Castle Rock, the 6,338-foot (1,932 m) summit of the mesa, is located on private property in Jefferson County, Colorado, 0.56 miles (0.9 km) directly east (bearing 90°) of downtown Golden.

South Table Mountain is a popular scenic and recreational destination in the Denver metro area, and most of it is preserved as Jefferson County Open Space.

South Table Mountain is underlain by sedimentary rocks of the Denver Formation, which spans the interval from latest Cretaceous to early Paleocene time.

After vandalism destroyed it in 1907, the venture was abandoned until Charles F. Quaintance revived it in 1908 with a new cafe and burro train and a road from the south slope built by Harry Hartzell.

Subsequent attempts to develop or quarry the mountain including condominiums and a corporate headquarters continued through the remainder of the 20th century, and the mesa was gradually purchased or placed under easement by Jefferson County for open space.

Today, much of South Table Mountain is open to the public, while southern portions are occupied by the Colorado State Patrol and National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

On August 4, 1911, Jonas "Mott" Johnson, Jr. discovered, according to the Golden Transcript, "a skull, a few bones and a few tattered remnants of clothing" washed down Long Gulch next to what is today Quaker Street on the south side of the mesa.

Law enforcement investigators determined these to be the remains of Denver Italian matriarch Maria Laguardia, who was lured to the mesa and murdered for her gold by goddaughter Angeline Garramone on September 19, 1910.

However, according to the website www.strava.com – onto which runners download GPS data of their activities – Golden resident Lex Williams ran from the Washington Avenue Bridge at Clear Creek to the summit of Castle Rock in 13:45 on October 31, 2018, making this the current Fastest Known Time (FKT).

[2] First automobile ascent – by Stanley Steamer, driven by George Hering on July 31, 1908, with 3 passengers (Charles F. Quaintance, John H. Reichert, and a Golden Transcript reporter) and camera equipment in 1908.