On July 19th I was able to visit Moaning Caverns and had a wonderful experience. I thought the…read morespiral staircase was going to be difficult ( as I am 78 years old ) but I found it to be an easy climb down and back up. The cavern was outstanding and our guide explained in detail the history. There were two young children in our party and they had a great time asking lot's of questions. Overall a great experience.

Very awesome tour and the gift shop staff is very helpful as well I enjoyed walking around the…read morecavern stage floor they do have a spiral tour which is the one I did, and then a longer tour through parts of the cavern which is a $130 tour called the expedition tour which if you are claustrophobic like me it probably is best to just stick to the spiral tour, the place is just phenomenal to escape the heat in during these times. I would rate a 10 star if I could but this app only lets me do 5 stars. And after the tour you can buy your photo with them at the gift shop for you and your group which is super awesome. I know on you tube theirs a few videos that show the expedition tour but I myself can't even fit in those tight spaces let alone deal with the claustrophobia and fear of heights this was a good and safe tour for me. Thank you guys for providing this! Also heads up for anyone planning on going to spiral tour the stairs is a long way up and a long way down make sure to have a camera strap for your cameras or phones so you do not drop it or lose it. Thanks to all the tour guides and staff! Great job!

I went there with my daughter and grandkids and enjoyed Beaver Creek and the Sequoia grove at the…read morenorth end 1.5 hiking loop. Unfortunately my granddaughter's were too tired and it was pretty hot to hike the Bradley trail to the south grove sequoia's. We ended up at the north grove which landmarks were numbered to 25 then back to the visitor center and it was amazing

Adj: Amazing State Park featuring some truly Big Trees!!…read more I'm not sure how I've been in CA most of my life and yet I've never been to Calaveras Big Trees. Well finally this summer we made it here. It's such a big and beautiful area of CA and is unique as a state park that doesn't have too much in terms of topography, but features the biggest/tallest trees in the world. According to the CA State Parks website, Calaveras Big Trees is "famous for its two groves of giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum), which are the most massive trees in the world. They live alongside a rich mixed-conifer forest filled with other large native trees like sugar pines, ponderosa pines, white firs, and incense cedars." We started at the visitor center to learn more about this park, its trees, and also the whole ecosystem here with the animals of land and sky, and the native American people who lived here years ago. Then we took a short half hour tour with a couple of volunteers who took us through small part of the North Grove where the most famous giant sequoias like the Discovery Tree and the Father of the Forest are showcased. After the tour ended, we went through and walked the whole North Grove which is about 1.5 miles and all paved so that it's accessible to all. Not a hike, more just a walking trail. It got kind of boring towards the end for my kids as they were like, "another tree?!" But I thought all the trees were very cool to behold in how massive they are, and some of them propagated others so they're parents and children too which I found fascinating. Overall, the Calaveras Big Trees is a very meaningful CA State Park to visit at least once, it's open year round, esp the North Grove whereas South Grove which features much more rigorous hiking trails is closed to visitors in winter weather months.

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.

I got married at Camp Sylvester in April, 2023. It was a wild winter, and there was more snow than…read moreexpected. We originally planned to get married outside in the amphitheater, but it was buried in snow. We ended up using DeBoer Hall for the ceremony, and it was magical! Our guests had so much fun, and everyone said the cabins were warm and cozy. Everyone embraced the feet of snow surrounding camp, and it made for a unique experience. Our camp wedding was everything we hoped for, and we are so glad we found Camp Sylvester. One of my favorite moments was watching our guests having snowball fights and building snowmen on the morning of the wedding. Ken was incredibly helpful in the planning process! All the Camp Sylvester staff were kind and responsive throughout the wedding weekend. I highly recommend you plan an event at Camp Sylvester!

Spent the week here for camp and have to say it was a very nice, well laid out camp. The camp as…read moreyou might expect has the hub for the leader/director to set up shop. Dining hall, bathrooms on both sides of the camp, amphitheater, activity room and of course cabins all named after trees, mine being the "Oak" cabin. Amongst all that are plenty of places to pitch tents all within the boundaries and not to disturb the residents who live around the camp. What I really liked about the camp are the other activities that available like a basketball court (not a full court) but enough to shoot some hoops and a volleyball net. Also the staff who run the camp (outside of our program) were accommodating if we needed additional supplies or had questions about the site. There are also plenty of trees to set up some hammocks and pits to have a fire. The camp is within walking distance to Pinecrest lake which of course is a plus. I enjoyed our time here, my only critique is the bathrooms could use either some ventilation or air fresheners. It was painful to my nose every time I had to go in there. We even tried to keep it clean but the smell was just too strong. Fun camp site otherwise though.

