Location Type: Desert / Beach / Water | Size: Small & Large | Difficulty: Mediocre

What’s so Special About Castle Rock / Crystal Cliffs?

Castle rock has quickly become one of the favorite areas for photos in late 2021 and early 2022. I’m still not sure what prompted this trend but I am loving every bit of it. My creativity is being tested and I’m growing as a photographer. On the client’s side of things, this area has a desert backdrop with desert plant life that sets the stage. Accordingly, it has beautiful white sandy hills, some killer rock formations, and some reeds and beach at the end. These pair fantastically with a beautiful sunset. Who said the desert can’t be beautiful?! Not only that, but it only takes about 5 minutes to drive up to Crystal cliffs. This gives clients a beautiful view of the mountains with some of our gorgeous river with the reeds in it. What would stop anyone from wanting to go to this location?

Some Warnings About Castle Rock Terrain

Of course this photography location is absolutely beautiful but not without some consequence (which aren’t actually that major 😉). These tips for Castle Rock and Crystal Cliffs mainly inform you about the preparation necessary before the shoot. Ideally, this will help you make the best choice possible in location. Being that Castle Rock is desert, it is a hiking location as well. Don’t start getting upset at me just yet! This “hike” isn’t one that requires top physical shape to walk. The terrain is fairly flat for rocky ground, no large hills to go up and down, and the beach that is at the end is only about a 5 minute walk from the sandy hill. I typically take photos along the way and stop in different spots, so you don’t really notice the walk

Some Warnings About Crystal Cliffs Terrain

Crystal Cliffs is quite the opposite, as this location is only the top of the cliffs. I include this photography location with Castle Rock because it is so small. This location paired with some shots in Castle Rock or as a mini 30-minute session is a great little extra option. Although this location has less hiking/walking, one spot with an incline could pose an issue for someone with an injury or an elderly. It’s not difficult to get up this small incline but I want to disclose this information before a shoot. Besides this, I’m sure kids grew up learning about the different hills/mountains in the desert but the “cliffs” in Crystal Cliffs really means cliffs. If you are uncomfortable with your children on such a high cliff during photos and/or are concerned about that drop off, we can certainly find another location that will better suit your needs.