Knapp's Castle

Knapp's Castle: On East Camino Cielo Road - just before you reach the ridge with the excellent views there is a small single track dirt trail that leads to Knapp's Castle. Knapp's Castle used to be a large stone mansion perched below the ridge overlooking the scenic Santa Ynez Valley. All that is left of this castle are several stone archways and part of the foundation. The views from here are excellent - be careful of the poison oak that grows in abundance in this vicinity. It is about a 10 minute walk to the castle from the paved road. There is a locked gate with the property owner's phone number painted in yellow hanging on a sign.

This gate is located right next to the main road with the trail situated right next to the gate. Walk down the trail and take the short road to your right - this will climb up to Knapp's Castle. If you do not turn off the trail and take the short road that leads up to Knapp's Castle you can continue down the ridge to the bottom of the Santa Ynez valley. This is a single track biking trail and is best for mountain biking, not walking. The trail is quite steep in places so be quite careful if you are biking this. If you do decide to bike down here you can either have someone meet you at the bottom with a car or you will have to bike all the way back up the ridge via Cold Springs paved road