Castle Rock State Park, Independence Day

Castle Rock State Park

Solo Hike - July 4, 2015

I woke up Saturday morning, ready to take on the day. It had been some time since I'd been on a decent hike, so after a quick google search - I found this website. It is full of hikes around the entire bay area - divided by season and area. Heading South of the city is always a beautiful drive, so I picked one of their "Best Overall Hikes" in the southbay: Castle Rock. Their website can describe the hike much better than I ever could.... so click here to check it out. Read on for my personal experience & pictures... 

By 7am I was on the road, heading south on 280 - which is always a beautiful drive. To get to Castle Rock, you take the 84 exit, which is even more beautiful. The road is lined with trees and horse farms. You pass a small, cute area with a restaurant and grocery store, should you want to grab last minute snack for your hike. After a sharp left onto Skyline Blvd and winding along, there are several points you can pull over to take in the view along the way. One such stop resulted in the panoramic picture at the top of the page. The fog hung over the entire valley below - on the drive back it was completely gone, so I'm glad I was there early enough in the morning to capture the beauty.

There is a parking lot that you need to pay to use, but just outside the gate, there is free street parking available. I found a spot and immediately hit the trails. Castle Rock State Park has 32 miles of trails as well as a campground. Being that I was hiking alone and had to be back in the city for dinner, I chose the Saratoga Gap Trail. If you take the full loop its over 7 miles, but if you follow the instructions from this website, it takes you on a roughly 6 mile loop - starting on Ridge Trail and finishing on Saratoga Gap Trail. So I set off on the trail - it ranges from rocky, steep inclines, to moderate, easy spans through the trees. You definitely need to always watch your step as you progress deeper into the woods. I did get slightly lost at one point, where one path seemed to be the official trail, but ended up not leading anywhere. This actually happened to me about three times in the first mile, so I'd have to back track to find my way. At one point I thought - screw it I'll just go with it. It lead me straight to Goat Rock - pictured in both photos with me in them. In the picture below, I am sticking out of a cave in Goat Rock. A father-daughter duo helped me out - he guided me along the top ridge of the giant rock and showed me the entrance to the cave, while she played photographer. You have to carefully slide down the opposite side of the rock (not pictured) and hold on to a ridge to twist into the cave. Inside is larger than you'd expect! A bit of graffiti actually adds to the experience before you pop your head out the other side and take in the view at that angle. 

I continued my journey until I got to the campsite. The trail remained fairly easy to the site. At this point, directions and reception long gone on my phone, I was unsure of where the trail was supposed to loop around. I followed the Saratoga Gap signs for another quarter mile or so, before feeling that it wasn't quite right. Good call - on my way back, passing through the campsite again, there was the sign I was looking for to loop back towards the parking lot. The loop back using Saratoga Gap Trail was less of a mild go - it was pretty much up and up and up and very rocky and on the edge of the mountain instead of through the middle. Beautiful views all along the way. At some points, they had a wire bolted into the side of the rock for you to hold onto... just in case you loose your footing (see picture below, left).

At one point, I did loose my footing. Not on the edge of a cliff, so no danger there. In perhaps the last half mile, I jumped off a rock onto the trail. A soft pile of leaves gave way to my foot, sliding down the way. My right ankle caught on a loose tree root, but the rest of my body kept sliding down until I grabbed the root with my right hand. Oops. Tip #1 - be smart when you're hiking alone and maybe don't take chid-like jumps off of rocks because it looks fun. Fortunately, it resulted in just a few minor scratches. On the note of advice, let's throw in bug spray and sunscreen. You'll find shading through most of the trail, but if you take any advice, wear sunscreen.

Had to share that video - one of my favorites. 

When I reached the parking lot, it was packed. Fourth of July must be a popular hiking day. Families, couples, and friends all crossed my path along the trail. By 11:15 or so when I finished, the lot was full, street parking was full, and people scattered everywhere. I jumped in my red, convertible fiat (named Bianca because she is a Sassy Italian :) ) and headed back to the city for evening Fourth of July festivities with friends - a little non traditional: Thai fish and chicken hearts. How did you spend your holiday weekend?