Castle Crest Wildflower Trail

The Castle Crest Wildflower Trail is moderate hike on the south end of the park.

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Castle Crest Wildflower Trail Details

The Castle Crest Wildflower trail is moderate hike on the south end of the park. There are two trailheads for this series of loops: one is located half a mile east of Park Headquarters along East Rim Drive, the other directly across the street from Park Headquarters, off of a quarter-mile path. The trailhead at Park Headquarters leads to a one-mile loop, while the trailhead on Rim Drive leads to a 0.4-mile loop. Both loops meet up, so you can start from either trailhead and complete the whole system, which takes 30-40 minutes and gains around 100 feet in elevation, from 6,400 feet to 6,500 feet. True to its name, the Castle Crest Wildflower Trail is a gold mine for wildflower viewing during the peak summer months. In addition to hemlock, fir and pine forests, you'll pass through a wet meadow that fills up with flowers of every imaginable color and shape -- bring your identification books! You can buy a trail guide for $0.75 at the trailhead, or take one for free if you plan to return it at the end of your hike. Interestingly, the Castle Crest Garden was planted in 1902 as a learning experiment about the kinds of wildflowers that grow in forests, wet meadows, and dry slopes. These are some of the only wet meadows that are accessible to park visitors.

Difficulty

Moderate

Distance

0.4 miles

Estimated time

35 minutes

Region

N/A