Giant trees, wild mushroom, snow cover paths, and wild stuff animals - it was an adventure…read more -been wanted to check out the "GIANTS" and they didn't disappoint. I guess January is the most awesome time to visit. Whether was nice and warm, with snow play still available in the parking lot and on the trails. Perfect day to be outdoor. -Park is very well kept and accessible for all. The North Cove Trail was a walk in the pak with stunning display of different trees. Look carefully, wild mushroom has been inoculated and is ready for their debuted. -Visitor center and ranger were very informative. -Pro tip: if your family is the outdoorsy type, buy a California State Park Pass - include entrance to this place and you can skip the line when visiting on a busy weekend....

Such a beautiful and peaceful place no matter the time of year. It was a bit muddy due to the…read morerecent storm, but we were prepared for the cooler, wetter weather with boots. The paths are always wonderful. At only $10 a visit, it's something everyone can afford. The Visitor Center, nature museum, and gift store. We enjoy our picnic lunch afterwards and enjoy all of the busy wildlife... foraging. The sound, the fresh smells of the forest, the peacefulness of it all.

Super fun place that I recommend! The tour was engaging enough, and the cave itself was a really…read morecool experience. Beautiful stalatctites and stalagmites and 100 feet down and up. It wasn't too claustrophobic at all -- but the initial walked down. Could be scary for some people because it's a little bit narrow. But everything is on stairs and steps and paved and you're pretty out in the open once you get down the staircase. It just takes a few minutes to walk down. We paid $25 each for the tour and they also have a crawl tour. You just see the main part of the cave on the $25 tour!

This was a random find on here when I was looking for things to do or visit while we were in…read moreGroveland for a little weekend getaway. This place was about almost hour away from where we were staying. Booking was pretty easy as I booked our tickets on their website. They have a parking lot so easy to find parking. The drive there was windy from Groveland. They have restrooms, but it's really tight spaces. Staff were friendly. Our tour guide was funny and informative. I don't remember his name. Lol this was back in November. The staircase was crazy!!! My legs were sore for 4 days afterwards!! Omg! Lol It was definitely a fantastic adventure to visit the cavern and to walk that down deep underground. Pricing was okay. I think it was like 20 or 30something per person. They took a group photo of us, which I ended up buying. Lol They also have a small gift shop when you exit with memorabilia and little Knick-knacks. If you happened to be near the area, I would say it's a great place to visit! Probably better for adults or teens. It's harder for little kids or elderly people because of the stairs. We saw a mom carry her child. Such a strong mommy! Kudos!

First full weekend of June, visited the lake several times…read more Parking Saturday by 10:20am, most of the overflow parking across from the restaurant and general store were already full. To avoid walking too far if you have a vehicle, strongly recommend getting here early to keep the walk short. In contrast, on a Sunday at Noon, there were sporadic parking spots lakefront. Crowds Saturday had some areas of the lake crowded with most benches or picnic benches taken but there were some left by 11am. Sunday, dramatically less crowds. Weather Even in mid-60s, being in direct sunlight can feel much hotter and burn you. Water Just fine for early June, did not feel terribly cold. Restrooms Generally in very good condition and multiple throughout the lakefront, no soap though.

Small yet popular lake in the Stanislaus National Forest. Very convenient for Bay Area vacationers…read moreas it is only a 2.5 hour drive. I've done a few summer weekend trips here, but as a child. So don't remember many details, just that it was always a blast, camping with a large group and delving into lake activities. As an adult, I've mostly come to this area during the winter/spring months, and that's only because Dodge Ridge Ski Resort is in the same area. But never really knew how close the actual lake is to the ski resort...until recently when I finally did both in a one weekend stint. The actual lake is man-made, it is a reservoir meant to harness water, snow melt is my guess due to the regular snow fall every winter in these mountains. Then PG&E bulit a dam and used this for hydroelectric energy and you can see the raging water on the bottom of the dam if you hike over to that corner. We hiked only half of the lake on a gorgeous clear winter's day. I wanted to hike the entire circumference of the lake, which is only a little over 3 miles, but we had a small child in our group, so we kept it manageable. The trail is well kept and very easy to stay on, not many off shoots to other trails. It climbs in a few spots but nothing too difficult (at least to me). The lake is in view in practically every spot on the trail, so very very scenic and picturesque. Even though a man-made lake, seeing the clouds drift by the snowcapped mountains and all the pine trees all around, that I never felt like it was a man-made lake. Very natural contours and plant and tree habitat. I saw an occasional deer and tons of birds enjoying the sun on an otherwise cool winter's day. Even saw a couple of eagles soaring from the trees to the lake line, may have even been bald eagles as I observed white heads. I didn't have binoculars to confirm, so just a hunch, but it still felt special. Not much activity on the actual lake during my winter visit, maybe just a few people fishing off of rocks near the shore. No one was boating or swimming in these months. But in the summer, it is a much different story, as my memories recollect. Now i want to come back during the summer/fall and do some camping and kayaking. A promise I am making to myself and will surely bring into fruition. Trust.

