Hiking to beautiful Burstarse Falls in Castle Crags Wilderness via the Pacific Crest Trail is an annual ritual for many North State hikers. Most come in spring, when warmer days melt the winter snow off the high granite peaks of Castle Crags, sending the cold water streaming down Burstarse Creek and over Burstarse Falls. In […]
Hike Castle Crags State Park’s Stunning Trails in 2025
Love to hike? Castle Crags State Park hosts a range of hiking trails for every ability, plus an excellent campground. This post gives all you all your hiking options, plus camping details, and includes discussion of the geology, plant and animal life, and human history of Castle Crags State Park and its environs — all […]
Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail Through Castle Crags State Park and Wilderness
The steep granite slopes of Castle Crags tower above this Pacific Crest Trail hike through Castle Crags State Park, Castle Crags Wilderness, and Shasta-Trinity National Forest. You gain a lot of beauty for a modest effort, and you’ll likely also have solitude.
On the Potential Closure of Castle Crags State Park
As many of you long-time readers know, I’ve written often here about the major threat of closures of California’s state parks due to the California budget crisis and the choices our lawmakers are making to deal with that crisis. I’ve made my stand in favor of protecting California State Parks and their hiking trails many […]
Hike to Heart Lake and Castle Spire in Castle Crags with the Mount Shasta Trail Association on Saturday, September 11
Yep, I’m on the board of directors of the Mount Shasta Trail Association. Nope, I won’t be on this one because I’ll be hiking in the southern Sierra Nevada with my partner Stephanie. But here’s the scoop for you: The Mt Shasta Trail Association has added another dimension to the Heart Lake hiked planned for […]
Pacific Crest Trail Maintenance in Castle Crags State Park This Saturday
The Pacific Crest Trail Association and the Mount Shasta Trail Association (I’m on the board of directors) are co-sponsoring trail maintenance work on the Pacific Crest Trail section in Castle Crags State Park this Saturday, October 24th, 2009. Here’s what Mount Shasta Trail Association president Joe Wirth says: We need a trail crew of ten people […]
Where I’ve Been Hiking This Summer
I’ve actually done quite a few hikes this summer, though only a few have so far made it into this blog. Why? It takes a lot of time to process and resize the photos with Adobe Photoshop Elements, and also write the text and do all the other things it takes to make a decent […]
Castle Lake Clean-Up This Saturday, July 25, 2009
Castle Lake, nestled in the Trinity Divide mountains near Castle Crags Wilderness, ranks as one of my favorite Mount Shasta spots. I get up there several times a year, swimming in the lake on hot days or hiking the trail up to Heart Lake or further away to Little Castle Lake and Mount Bradley Ridge. […]
Mount Shasta with Autumn Snow
OK, I’m finally joining the long parade of local bloggers who have posted pictures of Mount Shasta with snow. This past winter and spring were so dry that our beloved mountain’s southern slopes were devoid of the white stuff, which usually sticks around at the highest elevations year-round. (I live on the north side of […]
Improving Our Trails: Box Canyon Trail and Castle Crags State Park Nature Trail
The Mount Shasta Trail Association recently did some important maintenance on local trails: the Box Canyon Trail near Lake Siskiyou and the town of Mount Shasta in Siskiyou County, and the Castle Crags State Park Nature Trail in Shasta County. Here’s the skinny from the Mount Shasta Trail Association website: Recently a team of Mount […]
San Francisco Chronicle Loves My Heart Lake
Ever since my first visit in the 1980s, Heart Lake has been one of my top wilderness spots in Northern California. It’s an easy hike up from Castle Lake and the shallow waters offer a perfect reflection of Mount Shasta. I live in the area, and it’s the hike I do the most often. Here’s […]
Box Canyon Trail Maintenance and Castle Crags State Park Nature Trail Maintenance
The Mount Shasta Trail Association (I’m on the Board of Directors) recently completed two trail maintenance projects. The first was on the Indian Creek Nature Trail in Castle Crags State Park, and the second was on the Box Canyon Trail near Lake Siskiyou, west of Mount Shasta. (See my post about my recent Box Canyon […]
Little Castle Lake and Mount Bradley Ridge Hike
Little Castle Lake and Mount Bradley Ridge lie above Castle Lake and beyond the turnoff to Heart Lake. They make a great hike, and you may have the trail all to yourself. Little Castle Lake and Mount Bradley Ridge Stephanie and I (and our twelve-year-old golden retriever Molly) were blessed with a perfect late September […]
