Root Creek Falls (Castle Crags SP)
Castle Crags State Park, Castella · near Castella / Dunsmuir · Shasta Cascade
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 5 miles
- Elevation gain
- 700 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- Spring (Apr–June) for flow · Low elevation, open most of the year
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- Yes
- How the permit works
- Castle Crags SP day-use fee (~$10/vehicle). Dogs prohibited on backcountry trails (leashed only in campground/paved areas). The final approach to the falls is a rough use-trail.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 1 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Multi-tier waterfall in a granite gorge · Castle Dome looming above · PCT segment · Old-growth forest
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- The last approach to the falls is unofficial, steep, and slick — turn around at the creek if it feels sketchy; the gorge view is still worth it.
The guide
The counterpoint to the famous Crags Dome summit slog — a forested walk (partly on the PCT) to a granite gorge where Root Creek…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Root Creek Falls (Castle Crags SP) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 41.1543, -122.3168