Choosing Castle Rock Climbing School for a half-day climbing adventure was a great decision. I had a few days off during a business trip and wanted to do some outdoor climbing. When I booked my trip, everything was simple and clear. The climbing instructor and guide, Rick, who also runs the school, was very professional and knowledgeable about the area and the rock. He was both directive and encouraging. Safety was the number one priority, with the second being having a great experience. I was definitely challenged and felt really accomplished at the end of my half-day. Getting one-on-one instruction was the best way to improve and climb on rock I had never climbed before. Thank you! Leslie read more

Castle Rock Climbing School - In Castle Rock Park. Really great climb. - Rock Climbing Near Me - Los Gatos, California

Found the school online as I looked for an adventure to couple with my daughter's birthday-vacation to NorCal. This was her first outdoor rock climbing adventure. Met up with Rick (owner/operator) and Matt (guide) at Castle Rock state park as instructed. Pretty easy drive from downtown SF to get there by 8am on a Saturday. Rick was great. We showed up somewhat less than prepared, no snacks, limited water, forgot the waivers and no bug spray. Between Rick and Matt, they patched us together and we had a blast. We're from IL, so clearly Novice level, but the location offered a variety of climbs to broaden skills while keeping it fun. Excited to get to Bend, OR and look Rick up again as he has a new location that just opened there! read more

See all

I worked with Rick at Castle Rock Climbing School to organize a small group, dawn hiking experience in Joshua Tree National Park, in April 2019. It was a huge success! My company leads culinary and cultural trips to extraordinary places. That means I rely on excellent vendors to make me look good. :-) Rick is one such vendor. He went above and beyond to help me bring joy to 10 first-time visitors to the Park. He patiently discussed the itinerary options with me by telephone. He helped me stay within my budget. He was responsive, thoughtful and professional in every interaction we had. Rick arranged for 2 delightful, knowledgeable, positive guides to meet our enthusiastic group before the sun came up in the Park. They ably led us on a spectacular hike, pointing out flowering plants by their Latin names, lovingly coaxing novices to scramble on the boulders, and enchanting us with their great personalities and expertise. Thanks, Rick, Greyson and Tara, for giving us a fantastic experience! read more

See all

Very professional team, knows great climbing spots, always happy to help you with the advice or setup a more enjoyable climbing route nearby. Additional thanks for taking care about safety and cleanliness of visited sports. Looking forward to climb with you again. read more

My group of climber partners went for a day long climb trip in Castle Rocks State Park with Rick, and Tyler. We had such a wonderful time and learned so much. Rick is a very well trained guide, a natural teacher and just fun to hang out with. We all felt like we improved our climbing skills while having a wonderful day out. I saw very clearly each of my climbing mates gain a leap in self confidence. The day was organized very well. It felt easy to trust both Rick and Tyler very quickly, because we felt safe and heard. We all felt like Ricks clear directions helped us very much, both in beta and in helping us to clam down and be able to continue on after a bout of fear or nerves. We are all eager to do another trip with Castle Rocks Climbing School and Rick. I am also very interested in taking the rescues course and a beginning climber skill course. read more

Poor communication. The email we got told us to show up at 8 am, but the guide didn't show up until 9 am. Turns out it was a typo from the owner in the email. We still ended up climbing for the full half day we paid for, but still annoying to stand around in a parking lot for an hour waiting for the guide, all because the owner can't take two seconds to double check the email before he hits send. read more

This was an amazing experience and everything I was looking for. My instructor/guide Tiowa was truly impressive. He got me to meet my appropriate edge and introduced me to different levels of climbing(slab, and crack). I never felt unsafe even when I slipped, he was always there to catch me(not literally) and reassured me through his words. And Rick the head honcho is a fun guy although I didn't meet him because all of our interactions took place over the phone I could just tell that he's an amazing human that cares about the safety of his employees and his customers. I will definitely be climbing with these guys again! read more

Castle Rock Climbing School was fantastic and were able to accommodate my last-minute request for a guide in Joshua Tree. They provided all the gear necessary and were friendly. read more

This may be a bit strange, but I am posting about an experience where I *didn't* go climbing with Castle Rock Climbing School. I organized a group outing at Pinnacles, where the weather turned inclement at the last minute. My party and I were already camping in Pinnacles and thus unreachable about changing plans. Rather than just sending an email and not showing up the morning of the climb, Rick drove down from San Jose to Pinnacles to let us know the climb was off. A super professional move, and one that makes me want to book with them again, hopefully with better weather the next go round! read more

