Located in Custer County, it is the 25th highest peak in the state, and the ninth most prominent.

[2][3] Castle Peak is within the Cecil D. Andrus–White Clouds Wilderness, which is part of Sawtooth National Recreation Area in Custer County.

Camping is permitted anywhere is Sawtooth National Forest and the lakes surrounding Castle Peak provide excellent places to stay.

A proposed open-pit molybdenum mine at the base of Castle Peak became a leading issue in the 1970 gubernatorial race, and advanced the formation of the Sawtooth NRA in 1972.

[5][6][7][8] In a rematch of the 1966 election, Cecil Andrus defeated incumbent Don Samuelson to become the state's first Democratic governor in nearly a quarter-century,[9] and Republicans did not regain the governorship until January 1995.