Came for the beach since I was told it was nicer than Mirror Lake State Park's beach. They were…read moresimilar, but Castle Rock's was slightly larger, and I'm told it has a nicer bottom, not as mucky as Mirror Lake. I wouldn't know for sure, though, since I didn't go in the water. I'm not a beach person, but my friends are and I wanted to be with them. I liked laying out on under the shady trees near the beach and watching the activities like a family group dragging out giant float after giant float (a camel, a rocker, a unicorn, a shark, etc.). They got them in the water, and then they promptly tipped them over whenever anyone in the family got on top of one. There were some friendly dogs there, but they weren't allowed on the beach, so one sadly got tied to a stake in the grass and had to watch their family have all the fun from a distance. Another cute 2-year old dog cried anytime anyone came near it, you could tell it wanted to play, but it's owner was an elderly gentleman who just wanted to sit in a chair and look at stuff (kind of like me). Maybe it's just me, but I would never bring my pet anywhere fun on vacation and then ignore it for hours. Anyway, it's a very crowded place on a beautiful summer day and if you like crowds and people-watching, this is the place for you. Lots and lots of people on the water boating, paddle boarding, swimming, etc. An ice cream truck came around a couple of times, there was volleyball nearby. My friends and I brought our bocce set and played a round. Nice mid-day outing.