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The Saratoga Gap and Ridge Trail Loop

Length 4.8 miles · Climbing 1010 ft

California > San Francisco Bay Area > Castle Rock State Park

The Saratoga Gap Trail offers sweeping views of the Santa Cruz Mountains

This loop hike combines the park’s most popular features: a waterfall, tufa formations, and spectacular views over the Santa Cruz Mountains. Surprisingly, the noise from the nearby firing range can’t be heard at all during most of this hike, since it’s blocked by a ridge.

Park in the main Castle Rock lot for $8.00, or in the overflow lot a quarter-mile further up the road. There’s also free parking along the street just past the overflow lot. On nice summer afternoons the lots get pretty full, but it’s usually possible to find parking.

From the parking lot, the worn and heavily-used trail leads downhill through tanoak forest. After half a mile, the trail crosses the creek and comes to an intersection with the Goat Rock Trail, where a remarkably big tree grows. Stay to the left, continuing downhill to the waterfall viewing platform. The waterfall itself is a thin stream of water that runs over a sheer cliff; you can’t get a really good look at it since it’s almost directly below the platform (in 2006 a couple climbed down to get a better look and ended up stuck in the bottom of the ravine for 5 days before being rescued).

Past the platform, the trail continues through woods for a while before breaking out into chaparral and the first really good vistas. The trail has a superb view over the green San Lorenzo River Basin, with hawks circling below. The prominent ridge in the distance is Ben Lomond Mountain.

The trail becomes rocky, and it can be slow going. Carved into the side of a steep hill, this part is baking hot on summer afternoons. Fortunately, the trail soon dives back into the cool forest.

At the trail’s only footbridge, look to your left to see the Patrick Charles Allen grove, a group of tiny redwoods lining a ravine. These are the only redwoods on this hike; at 2600 feet, they’re near the upper limit of the redwoods’ elevation range.

The tanoak forest briefly gives way to a patch of much more attractive and open oak forest. A cut-off trail provides the possibility of hiking a shorter, 3-mile loop; this is actually a pretty good option since it includes the best sights of the longer loop and less gunfire noise. On the other hand, the longer loop has more panoramic views and the crowds thin out considerably after the cut-off trail.

The Ridge Trail at Goat Rock

The trail eventually breaks out into chaparral again, again offering sweeping views. There’s another stretch where you’ll have to scramble over rocks; at one point the trail becomes a narrow ledge precariously hanging over a sheer dropoff. A cable attached to the rock face gives you something to cling to.

The trail turns to the right, away from the steep hillside with its views and into the forest. The sound of gunfire from the nearby shooting range becomes audible at this point. Turn right onto the ridge trail, which climbs interminably through dull forest and thickets of poison oak on its way to Goat Rock. There are no views on this stretch of trail. The sounds of gunfire continue throughout the first mile of trail, finally ending around the Emily Smith Observation Point.

The scenery improves after this point as the trail descends past the huge and very popular Goat Rock tufa formation, offering more views of the San Lorenzo Valley. The trail becomes rough and rocky, and it’s necessary to scramble over rocks at several points. Soon the trail rejoins the Saratoga Gap Trail. Turn left to return to the parking lot.

The Saratoga Gap Trail at the Interconnector Trail

The Saratoga Gap Trail