8 ARIZONA RANGES GUIDE NO. 8.6
CASTLE DOME PEAK 3788 FEET CLASS 3
MILEAGE: 295 miles of paved road, 12 miles of poor dirt road
DRIVE: From Blythe, CA drive 21 miles E in Interstate 10 to the town of Quartzsite, AZ., leaving the
freeway at Exit No. 17. Turn left (over the freeway) at the off ramp stop sign, then right (E) on a frontage
road which runs along the N side of the Interstate. In about 1 mile you'll come to a 4-way intersection with a
stop sign. Turn right (S) here on US Highway 95, passing over the freeway again and driving approximately
50 miles to the signed "Castle Dome-Yuma Proving Grounds" road. Turn sharply left (but not to the main
gate of the Proving Grounds) and follow a good dirt road NE then N about 8 miles to the Hull Mine.
Continue N from here on poor dirt another 4 miles to the mouth of a canyon on your right. Park.
CLIMB: Hike generally SE up the canyon about 2.0 miles to where the peak comes into view. Leaving the
wash here (UTM 660650), hike SSE about 0.75 miles to a saddle just W of the peak. Turn left (NE) and
climb 3rd class rock that gives way to easy terrain just below the summit.
ROUND TRIP STATS: 2100 feet elevation gain, 6 miles, 6 hours
SIDELINES
1. Another climbing route on Castle Dome can be found on the N side of the peak. The route goes up
between the mountain and a prominent pinnacle detached from the peak on this side, then up the NE face to
the top. This route is also 3rd class, but more exposed than the one described above. A rope might be carried
to help acrophobic climbers on this route.
2. Castle Dome is the highpoint of the Castle Dome Mountains. Soldiers stationed at nearby Fort Yuma in
the 1850's named this prominent landmark Capital Dome. Over the years however, its became known as
Castle Dome.
3. Castle Dome Peak lies within the boundary of the Kofa Refuge Wilderness. This wilderness area
encompasses approximately 516,200 acres of land, making it second only to the Cabeza Prieta Refuge as the
largest wilderness area in the state of Arizona. The Kofa Refuge Wilderness is managed by the Kofa National
Wildlife Refuge.
