Places to Stay
The town of Castle Valley itself is rather small, with only 300 residents and only one hotel, the Castle Valley Inn, a full-service bed and breakfast.
Castle Valley Inn
HC64 Box 2602
424 Amber Lane
Moab, UT 84532
(435) 259-6012
castlevalleyinn.com/index.htm
Nearby Moab is a much better place to stay, offering most tourism amenities. The climate is hot; spring and fall seem to be the best times to pursue recreation in the area. Winters are not too cold, so many climbers and mountain bikers like to go in the winter months as well. Moab is close to both Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park, both of which offer incredibly beautiful vistas and plenty of hiking.
In addition to hotels in Moab, there is plenty of camping nearby in Arches and Canyonlands, as well as at Dead Horse Point State Park, and free camping on Potash Road.
Castleton Tower and Other Rock Climbing
Standing 400 feet high, Castleton Tower is an imposing rock tower that overlooks all of Castle Valley. First climbed in 1962 by the great Colorado climber Layton Kor and partner Huntley Ingalls, the four sides of the tower are each about 40 feet wide. Climbing on Castleton Tower is difficult; the Kor-Ingalls route, listed in "50 Classic Climbs of North America," is the standard route and graded 5.9, with its crux move near the top. Other routes include the North Chimney (5.9-), and harder routes like the North Face (5.11a).
On the same ridge line as Castleton Tower is a formation called with Rectory, with individual formations on it called The Priest and The Nuns, all of which offer excellent hard routes in the 5.11 range.
The rock on Castle Ridge is Wingate sandstone and is very good. There is also plentiful climbing in Canyonlands National Park on good rock and in Arches on much more crumbly rock.
Other objectives
Whatever activities you go to pursue, take a day to hike in Arches to the jaw-dropping Delicate Arch formation or the Needles district of the Canyonlands.
The Slickrock Trail is the most popular mountain biking trail in the world; over 100 thousand people come to explore it in any given year. There is a lot of other mountain biking in the area, and numerous guidebooks can help you find your own adventure.
For river runners, the Colorado River offers several excellent outings, while Cataract Canyon appeals to the more adventurous with its wilderness setting.
