We went on Tuesday afternoon, very happy that we found parking as we drove by on Sunday and there’s no parking. Very nice view up top, but trail route wasn’t very clear, I think we could go higher? Be careful when coming down, as there’s some frost could be slippery. We couldn’t find any sign up there and kind bushwhacking a bit to get back on trails. We went the end of Oct. I’ve seen a dog, so dog friendly? Saw 5-6 deer. I was told this trail has the best view of the lake.

Beautiful trail. I recommend taking the extra portion up to the lake!! Trail to Castle rock is strenuous, but well marked and overall safe.

This hike was so much fun! It does get a bit slippery and there’s a lot of steep areas so make sure you have shoes with traction. The view from the top is so worth it, I can see why it’s a favorite for many people. Also, we parked across the entrance, so be careful with the traffic, which wasn’t an issue for us since it wasn’t busy.

Excellent trail. A shorter hike to do on a day trip to Big Bear. Beautiful. It’s a more popular hike due to it being shorter but you don’t feel like there are too many people. It’s straight up big incline for the main part of the trail until you get to castle rock itself, very easy to go off trail and get lost but as long as you keep an eye out for the cairns you will be fine. Lots of paths that look like trail that go off but lead nowhere so be cautious. Otherwise a pretty decent easy to easy moderate hike. You get the Big Bear experience for sure on this hike but short enough to still roam the town before and after. Very limited parking so if nothing available just come back in a bit until someone leaves. You will leave this trail satisfied no matter skill level.

Very nice hike. Approx 30 minutes to the castle rock which u can climb and have a great view. If you add another 30 minutes you reach the blaff lake which I highly recommend!