I did a half-day climbing session with Karen and then 1.5 days of Anchor and Rappel school with Rick (the owner). They were very safety focused with strong COVID protocols as well as strong climbing protocols. The Anchor class was excellent. It is very thorough and hands on. It is much more than an entry-level class. Rick's approach is the same he brings to training guides with a science and math approach that provides a strong structure for good decision making. Rick is excellent at providing the background and big-picture and then working in to the details. You come away understanding the reasoning and logic, not just rules. He presents you with anchoring problems and lets you work it out. He is there with tips and advice when you need it. He has a very good feel for when to coach and when to let you learn by experience. After taking his class, I led a climb expecting two bolts with chains at the top for the anchor. They weren't there and I didn't have much gear left on my harness (I had not expected to build a trad anchor). I was able to build a bomber three-piece anchor with improvisation because of the skills and confidence that I gained in Rick's class. My mentor inspected the anchor and was very impressed. We climbed and lowered off of it for the rest of the session. I am signing up for more training with Castle Rock Climbing School because I have confidence that I will learn safe and approved methods in a structured approach. I will be able to ask questions and get excellent answers based on deep experience. read more

CRCS rocks! Rick was a superb communicator and Glen was a phenomenal guide. He really knows what he's doing and made it a point to ensure we felt safe. My 12-year old daughter had never rappelled and was very apprehensive about the whole thing. Glen was calm and composed and literally talked her off the ledge. :-) Seriously, you can't go wrong booking a tour with these guys. Highly recommend! read more

Update 8/18: Second trip with CRCS was as good as the first time! Yolan took us through several routes up at Castle Rock. We practiced rappelling and climbing during a four hour trip. So fun and we'll be back very very soon! Original review 4/14: Great climbing experience with Rick, Yolan and Valerie. I made the reservation with Rick on Friday for climbing at the Pinnacles and we had an amazing time. My girlfriend and I had both climbed indoors previously and were a little nervous making the switch to outdoors. Our guide made us feel safe and assured from the moment we arrived to the end the last route. Will recommend and climb with CRC again! read more

My daughter just finished a week of camp - and man is she hooked! The staff were great, it was organized and well run. Thanks for a great week! We have a new climber on our hands! read more

My teenage son & I had a private guiding session with Anthony. We've been doing indoor climbing for a while, but I had never been outdoor climbing. Anthony was very patient and was able to direct my son on more challenging climbs while helping me on the easier ones. He was very safety conscious while still allowing us to push ourselves a bit...falling is a great learning tool when you have someone there to make sure you are doing it safely. It's even better when they encourage you to get back up & try again! For the cost, it's a special treat activity, not something you can do every weekend (I'm sure the larger group classes are less expensive). It was a great experience, Castle Rock & Sanborn are beautiful parks, and I'm glad we did it. read more

My wife and I recently climbed with Rick for a few days through the Joshua Tree Guides division of Castle Rock Climbing School, and we wouldn't have changed a thing. While we both have a fair amount of experience climbing outside, we would never have been able to safely enjoy climbing at Joshua Tree to the degree that we did without his help. Rick had us on routes that were well-matched to our abilities within an hour of meeting up with us at the park, and everything we did after that over the next few days was interesting and challenging. More importantly, however, we both felt exceptionally safe during the time we spent climbing with him. Gear was well-maintained and placed impeccably, and his safety instructions were always clear, concise, and friendly---never rude or condescending. Off the rock, we had a great time with Rick as well, and we left feeling like we had spent the weekend climbing with a friend. Overall, a great experience. We learned a lot, had a great time, and will definitely be back for more! read more

I met Castle Rock Climbing while camping at Pinnacles and ended up joining their group after my climbing partners were unable to make the trip. As a former guide, naturalist and ropes course facilitator I have definitely experienced many different schools, guides and other professionals in the business and I can sincerely say that Castle Rock Climbing School is EXCELLENT. Not only do they excel in the soft skills of communication, team building and group dynamics but their hard skills of technique, safety, earth science and climbing are exceptional. Despite the countless trainings I have had I still learned even better, safer more scrupulous ways of doing things. My highest recommendations for Castle Rock!! read more

