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.

White Pines exploring this weekend was insane. My daughter and I had a blast riding some of the…read morefire roads with unreal views. There's miles of roads and trails everywhere that lead down to the river. Super chill people out and about enjoying the weather. Will definitely be back next time in Arnold.

Came up here for 4th of July weekend, and what a cool little gem it is! Lots of nice beach area,…read morehiking, frisbee golf, fishing, and just general fun on the lake with swimming, inflatables, etc. I totally recommend! :)

It will reopen in about 2 weeks from when I'm posting this review(05/23/2026). They let us in…read morebecause we traveled from San Francisco and didn't realize that they were remodeling. They still need to add tables, running water, set the restrooms up, open up the restaurant/store and set the boat rental. I expect great things when they open again. Great experience we had today; amazing view, weather and access to get into the lake.

The lake is closed down as of 2025...sadly. I think they…read morehave a buyer from out of state to upgrade all the things that the owners did not fix up to date with the county. Lets just hope this was our yearly family go to spot at the cabins...

Up at cabin , getting cloudy , possible rain tomorrow! Home away from home. Neighbors are great,…read moremountains are beautiful.

I went here on a weekday, and when I arrived in the parking lot, I was shocked by how much was…read moregoing on. It definitely did not feel like a safe place to leave a car or to walk alone. There appeared to be drug activity, and there were people living in their cars. It felt more like a place for people to hang out and purchase drugs than a normal parking lot. I observed this as I drove through, which was very concerning. This was a bummer, especially since the trail itself looked beautiful. I'm surprised that law enforcement hasn't been called by the neighborhood, but then again, I understand that people can sometimes become used to these conditions.

We always love hiking here. It's easy to hike with kids, even though it can get a little rocky and…read morea little muddy. The cave is always beautiful, especially when the water is flowing. Today, there are still descent of people hiking, and we came around 12:30 Easy Hike!Gonna come back again soon. P. S please leave no trace

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.

Whoa. I've been into…read morethe Sierra Nevada mountain range all my life, so I'm well aware of how rugged and gorgeous it all is. But it seems that the Emigrant Wilderness takes this up a notch. I didn't think this was possible. I bought a backpack last year to take to Channel Islands. Why not use it this year for a semi-major backpacking trip. Of the places I was considering, I narrowed it down to the Emigrant Wilderness. Got my route planned out, and off I went to Kennedy Meadows. I ended up using two trailheads. When I got my wilderness permit, the ranger warned me that snow was blocking a lot of my itinerary. It certainly was. My four days out of Kennedy Meadows turned into only 26 hours. In that 26 hours was jaw-dropping scenery ranging from vast canyons and mountain ranges to pretty seasonal creeks and wildflowers. I camped near Summit Creek, going to sleep with a raging waterfall close by. By now, you're probably thinking of the first few minutes of "The Sound Of Music", and saying "Aw, I wish I was there!" I wish you were too. Be warned that it is pretty strenuous, and you start at 6500 feet. Okay, my second trip: the Crabtree trailhead. I did much less hiking this time, only five miles to Grouse Lake. I didn't need to go any further. The area around Grouse Lake has a lot to see and do: a smallish lake divided by a peninsula, lots of fishing and swimming spots, birds flying and singing, glaciated granite to climb and run on. (And plenty of mosquitoes; bring lots of repellant.) There are other destinations from this trailhead, too; hikers I saw said that they were going to Camp Lake, Bear Lake. It's a remote trailhead, but it filled up on a Saturday afternoon, so beware! A big part of the attraction of the Emigrant Wilderness is that the only "improvements" we've made are trails and the occasional reservoir. Everything else is just as it was when California became a state. It's wild. It does take a bit of effort to get back here. And when you do, you're not disappointed. It's an immersion into the mountains, a place with just you and the Lord, and He rejuvenates your spirit among His handiwork. Dick Proenneke, who lived in solitude near Alaska's Lake Clark, told John Kauffmann for National Geographic, "Mountains are a man's best friends if he only knew it. You hike and climb every day and you don't grow old." (He was 63.) The same can be said for the Emigrant Wilderness. If you get the food situation figured out, you could live here for an entire summer and still not see it all, and still wish you had more time.

Beautiful! We did the Kennedy Lake trail (15 mi) and camped overnight. It was so peaceful!…read moreBeautiful mountains, streams, trees, and wildlife (deer and rabbits). We tried to get to the lake but it was super swampy. It was very cold (30 F in late June so be sure to pack warm stuff! Happy Hiking!

So we go camping once a year, and every year we try something new. This year we found Cherry Valley…read moreCampground. It's about 29 miles past Sonora, Ca, but forewarned the drive is very curvy. But...once you arrive...OMG...the campground is amazing. There's a manager on site for any help, they sell firewood and have Potable water if you need it. The bathrooms are super clean and smell good, which is not normal for a campground. Now one thing you must know is that the lake is accessible at multiple points, but it's all rocky. So no matter where you go there's no real beach. However if you drive to the boat launch area which is like 5 minutes away, there is some sand and rocks to enjoy the water. We took some kayaks and we're able to explore the water, even saw a Bald Eagle. The scenery was great. Camping here was awesome, we will def be back.

The camp host was great! Made sure we were okay when a snow storm hit. The location was beautiful.read more