Castle Rock Regional Recreational Area

Not to be confused with Castle Rock State Park located in Santa Cruz County, California or Castle Crags State Park located near Dunsmuir, California.
Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area
(Castle Rock Park)
Map
LocationContra Costa County, California
Nearest cityWalnut Creek
Coordinates37°53′6″N 121°59′29″W / 37.88500°N 121.99139°W / 37.88500; -121.99139
Area18,000 acres (73 km2)
Governing bodyEast Bay Regional Park District

Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area is a 18,000 acres (73 km2) regional park of the East Bay Regional Park District. It is located in Contra Costa County, in the East Bay region of northern California. [1]

Geography

The park lies in a scenic sandstone canyon in the Diablo Foothills of the northern Diablo Range, west of Mount Diablo and Mount Diablo State Park. The closest city is Walnut Creek to the north. [1]

Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area is bordered by: Diablo Foothills Regional Park on the west, and Shell Ridge Open Space to the north. Together, these three parks provide 18,000 acres (73 km2) of parkland for visitors to enjoy. [1]

Recreation and Activities

Castle Rock Regional Recreation Era is an attraction for many outdoor activity opportunities such as hiking, climbing, swimming, and viewing wildlife. A portion of the park is closed every year for several months in order to protect a peregrine falcon nesting site.[1] Rock formations such as Castle Rock are popular hiking destinations for hikers of all levels and also provide climbing routes for outdoor boulderers and rope climbers.

History

Around 33 to 55 million years ago, the ancestral Sierra Nevada experienced weathering due to a warming climate, which led to the deposition of sandy sediments into an inland sea in the Central Valley. This created shallow marine basins and tidal marshes. The sandy rock formations that resulted are visible along the southern and western sides of Mount Diablo at locations like Castle Rock.[2]


See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Castle Rock Recreation Area". Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  2. ^ "Save Mount Diablo".



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