Having no prior experience in outdoor rock climbing, we had a memorable experience with Castle Rock Climbing School. Got a deal for 4 hour session on rock climbing and rappelling. Although paid full for the deal, still they would take credit card details in advance from the party, just in case of no-show off, however nothing to worry about it. Though we had been 30 mins late on the day, Rick welcomed us with smile and handed us over harness, shoes and helmet. Casey been our guide/ instructor, he started with introduction on rocks, cautioned about surroundings and safety measures. Initial 30 minutes explained about using harness and rope. Casey been highly patience explained/mentored and motivated to reach cliff top all through the time. Though we over shot 30 minutes than signed 4 hours session, Casey allowed to us to complete one of the pending cliff. Highly recommend Casey and Rick. However given 4 star since price little bit higher. Thanks Casey, you are awesome. read more

I will not be doing business with these guys and I do not recommend them for anyone. I paid for a two hour guided adventure and now they want more money they want me to upgrade to a four hour or add another Climber otherwise they will not let me use my purchase. this is a classic bait and switch scam. also I Have in writing all I need to do is call to schedule and it's not true. They then directed me to schedule on their web page. I tried and then they called me and tried to strong arm me. Their Web page is horrible and their Form asks for a bunch of useless information and makes you complete a bunch of useless tasks. if I could afford it 0 stars I would read more

I'm a teacher at a local high school, and one week during each school year, we have an intersession program where the students can explore their passions. For the past three years, I've lead a rock climbing and hiking activity. For the outdoor climbing, we've used the Castle Rock Climbing School (top-roping for one year and bouldering for the other two). Rick and his crew have been consistently awesome! For many of the students, it was their first time climbing outdoors, and Rick and his guides selected a range of manageable routes and problems, such that each student was able to find success. The kids thus had an amazing time. I'm looking forward to climbing with the Castle Rock Climbing School again in March! read more

This is a shout out to anyone interesting in cutting edge sports. Whilst the "rest of us" are busy biking, Rick Picar at CRCS is out with groups if people teaching and improving the adventurous amongst us on vertiginous walls of rock throughout the Bay Area. The sport is addicting, so best to approach it with a professional certified guide who understands the perfect balance of safety and fun. If outdoors is your game, if adventure is your calling, and if a range of challenges from small to stupendous is your thing, then rock climbing is your "next big thing." Just be sure to hire a licensed guide who knows what the hell (s)he is doing. Rick Picar at CRCS certainly does! read more

Our Guide Rick Picar was awesome! He had tons of patience and made it fun for my wife and I. We are beginners and by the end of the day, we had the confidence and trust to scale a 40 foot face. My wife is deaf and we were pleasantly surprised to see that our guide knew sign language. It's been a great trip and we will be signing up again for our next adventure. read more

Very disappointing. My 16 year old son and his friend climbed with Rick at Castle Rock last Sunday. We found him to be arrogant and condescending. He actually told my son: "stop asking so many questions". He spent the entire time trying to sell other courses instead of trying to connect with my son and support his enthusiastic learning. Very disappointing overall. read more

One of the best climbing schools I know of. Great for the beginner up to the expert. They have a great focus on safety and a very experienced staff. I would highly recommend Castle Rock! read more

I began indoor rock climbing and wanted to tame the next step to go outdoors I had no clue on what to do, bit I scheduled a trip with them and it was the most informational trip. They taught me everything I need to know to succeed. Then I follows it up with an anchoring class and now I climb regularly with others and it wouldn't be possible without rick and his staff read more

Rick was great setting everything up and Tiowa did an awesome job guiding my son on his first out rock climbing adventure. We'll plan to hook back up with him on our next Joshua Tree adventure. Thanks Tiowa for a positive, instructive rock climbing session. read more

It was exquisite. The rocks were great the instructors were great it was an all out amazing experience

I highly recommend Castle Rock Climbing School! I participated in a private rock week (Monday-Thursday) with Yolan and learned a lot. Rick was highly responsive and flexible to my schedule and was extremely organized, especially considering how last minute I booked the class. What I really appreciated most was my guide's genuine passion, knowledge, and effective pedagogical skills when it came to technique, anchors, self-rescue, etc. It is always worth the money to learn things the right way and put safety first and they do an excellent job at that while making it really fun. read more

