Castle Valley Trailhead

The Castle Valley Trailhead is the gateway to a host of many popular outdoor destinations in the northern Sierra, including Castle Valley and Castle Peak, the Pacific Crest Trail, the Sierra Club’s Peter Grubb Hut, Hole in the Ground trail and the Donner Rim Trail. This has made it one of the northern Sierra Nevada’s most popular trailheads and yet until 2016, the land was not just privately owned, but up for sale.

For more than 15 years, the thousands of hikers who used the Castle Valley trailhead were greeted by a sign offering the land for sale for $7.5 million, with a phone number to call. After years of negotiation we purchased the 412-acre property for $2.1 million, and sold it to the Forest Service for the same price.

Now Castle Valley Trailhead is part of the Tahoe National Forest, preserved in perpetuity for everyone to enjoy.

This project was made possible through our partnership with the Truckee Donner Land Trust and the support of many, in particular the United States Forest Service, the Pacific Crest Trail Association, and the Northern Sierra Partnership, with funding from The Land and Water Conservation Fund.