Sloping down Castle Rock Ridge from a crest elevation of over 3,000 feet, this 3,800-acre semi-wilderness contains diverse habitats, including rock outcrops, deciduous and live oak woodland, knobcone pine, Douglas-fir and redwood forest, and chaparral. The bird life is particularly varied in spring and early summer and includes some high-elevation specialties. This park is a good place to try for some of the rarest irruptive landbirds that may show up in winter, such as Clark’s Nutcracker, Townsend’s Solitaire and Cassin’s Finch. The park has 32 miles of hiking trails, picnic tables and a trail camp. Castle Rock and Goat Rock are popular with rock climbers, particularly on weekends. There are day-use and overnight fees.
Directions. The main entrance is a parking lot off Hwy 35 (Skyline Blvd) 2.6 miles southeast of its intersection with Hwy 9 at Saratoga Gap. Saratoga Gap is 27.5 miles from Santa Cruz via Hwy 9. While traveling up Hwy 9, a grassland area (known as Summit Meadows and Sempervirens Pt) opens on the right, 11.8 miles past the Hwy 236 junction in “downtown” Boulder Creek; this habitat is often worth birding during spring migration.
With the help of a friend to drop you off or pick you up at one end or the other, try walking down the Saratoga Toll Road Trail for an interesting birding foray along an historic route. This 6.5-mile hike descends over 1,800 feet in elevation, dropping from mixed evergreen forest and chaparral down to redwood forest and the San Lorenzo River. Start at the trailhead at the junction of Hwy 9 and Hwy 35, or along Hwy 9 0.5 mile down from Hwy 35. The full hike ends at Hwy 9 6.1 miles north of the intersection of Hwy 9 and Hwy 236 in Boulder Creek. A shorter version of 3.2 miles ends (above the redwood portion) by using the Beckhuis Road Trail as a cutoff, joining Hwy 9 9.9 miles north of the intersection of Hwy 9 and Hwy 236 in Boulder Creek.
Birds. Numerous species nest at Castle Rock SP, and a three-mile loop walk on the Saratoga Gap and Ridge trails is a good way to see many of them. Check the area near the parking lot before going on to the trails. Pileated Woodpecker, Cassin’s Vireo, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Hermit and Yellow-rumped warblers, and Western Tanager nest near the parking lot and along the trail to nearby Castle Rock. Descending on Saratoga Gap Trail from the parking lot to Castle Rock Falls (virtually dry in summer), one can find Olive-sided and Pacific-slope flycatchers, Winter Wren, Western Tanager, and Wilson’s and Orange-crowned warblers. Canyon Wren formerly occurred at the falls, and it is a good place to scan for Band-tailed Pigeon, Vaux’s and White-throated Swift and Violet-green Swallow.
Watch for Mountain Quail (rare) just past the falls. Sage Sparrows nest in the chaparral slightly farther along the trail. Listen and watch for a resident pair of nesting Peregrine Falcons, and watch overhead for swifts, swallows and Turkey Vultures. Reach the Ridge Trail about 0.5 mile from the falls via the Inter-Trail Connector (or make a longer loop by continuing on to a farther junction with the Ridge Trail). Ridge Trail passes through stands of black and canyon live oaks and more chaparral. Look for White-throated Swift, Warbling, Cassin’s and Hutton’s vireos, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and Black-throated Gray warblers. Turn aside at the Emily Smith Observation Point. Smith, publishing a paper in 1928 on nesting Black Swifts and making many valuable observations into the 1950s, was the first woman to make a significant contribution to the county’s ornithological history.
Birding in the park may be quiet during the fall and winter, but it is a great place to search for irruptive species, such as Red Crossbill, Evening Grosbeak, Townsend’s Solitaire (rare), and Clark’s Nutcracker (rare and irregular). Regular winter visitors, such as Townsend’s Warbler and Fox Sparrow are common.
Along Hwy 9, Summit Meadows overlooks the headwaters of the San Lorenzo River. Occasionally, early on mid-spring mornings one can observe migration in action as birds funnel up the San Lorenzo canyon and pass overhead. Such flights might include Western Kingbird, thrushes, Lazuli Bunting, Vaux’s Swift, and Cedar Waxwing.
The Saratoga Toll Road Trail has been seldom birded, but has most of the area’s montane breeding species and a nice chance to compare the bird communities of mixed evergreen and redwood forests.