My fiancee and I just took a guided tour in Castle Rock this weekend and had a great time. Our guide (Anthony) was really knowledgeable and fun to spend some time climbing with. He was able to answer all of questions and gave us a lot more information than I had even expected to get. The climbs were all very fun and instructive and Anthony even spent some additional time with us to give us some bouldering tips too. It was definitely worth it and I'm already looking at some of their classes. read more

My husband and I scheduled our first time rock climbing experience with Castle Rock Climbing School and are still on cloud 9 and reminiscing about how absolutely amazing our first time was. Rick made us feel 100% safe, secured, and motivated. He has a knack for understanding how his students learn and ensures that you are absorbing everything he is teaching you. We had the pleasure of meeting his guides as well and it was evident that all of them hold themselves to the same high standards and ethics as Rick does. You know you are surrounded by and in the hands of experts who have an elite level of knowledge and experience. They consistently check in for your understanding, level of comfort, and most of all if your enjoying your experience. Since we started our rock climbing adventure in our later middle ages all of these benefits you receive from Castle Rock Climbing School ensured us that it's never too late to start. This will most definitely go down as one of our top 10 adventures and we can't wait to climb with Rick and his Castle Rock Climbing School team again!!!! Love you guys and see you in a couple of weeks... Climbing with Rick and his team is not just meeting great guides but making new friends. You guys are amazing!!!! read more

This review is long overdue and entirely necessary. I have never climbed and have a slight fear of heights (I make my attempts at conquering it bit by bit) and my boyfriend has climbed occasionally in the distant past. Needless to say, we required a lot of help. I could not be more grateful that my first climbing experience was with Rick - he is incredibly knowledgeable, patient, kind, funny, and passionate. He not only guides and teaches, he genuinely wants you to LEARN from the experience - you leave armed with skills and confidence, both worth their weight in gold. I felt I could put my full trust in him, which gave me the support to conquer the face and find the joy in the entire experience - all while he cheered me on with my boyfriend waiting below. I felt like a climbing rockstar :) I've been itching to go back and tackle another climb and, thanks to Rick, I can put my fears to rest and kick butt! Thank you Rick! read more

I must say that I am a better climber thanks to CRCS! My instructor went out of his way to make sure that I understood the "why's, and how's" all while making it fun and interactive. They were awesome by customizing the class to meet my climbing needs. Recommend them highly! read more

Rick of Castle Rock climbing school is simply unparalleled in expertise, safety, flexibility, and personality. My daughter who is now almost 12 has been taking climbing instructions from him since she was 10. Not only has she had the most tremendous climbing experiences, she also has become a very skillful climber & her confidence was pumped up too--it is inspiring to see this kind of progression, passion and experience come to fruition. Rick has a unique focus that is essential to getting his students to where they need to be mentally and physically. He is safety-minded first and foremost (which is extremely important to me) accompanied by knowing how to make each of his students feel empowered with their climbing, making them feel as though they have just been on an adventure of a lifetime! If you want your children or friends to experience what rock climbing is all about (and more), Castle Rock Climbing school is unequivocally the place to be! Thank you Rick! Jill read more

Went here for a corporate team outing. I had a GREAT time and so did the rest of the team. Highly recommended!

I booked a 4-hour beginner climb at Castle Rock State Park with CRCS for me, my daughter (9) and son (7) as the highlight of a 3-day backpacking trip in the park and couldn't be happier with the decision. Our guide Thomas had ropes set up at Goat Rock when we arrived from our campsite a little after 8am and within minutes it was obvious he was a real pro with children. We all had a safe, super fun, challenging experience and Thomas managed the kids exceptionally well - coaching, teaching (about climbing, geology, the park), encouraging, and being firm when necessary. A great experience. We'll be back. read more

I started outdoor climbing about four years ago. I was transitioning from a gym (plastic holds) climbing to real rock. I was nervous of the unknown and concerned of the risks. Rick was an excellent teacher, he was patient while answering my questions and helped me relax to enjoy the experience as I always felt safe. after outdoor top roping for a while I decided to learn anchors, so I took the anchor class. During the session, Rick showed his vast knowledge in the subject. He went over the technical theory of anchors and how to make sure your anchor is solid and can hold up the weight. He was able to break down the theory in different ways where everyone in the class was able to understand it. I never felt frustrated, as I felt he was able to speak the same language I do. After that, I have taken the outdoor lead and self rescue class with Castle Rock Climbing School. I have enjoyed each class I have taken and I always walked away with more knowledge and more confidence while I was having fun. I will definitely go back to them for my next learning curve. read more