We had an 8:00 AM departure from Ashland for our drive down to Castle Crags State Park in California. We arrived at 9:30 AM at the Park entrance.

It was a mild Spring day, sunny with temperatures ranging from 61 to 72 degrees.

We had 11 hikers, our largest group since adding Castle Crags to the Monday schedule in 2022.

The group was prepared for the steep hike with extra water, electrolytes, and hiking poles.

About a quarter out from the parking, we found the TH for the Crags Trail that immediately headed up to begin the 2,200' ascent. 2.8 miles to the top.

The first 1.8 miles is through shady forest, with the last mile on Granite rocky steps to the top.

The forest trail offers views of Grey Rock Mountain to the left and several views of Mt Shasta to the right.

At 1.6 miles, there's the sign for Indian Springs just .2 miles off the trail to the left. This is a shady rest stop, with two gentle streams and spring water showering over the green cliff.

After that refreshing break, it's back on the Crags Trail for the last mile up to the top.

Six of our hikers made it all the way to Castle Dome and had an excellent view of Mt. Shasta to the east.

Back at the parking, bottled water was handed out from the back of the Kia, and then we made a short walk over to Vista Point for our group photo, first with Castle Crags in the background and then with Mt Shasta in the back.

The happy but tired group arrived back in Ashland near 5:30 pm, with a feeling of accomplishment.