Yosemite Valley Tour (Tram) OUTSTANDING tour of Yosemite…read moreValley. Starts at Yosemite Lodge, tickets required but worth every penny. You ride in an open air trailer with audio description by a US Park Service Ranger. It was HOT and ice cold towels provided along with ice cold water made it a bit more bearable. Anthony was our driver and is THE MOST PROFESSIONAL DRIVER I have ever encountered in all my travels. Gentle starts and stops, constantly in motion at both our stops giving out water and extending and retracting the trailer's step for our use. Providing the audio portion of the tour was Ranger Emile. She's a real GEM! Her depth of information, humor and wit made the tour and grand event. She loves Yosemite and it shows! Equally as hard working at our two stops to make sure everyone stayed hydrated because of the excessive heat. [Note to her Mom, you did great raising her! Make sure she sees this review!] If you go to Yosemite, make time to go on this tour. You get more and better pictures than from your car and learn the history of the Park. One last thing, drive to Glacier Point. The view is awesome and worth the drive.

Beautiful, Amazing, Spectacular... Yosemite National Park is one of the most remarkable place to…read morevisit in California. Took my family on our first camping trip in the housekeeping valley area and it was just simply stunning. No Wifi, no phones and no traffic. Just beautiful breathtaking taking views. We got to sit and relax in the river with the fresh mountain spring water running down hill. With the sun above us and fresh air everywhere we were able to reset and enjoy a family vacation like no other. There's lots of tours and hiking trails that take place through out the day. It's so relaxing and the day goes by so slow. We can't wait to go back.

Very nice park. Very well maintained (old buildings, lots of items). Lots of things to see and to…read morelearn. Highly recommended. Many stores to visit and shop, bakery, restaurants, ice cream, museums and more. Air conditioned store rooms. Some rare book editions on sale in the bookstore! Free parking. Dog friendly.

I come here every year! I walk around and enjoy seeing the old, small town of Columbia that…read moresettlers founded. It is now recognized as Colombia State Historic Park. It has a one-room school house where students of different ages, once sat and listened together to their teacher's lectures, in harmony. I always visit the old cemetery where some members of The Donner family, who survived their perilous journey from Missouri to California during the gold rush, are buried. The old mercantile building and the Blacksmith stable where the horses were shoehorned and cared for, still stands. The countryside is beautiful. The hills and rivers are gorgeous. This is a great place for families and especially for children who should know our great history regarding brave settlers who traveled from far and wide, by horse and buggy (wagon trains of home crafted covered wagons). It is always such a nostalgic feeling going back in history for me. Enjoy this great town!

Great place to camp. Close to lakes and Yosemite. Best time ever…read more The fish didn't take any of our offerings, but we still got out and casted a line. Will we comeback. Yes we will

Great Location & Warm Water, But Pack Light and Bring Bug Spray…read more Well, it's time for my family's annual camping trip! This year we wanted to check out Bass Lake, CA. There are several spots around the lake, but since we were booking through Recreation.gov, we landed on Spring Cove. I always try to book campsites close to the water, and on paper, this campground looked perfect. The Good Prime Lake Access: The location is super close to the water. You just have to cross the main road, walk down a little hill, and there you are! We selected sites nearest the road to ensure easy access to the lake, which is our main source of entertainment. The kids absolutely loved it. The water was warm enough to swim for hours, but cool enough to be refreshing in the summer heat. Bonus Perks: We loved that our parking permit came with a 15% discount for boat rentals at Miller's Landing Resort (just about a mile down the road). We used it to book a half-day boat rental, and it was easily one of the highlights of the trip! Awesome Camp Host: Shout out to Patrick for being incredibly cool and helpful. The Not-So-Good The Bathroom Situation: The flushing toilets were shut down, meaning we had to use porta-potties. Yuck! I am not a fan and found it pretty stressful. Thankfully, Miller's Landing was close enough to "take care of business" when needed. Yes, I'm weird, but I just can't with the porta-potties. Tiny Sites: The sites themselves are small. We are used to the larger, less crowded campgrounds up north at higher elevations, so we had to seriously adjust our layout for our party's three campsites and varying tent sizes. When the website says "small tent," they really mean small tent. Don't try bringing a mansion tent here unless you want to be moving picnic benches around just to make it fit. Mosquitoes: There were a lot of them. Be sure to pack plenty of bug repellent options. Despite the tight squeeze and the bathroom bummer, it was a great trip. I think we might have just found our new annual spot!

We rode the Polar Express Christmas-theme train event last year. It was wonderful. Trains and…read morefacilities were nicely decorated and the staff were dressed in Christmas attire. The entertainment was nice. The hot chocolate and snacks were nice, too. We hope to make this a yearly event for our family.

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.

I have camped here twice now. Camping is not my thing, but it's a way to unplug and unwind. The…read morefirst time we stayed at waterfront campsite (Pincone- $65). It was easy to walk to the water. The second time we stayed at the standard campsite (Hilltop- $42). Each reservation is for 6 people and 1 car. The weather was nice when we went and the site was shaded. Pit toilets are the main downside to camping here.