Castle Peak
More photographs at the Wikimedia Commons category.
Castle Peak rises to 3,603 m in Idaho. Ryan Peak stands 3,561 m to the southeast, 13 miles off. The nearest named place is Merriam Peak, a peak 0.9 miles away. Sawtooth Scenic Byway passes 11 miles off.
The story
Castle Peak (11,815 feet; 3,601 m) is a mountain in the western United States, the highest peak in the White Cloud Mountains of central Idaho and the Idaho Batholith. Located in Custer County, it is the 25th highest peak in the state, and the ninth most prominent. Castle Peak is within the Cecil D. Andrus–White Clouds Wilderness, which is part of Sawtooth National Recreation Area in Custer County. The towns of Stanley and Challis are both about 21 miles (34 km) away, and Ketchum-Sun Valley area is about 27 miles (43 km) from the peak. Castle Peak is managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the area surrounding the peak can be easily accessed. Camping is permitted anywhere is Sawtooth National Forest and the lakes surrounding Castle Peak provide excellent places to stay. The peak rises to the northeast of Chamberlain Basin and south of Castle Lake and Merriam Peak. There are trails from parking area to the vicinity of Castle Peak, although no trails go up the peak itself. The easiest route up Castle Peak is a class 3 scramble from the Chamberlain Basin. A proposed open-pit molybdenum mine at the base of Castle Peak became a leading issue in the 1970 gubernatorial race, and advanced the formation of the Sawtooth NRA in 1972. In a rematch of the 1966 election, Cecil Andrus defeated incumbent Don Samuelson to become the state's first Democratic governor in nearly a quarter-century, and Republicans did not regain the governorship until January 1995.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q5050221, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 3602.736 m
How to reach it
- 11.0 mi off the Sawtooth Scenic Byway
- 14.5 mi off the Salmon River Scenic Byway
- 20.9 mi off the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway
Overlooks nearby
- Bethine & Frank Church Overlook · 14 mi
- Galena Summit Overlook · 14 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Merriam Peak: 0.9 mi
- Mount Frank: 1.5 mi
- Patterson Peak: 1.7 mi
- Lonesome Lake Peak: 2.8 mi
- Cardiac Peak: 3.2 mi
- Stanley Museum: 21.3 mi
- Stanley Museum: 21.3 mi
- Custer Museum: 24.6 mi
- Chinese Wall: 6.3 mi
- Crown Point: 15.1 mi
- Pettit Lake Day Use Area: 14.4 mi
- North Shore Picnic Ground: 18.1 mi
- Baker Creek Picnic Area: 17.8 mi
- Stanley Park: 21.1 mi
- Alice-Toxaway Divide: 19.6 mi
- Baring Divide: 21.7 mi
- Baron Creek Falls: 22.6 mi
- Smith Falls: 22.7 mi
- Russian John Warm Spring: 16.1 mi
- Sunbeam Hot Springs: 17.7 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 19.2 miles of Castle Peak. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Peak | SE 137° | 3,561 m | 13.0 mi |
| Kent Peak | SE 138° | 3,555.187 m | 13.9 mi |
| Glassford Peak | SSE 149° | 3,536.29 m | 10.3 mi |
| Calkens Peak | NNW 341° | 3,509.162 m | 5.7 mi |
| Lee Peak | NNW 335° | 3,457.956 m | 4.8 mi |
| Lonesome Lake Peak | NNW 333° | 3,445 m | 2.8 mi |
| Mount Andrus | NNW 343° | 3,438.144 m | 3.7 mi |
| White Cloud Peaks | NNW 333° | 3,438 m | 4.5 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:42 | 19:13 | 19:51 |
| June solstice | 05:56 | 20:41 | 21:26 |
| September equinox | 07:26 | 18:59 | 19:38 |
| December solstice | 08:11 | 16:16 | 17:04 |
Local time (America/Boise).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Jun–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 17 | 21 | 28 | 35 | 45 | 52 | 59 | 58 | 50 | 40 | 26 | 17 |
| Precip in | 1.7 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 1.9 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Stanley RS, 19 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/10673656914
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