Castle Rock–Balancing Rock, 4 cliffs is a 1.5-mile out-and-back in Sanborn County Park near San Lorenzo Park, CA. The route passes Lyme Disease Rock and Balancing Rock before reaching Castle Rock at the turnaround, 0.7 miles in. It is mostly level, with 212 ft of elevation gain. It scores 3/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.
Elevation
0 mi3,012 – 3,169 ft · steepest grade: 19%1.5 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Skyline Trail 37.23017, -122.09372
Nearest town San Lorenzo Park, CA
Directions
AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com
Castle Rock–Balancing Rock, 4 cliffs
1.5 mi · ▲ 212 ft · 36 min
Elevation 3,012–3,170 ft
Out & Back · Sanborn County Park
Trailhead: Skyline Trail · 37.23017, -122.09372
Weather Aug 3: Clear, high 86°F / low 70° · precip 0% · wind 4 mph · sunrise 6:15 AM · sunset 8:15 PM
Toilets at the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start on Skyline Trail, heading SE.
- 0.4 miTurn right, heading W.
- 50 ftPass Lyme Disease Rock.
- 0.2 miPass Balancing Rock.
- 50 ftBear left onto Castle Rock Trail, heading W.
- 0.1 miReach Castle Rock, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.1 miBear right, heading SE.
- 0.2 miTurn left onto Skyline Trail, heading N.
- 0.4 miArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
37% dirt63% unspecified
Weather
ClearTemperature 86°F70°
Precip0%Wind4 mphUV8Humidity33%
Hourly temperature
90°70°
Sunrise 6:15 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM6 PMSunset 8:15 PM
Tue
84°65°
Wed
81°49°
Thu
92°49°
Fri
98°56°
Sat
96°58°
Sun
91°50°
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is right at the trailhead, so there is no walk out. Be there by 7:55 PM to have the sun's last 20 minutes of sky before it sets at 8:15 PM. Your car is right there — dark at 8:44 PM.
Good to know
- Toilets at the trailhead
- Parking lot at the trailhead
Other ways to reach this destination
More from Skyline Trail Trailhead
- Hash Boulder–Parking Lot Rock, 4 rocks 1.8 mi · ▲ 361 ft
- Ridge Trail & Saratoga Gap Trail 2.1 mi · ▲ 446 ft
- Parking Lot Rock–Ridge Trail, 3 sights 2.5 mi · ▲ 588 ft
- Castle Rock Falls–Saratoga Gap Viewpoint, 5 cliffs 2.9 mi · ▲ 738 ft
- Shady Rock–Platypus, 6 rocks 3.4 mi · ▲ 869 ft
- Lyme Disease Rock via Skyline Trail 4.9 mi · ▲ 722 ft
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Hikes near San Lorenzo Park, California