This review is for the polar express train ride. Let's cut right to the sleigh bells: At a cool $85…read morea pop, this ride definitely costs more than a lump of coal. For my family of three, we signed up for the holiday hype, and while it wasn't exactly perfect, it was certainly an event to remember! Singing Christmas carols was an absolute delight! My personal highlight? The hot chocolate scene. The performers were fantastic, and the cocoa itself was surprisingly delicious & paired with a yummy snickerdoodle cookie. The trip to the North Pole, while blessedly short, felt truly magical. Watching all the kids scramble to one side of the train to catch a glimpse of Santa's HQ was a sight. Now, for the "improvements" section. The train apparently needs a gallon of WD-40. Parts of the ride were punctuated by a noise I can only describe as "ears-piercing squeaky"--a sound that could shatter a candy cane. Also, when the classic Polar Express story was being read, those of us in the back were left playing a fun game called "Can You Hear Me Now?" (Spoiler: We could not). Finally, the outside scenery was less "winter wonderland" and more "passing landscape." It would have been brilliant if they had just added a few festive Christmas decorations along the route. Just a few! We aren't asking for a full-scale holiday village, just something besides barren trees. While our ride came with a few minor mechanical and auditory "features," we still had a magical time. It wasn't perfect, but what ever is?

Railtown State Historic Park is extremely cool and fun for all ages! We got to stand on the caboose…read morebuilt for Back To The Future III, viewed the train smoke stack from Little House on the Prairie train, coal powered steam engines, and we saw the Well from the olddddddd show Peticoat Junction: We also were able to see some old trains including ones with wooden grates in the front, and lots of train parts!! He enjoyed explaining things to me.. For a very small fee you can take a ride on a train. Walk around the grounds and see old engines, workshops with all sorts of parts, machines of all sorts. A map is providing for easy understanding of the grounds. It is a trek to get across the grounds and would be difficult for someone with mobility issues. Both of my children grew up coming to not only this park, but to Columbia also. Our family has made many trips here over the years. We love combining, education, history and adventure. They host Christmas events here like the Polar Express train ride to North Pole. This was such a spectacular event I brought my daughter to when she was little. We watched the movie the night before. When we arrived in our pajamas for our VIP seat, we stood in line where we were lovingly harassed by actors. We boarding the train after getting a golden ticket! We sat in the back car. Actors were dancing and singing and chasing hobos off the train while we enjoyed a ride and spilled hot cocoa out of polar express keepsake mugs. Arriving at North Pile and seeing the elves and Santa pushed it over the edge for my young daughter. She was beyonnnnnd excited!! Will I return: We always do. There's something incredibly nostalgic about this place!

Everything. This is…read morea pristine, cold, well maintained lake with awesome camp sites and bathrooms. The bathrooms are just that, babes...lake bathrooms. The waterfall runs with Mother Nature.

We love it out here, and are repeat camping visitors. They have some nice tent sites along the day…read moreuse area and some quiet and large sites at the top of the hill. They do have some plug in sites, but we just dry camp it with a generator and water jugs. There's a nice boat ramp and the place always feels safe enough to leave our kayaks on the beach between days. Fishing is too notch and the lake itself is beautiful.

Camped at Ironhorse #17 and kayaked and fished in New Melones Lake…read more Ironhorse Campground: While #17 was chosen because of its close proximity to the bathroom/shower, the dangerously steep decline/incline from the parking pad to the tent/fire pit/picnic table will keep me from renting this space again. Trekking heavy gear from the car to the tent was ridiculous in that you had to carefully watch your footing. Going back and forth to unload and then doing it all again when it was time to leave was a precarious total body workout. As for the amenities, the bathroom was clean and had two toilets plus one shower. Although previous reviews said that the showers were coin-operated, the machine has been removed, the one shower is free and has a hand held shower head which pleasantly surprised me. Due to the lack of grading, the shower water does flow into the bathroom stalls. Initially, it didn't look like the bathrooms had any hand soap as there was only an empty bottle left; however, on the day I was leaving, maintenance replaced the empty bottle with a full bottle. If you wash your hands, bring your own soap and towel. On the wall, there are two precious outlets which I really appreciated. Throughout the day, I enjoy having a cup of tea and use my travel electric water kettle to boil my water. Speaking of water there was a water spigot on either side of our camp site which was convenient. If it wasn't raining, I would have used the fire pit which seems to be a rarity these days in CA as many places do not allow them. Camping fee per night is $44 per night plus an $8 booking fee. Due to the wind and rain, my partner and I had the whole campsite to ourselves. Even the RVs left. For next time, I will choose the more flat #13 or #14 to avoid the steep hike to and from the tent. Marina: For boats, there are two ways to get into the water. 1) 30 day quarantine by the Marina, or 2) Hot Water Decomtamination with an appointment with the Marina which will cost around $90. If you're a camper, then parking/launching a boat is included in your camp fee. Glory Hole Launch is open Mon-Thurs from 8am - 4p and Fri-Sun from 6:30am - 8pm. Tuttletown Launch is only open Fri-Sun and closer to the fishing action. As for kayaks, they do not have to go through the quarantine nor the decomtamination. However, the hull needs to be dry which is tough when it's been raining. Moreover, the boat ramps are not kayak friendly as the ramps are VERY steep. To avoid the steep ramps, I used the marina to hand launch my kayak which was slippery and muddy due to the recent rain. Fishing opportunities abound as I witnessed people limiting out on Kokanee and catching nice sized rainbow, small mouth bass, and even blue gills from the shore. If you're into birds, there are lots of varieties, especially turkeys and blue herons. Although I will return, I will make better choices like a flatter terrain for camp site and not camp on potential rain days, if I can help it.

