Cave of Munits to Castle Peak is a 1.9 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near West Hills, California that features a cave and is rated as difficult. The trail is primarily used for hiking and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
The trail is best done in either the morning or evening, because there is no shade and it gets very hot. There are some very steep rocky sections along this trail. There is no trail in some sections with a very steep scramble up sand, loose rock, and sandstone outcrops. After the ascent there is a very nice and easy section of trail around the backside of the peaks. After walking around the back to castle peak the descent is DANGEROUS. The “trail” is completely washed out and at an extreme grade. All loose sand with nothing to hold on to. Please be cautious!
March 14, 2021Great climb. Not just a hike, def some climbing ability is needed for this one. While the peak isn't very high the climb up can be scary if you have no climbing experience. We started at Cave of Munits which is an easy 15 min hike and beginner climb. We then proceeded to castle peek hoping to come to the cables that other reviews mentioned.. we didn't find them. We climbed up though Cave of Munits and once at the top proceed to climb up keeping right. At the top we found a trail that lead us to Castle Peak. The decent can also be dangerous, it is slippery and steep. Wear proper hiking shoes and if you have exercise gloves I suggest wearing for the descent.
March 12, 2021
March 1, 2021Too crowded for COVID times. I recommend going to the less popular trails in this park. Mask usage was roughly 50/50 when I was here.
February 26, 2021February 14, 2021February 13, 2021February 6, 2021January 18, 2021January 17, 2021January 16, 2021Extremely difficult and should not be done if you don’t have have either rappelling experience or a major lack of fear. Bring gloves for the cables. This is truly no joke.
January 16, 2021January 2, 2021January 2, 2021The cave was cool! I lost reception so it didn’t record it all
December 30, 2020Going toward the right side of trail has a wicked climb. Tricky footwork. Helps to wear shoes with grip. Go early to avoid crowds of people not wearing masks.
December 27, 2020Hike required unexpected bouldering. Not sure if we took a wrong turn but according to the AllTrails map we were on the right path. Came across numerous parts that had metal rope to help you climb up/down the rocks.
December 26, 2020Caves! Bring proper hiking boots next time.
December 23, 2020First of all, if you are like me and enjoy trails with a little extra adventure, then this is for you!! This hike has scrambling (and full on climbing at points) with optional bouldering. I think I went in the reverse (I went right instead of left at the initial fork) so I did the first half mile straight uphill. I ended up taking the trail around the peaks (gorgeous) and if you keep left, you will find the way to go back down (with the rock climbing and cables to hold on to). Now I don’t recommend going this way, I think there might be a way to cut through the top of the cave and come back out through the bottom of it, but I had to repel my way down the mountain, and thankfully I have a decent amount of experience with climbing and repelling, but I would highly recommend going up this way (stay to the left at the initial fork in the road). Careful that you don’t actually miss the cave, I did the first time but I circled back and went inside and it was so worth it! i’m giving this trail four out of five stars because it was a bit difficult to navigate, but absolutely top-notch scores for adventure and views of the caves! You definitely can’t find anything like this so close to LA for such a short hike. Just please be careful and make sure you have actual hiking boots as it can be windy and dusty especially towards the top. Have fun! I will definitely be doing this again.
December 22, 2020Went around the caves, but still would not recommend with a dog. I had to lift him off a ledge coming down castle rock at one point.
December 21, 2020Some of the rope areas require some decent skill — having a spotter helps too!
December 18, 2020Hard little hike... first park straight up and when the app tells you to start going down it’s really down like mountain climbing ropes are placed for you... be careful! Going down you can’t find the trail and need to rock clim at your own risk. Nice little rush
December 14, 2020went the other day with my Best friend and i can honestly say that it was a fun and easy trail .. it wasn’t too easy tho because we weren’t wearing the same right shoes so we kept slipping But it wasn’t too dangerous. jst be careful when you Go.
December 9, 2020psychotic
