Castle Rocks State Park

Castle Rocks State Park is a dramatic geologic landscape similar to City of Rocks and located one mile NE of the reserve. Outcroppings are primarily Quartz-monzonite, a type of granite associated with the Almo Pluton. Pinnacles and monoliths, towering 350 feet or more in local relief, characterize the area. Predominant vegetation includes: sagebrush, juniper, mountain mahogany and pinyon pine. An estimated 400 species of plants can be found. The more interesting wildlife includes mule deer, coyote, bobcat, mountain lion, moose, elk, big-horn sheep, and the state’s only record of Ringtail. An estimated 138 bird species occur here. Sage Grouse leks are present. Shoshone and Bannock Tribes utilized the area for seasonal hunting and pine nut gathering. Archeological surveys have determined that previous people-groups also inhabited or frequented the area. Evidence discovered, such as hunting blinds, pictographs, stone tools, and fire pits, provide new insight into one of the oldest documented cultures in Idaho. Fur trapping brought French Canadians and Americans into the general area as early as 1826, giving names to familiar landmarks such as Cache Peak and Raft River. California bound immigrants (1843-1882) interacted with this landscape probably for grazing, water, and fuel; however, no emigrant signatures, trail ruts, or campsites are known to exist within the park. Ranching was established as early as 1869. Over the next 130 years, canals, wells, fences, and shelters (including the ranch house c. 1912) were built, maintained, and rebuilt. Much of the geologic area lies within BLM land and Sawtooth National Forest. The front massifs and the surrounding rangeland were private owned until 1999; yet in 1964, its granite monoliths were included in the City of Rocks National Historic Landmark as an area of national significance. The Castle Rock Ranch Acquisition Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-421) authorized the National Park Service (NPS) to purchase the 1,240-acre ranch. The purchase was completed on March 15, 2001. The NPS was not authorized to manage the land for recreation or add it to the adjacent national reserve, but instead exchange the property with Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR) for land the state owned within Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument. Since May 25, 2003, IDPR has provided park facilities and managed recreation at Castle Rocks. The NPS and IDPR signed an exchange agreement on August 21, 2003, and Castle Rocks State Park became officially recognized; however, the legal exchange was not completed until October 6, 2004. On December 18, 2006, an additional 200 acres (Erickson acquisition) were purchased at the Ranch Unit, connecting the ranch to the southern base of Cache Peak. On December 21, 2007, the 120-acre Sheridan conservation easement (with 10 acres of recreational access) east of Eagle Rock Grove was purchased. The most popular recreation is climbing, but the area offers other opportunities, such as horseback riding, mountain biking, hiking, hunting, picnicking, and outstanding photography.