Loved the campground. We were here last week-end in February…read more Good shower and bathrooms. Everything was very clean. Beautiful hilltop views of the lake which is all around. Will come back for sure. Oh and we enjoyed our spiral tour at Maoning Caverns which is nearby!

What an amazing day at Columbia State Park. Weather was good but starting to warm up in the…read moreafternoon , so was super nice most of the day. Bring a hat, and sunscreen Took my wife for mother's day up to Tuolumne county, While there tonight we would go to Columbia state park, my old stomping ground with the fire dept and working with cal fire, and there air retardant planes. Been along while but some of the memories are there. Meanwhile back at the trip forgive my ADHD brain. lol Columbia State park is awesome. If you like history of California and a lot of the gold rush , a good part is here and can learn and shop like you are in the old west. Yes that's right! The staff and such all wear clothing from that time. There is even a stage coach with beautiful huge horses. (If you are allergic they are easily avoidable, but from afar they are gorgeous. Yes I'm allergic, it sucks I love animals. If you are allergic just fyi) Anyways, if you never have gone, ? GO! If you like theater / Live Plays, be sure to check out the "Fallon House Theater", so you might be planning a nice little romantic date night, theater , and icecream .. Or a day trip with the family , there is some good restaurants in town and lots to do with familiy or loved one, candle making, which is a different shop, from the candle store... But you get my drift, theres lots to do, date night / day, or day out with the family....

Amazing place! Super neat gold rush era educational visit. Lots to learn and see! Wow the theming…read moreis incredible and there are businesses inside of these historical buildings. They're real operating restaurants, bars, coffee shop, candy stores. Spend a few hours here and slowly take your time checking out all the buildings and activities and museum spaces

I have been coming to old Oak Ranch since 1985. My five sons have experienced some great things at…read morethis camp and the memories run deep! The entire staff are incredible and the food is awesome! If your church is looking to have a gathering in the Sierra's you simply don't have to look anywhere else but Old Oak Ranch!!!

We just came back from our 4th grade Gold Rush overnight field trip and I highly recommend Old Oak…read moreRanch. (we stayed here and did the Gold Rush activities/tours at Columbia State Park, but they are thinking of bringing some Gold Rush activities on site in the future). Aaron and Bryan were wonderful hosts. The food in the dining hall was quite good and they were very accommodating for dietary restrictions/allergies. The kids enjoyed the game room (foosball/ping pong/pool tables/arcades). There was another group during the time we were there but we hardly noticed except during meal times (even then, we were eating in separate areas). It unexpectedly snowed a lot on one of the days (mid-April!) and 4WD is really helpful.

Truly a rare and beautiful place to fish or just relax. This is one nice place to go fishing as the…read moreStanislaus River runs along the south side of this park. With plenty of trees and water areas one could hike for hours. It is a good raft or canoe launch site as well. From what many of the locals tell me this place has a history of producing large strippers and black bass. When I went today many of the ponds were full of algae but fortunately the river ran clean. From what I gather if I had a canoe I probably would have landed some good size black bass. Unlike some of the other people fishing I did have a few bites on my line. Of course if I told you what lure I was using I would have to k.... you. Just kidding or am I?

This is a beautiful park just to sit and relax or go for a walk or hike if your so inclined, I love…read morethe Stanislaus River. Very peaceful here, I really enjoyed it although I didn't get to stay long.

I've rented the big party boat here twice for my birthdays, and I honestly can't even describe how…read moremuch fun we had--it was such a vibe both times! Being out on the water with friends, music going, and just enjoying the lake... unforgettable memories every time. We also added jet skis, which made the whole experience even better. Definitely worth it if you want to level up your day on the water! What really stood out to me was the staff. Everyone was so friendly, patient, and made sure we understood everything before heading out. They explained all the safety details clearly and made us feel completely comfortable getting on the water. If you're planning a birthday, group outing, or just a fun lake day, this is 100% the move. I'll definitely be back again!

My group of friends have rented from here a few times. On our recent visit we rented the boat for 3…read morenights. Check in is at 3pm and they say we have to return the boat back by 10am. However we ran into some trouble not being able to start the boat so we didn't return until 11am. There was no penalty. All the staffs were kind. This time we were welcomed with a choice of water, soda, beer or mimosas. Of coarse we opted for the mimosas. Not sure if this is a new thing but we did rent the biggest boat, the 60' Escapade II. We weren't offered drinks in the past where we rented smaller houseboats. They do have a store where you can get some food including ice cream, drinks, apparel and this is also where you check in. They also have an ice and water station. Houseboating is so much fun. The house boat had everything we needed to enjoy our getaway.