Peak 6617, also known as Castle Peak, is the highest peak surrounding the second largest alpine lake in all of California. The hike to the summit is fairly straight forward ( some route finding and bush whacking is required) and can be reached in under two hours from the trailhead. The summit offers beautiful views of Mt.Shasta, Black Butte,the back side of Castle Crags State Park and of the Russian Wilderness and Trinity Alps.

Getting There

From the town of Mt. Shasta at I-5 and the Central Mount Shasta freeway exit, proceed West on Lake St towards the signs for Lake Siskiyou. Turn Left/South on Old Stage Road, proceed on Old Stage Road until you arrive at a "Y". Go right( which is actually straight) as Old Stage turns left and you start on W.A. Barr Road. Take Barr Road for a few miles, passing Lake Siskiyou on your right. Soon a sign for Castle Lake will be seen on your right pointing you to turn left up the Castle Lake Road. Follow the road to Castle Lake for approx. 8 miles. The road dead ends at the Trailhead.

Proceed down the obvious pathway towards the start of the trail. The lake will be on your right, you will pass over a small outlet stream as you angle right towards the trees, do not go left down the unmaintained use trail. You will know you are on the right trail when you see a small sign designating the trail hanging on the first big tree on your left.
Follow the trail as you gain altitude quickly, the lake will be far below you before you know it. After you come out of the trees you will be presented with a number of trail possibilities. To get to the summit you can angle left towards the obvious ridgeline to your left which you can take all the way to the summit. Or you can angle upwards and then right towards the large granite headwall that goes all the way down to the back of Castle Lake. Heading this way will take you to Heart Lake and from there you can follow the obvious trail that will take you to the top of the large granite headwall, once this is reached you turn left, do some bush whacking and proceed to the summit. Once at the summit enjoy the unobstructed views of Mt.Shasta, Black Butte, Castle Crags and if the weather cooperates, see Mt.McLoughlin the southern most Orgeon Cascade.

Red Tape

No permits requires, no fees, no parking pass. Road is not regularly plowed in the winter.

When To Climb

Depending on the snow: Late May/ Early June-October/November.

Camping

There are one or two unofficial campsites along the lakes outlet

GPS Coordinates

The coordinates for the summit are : N41*13.135' & W122*23.319'. I like this type of coordinates better than the way topo zone has their's laid out so I hope this will help some of you.

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