Castle Peak–Lake Angela, 9 lakes is a 12-mile out-and-back near Donner, CA. The route passes Chinese Catfish Pond, Lake Angela, Azalea Lake and 3 more before reaching Castle Peak at the turnaround, 6 miles in. It climbs 2,452 ft, with sections as steep as 36% grade. It scores 34/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: green fringe.
Elevation
0 mi7,071 – 9,075 ft · steepest grade: 36%13.1 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Unnamed 39.31854, -120.32947
Nearest town Donner, CA
Directions
AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com
Castle Peak–Lake Angela, 9 lakes
12 mi · ▲ 2,452 ft · 5 hr 14 min
Elevation 7,070–9,074 ft
Out & Back
Trailhead: 39.31854, -120.32947
Weather Sep 22: Mostly clear, high 67°F / low 45° · precip 2% · wind 2 mph · sunrise 6:50 AM · sunset 7:00 PM
Drinking water at the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start at the trailhead, heading N.
- 150 ftTurn right onto Ski Ranch Lane, heading E.
- 50 ftBear left, heading NE.
- 0.3 miContinue straight onto Donner Summit Lakes Trail, heading NW.
- 50 ftPass Chinese Catfish Pond.
- 50 ftPass Lake Angela.
- 0.5 miTurn left, heading NE.
- 0.5 miTurn left, heading NW.
- 50 ftPass Azalea Lake.
- 50 ftPass Flora Lake.
- 0.5 miBear left onto Pacific Crest Trail, heading NW.
- 0.8 miTurn left onto Summit Lake Trail, heading NW.
- 0.1 miPass West Lakes.
- 500 ftTurn left onto Pacific Crest Trail, heading SW.
- 2.2 miPass Castle Pass.
- 250 ftBear right onto Castle Peak Trail, heading SW.
- 0.3 miBear left, heading NE.
- 0.1 miTurn right, heading NE.
- 50 ftBear right, heading N.
- 300 ftBear left, heading N.
- 0.3 miBear right, heading E.
- 0.3 miReach Castle Peak, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.2 miTurn right, heading E.
- 0.4 miBear left, heading W.
- 300 ftBear right, heading W.
- 50 ftTurn left, heading W.
- 0.4 miBear left onto Pacific Crest Trail, heading SW.
- 2.3 miTurn right, heading SE.
- 1 miBear right onto Donner Summit Lakes Trail, heading NW.
- 1.7 miBear right onto Ski Ranch Lane, heading SE.
- 50 ftTurn left, heading S.
- 50 ftArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
48% dirt1% paved51% unspecified
Weather
Mostly clearTemperature 67°F45°
Precip2%Wind2 mphUV7Humidity42%
Hourly temperature
70°45°
Sunrise 6:50 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM9 PMSunset 7:00 PM
Wed
68°49°
Thu
71°45°
Fri
62°41°
Sat
64°40°
Sun
56°29°
Mon
65°34°
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 4.7 mi in (~148 min). Leave by 4:12 PM for the 7:00 PM sunset. Back at your car by 9:10 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.
Good to know
- Drinking water at the trailhead
- Parking lot at the trailhead
Other ways to reach this destination
More from this trailhead
- Petroglyph Cliff–Donner Pass, 4 sights 10.7 mi · ▲ 2,386 ft
- Bill Patterson 6.8 mi · ▲ 258 ft
- Bill Patterson 6.1 mi · ▲ 315 ft
- Tinker Knob–Pacific Crest Viewpoint, 6 sights 15.9 mi · ▲ 2,868 ft
- Andesite Peak–Lake Angela, 8 lakes 11.1 mi · ▲ 1,402 ft
- Donner Summit Lakes Trail–Hewlett Road, 3 sights 9.6 mi · ▲ 2,127 ft
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