Castle Peak

Lake Tahoe / Truckee

Hike of the Month

Castle Peak

With winter peaking around the corner, Castle Peak is an easy to access hike with great views of the surrounding Sierras. With any luck the weather will be cool, crisp, and sunny. Castle Peak is a dramatic volcanic summit. The view from Castle Peak includes most of the Tahoe peaks, Lake Tahoe, Sierra Buttes, Eureka Peak, and (on a clear day) Mount Lassen. We could just see Mount Lassen in the distance the day we hiked.

The hike to Castle Peak is 6.5 miles round trip. The difficulty for the overall hike is rated hard, however, the first part of the hike is not. The first half of this hike is moderate up sloping dirt road that leads to a saddle below Castle Peak. The hike to the saddle is leisurely and has excellent views from the saddle. There is quite a bit of water along the trail to the saddle in the late spring and summer. Even in fall there are some springs and rivulets of water for when your dog accompanies you. When you reach the saddle you follow the trail to your right up to Castle Peak. There is no water after this point. It is this section of the trail that would be considered hard. The elevation gain for the total hike is 1800 feet, from 7200 to 9000 feet.

To get to Castle Peak take Highway 80 to Donner Summit. Exit at the Boreal Ski Resort. When you get off the freeway go to the side of the freeway that is opposite Boreal Ski Resort where there is a paved road leading up to the woods. Ignore the no parking signs at the start and take the paved road up to gate, which may or may not be locked. There is parking in the dirt near the gate. When the gate is open people drive the dirt road all the way to the saddle and park their pickup truck. They miss the best part of the hike!

Enjoy the photos that follow.