rude; always following basic etiquette when on trail!
Pros:
- Big views on the Saratoga Gap Trail
- Easily accessible from San Jose
- Sections of scrambling
- Smooth well graded trail
Cons:
- Long sections with little to no panoramic views
- Long sections of steep elevation gain and loss
- Can be very busy
- $10 parking fee at main parking lots
- COVID related changes (trail closures and one-ways)
Alternative Hikes:
Sanborn Trail: Sanborn County Park
Saratoga Gap Trail to Ridge Trail Loop: Castle Rock State Park
Castle Rock Nature Trail: Castle Rock State Park
When To Visit:
Castle Rock State Park really is a 4 season destination. I have been there in summer and winter, and both were great. In summer, you can expect to sweat on exposed sections of trails, and to be comfortably warm on the shaded sections. During winter, expect to be cool in the shaded areas, and still warm in exposed sections. Rain is most likely in winter and spring.
Links to Further Reading:
California State Parks: Castle Rock
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