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.

This will always be one of our top places to visit for our camping trips along side one other…read morelocation. Just the scenery of all the beautiful trees, listening to nature all times of the day and night, the trails to explore, the beautiful marina, the ice cream hut, the post goes on. We stayed this time around for Father's Day weekend. And it was a FULL house indeed! Took our fur baby with us, and let me tell you she had a good time but she left exhausted lol! There were two camp grounds to stay at while up there if space permitted as the third location was closed. We made about 4 trips throughout to their little convenience store as they had lots to choose from plus ice and fire wood. We had a small meal from the local little pub a few doors down from there, which is also connected to their post office, surf shop and coffee/ice cream hut. Plenty of bathroom locations spread through the campgrounds which is always a plus. No showers though. Each night was $40. We stayed 2. For the most part each spot can hold two economy size vehicles. There is so much more to be said about visiting here. But it's better if you can find the time To just visit and or stay in order to relate. For sure a fun family spot to get away too.

This is a great reservoir to enjoy some fun on the water and it's absolutely huge!…read more Located in Stanislaus National Forest, it's about eight miles off of Highway 4 and feels even more remote. From the boat launch the view is deceiving - it looks like just a small lake next to a dam. But turn the corner around the first hillside and the lake opens up and appears to go on forever. According to the Forest Service, the reservoir covers 2,000 acres when it's full. There's a max 10 mph wake, so this is more of a lake for kayakers and SUPs, but there is the occasional fishing boat too. A portion of the reservoir to the northeast is also restricted altogether from motorized watercraft. With the rocky terrain around the reservoir you won't find much for a beach, but there are some great coves and island-like rock formations throughout the lake that are excellent for swimming and lounging. Both boat launch and day use parking are free (yes, really) and there is a campground nearby with first come, first serve sites.

Great little place to go and try to reel in some trout when the water flow allows....picnic…read moretables,bathroom are also available...when the river flow lightens up you'll see people playing in the water here... a very popular jeep 4x4 trail entrance is also here.

This is a roadside snow play area off Highway 4 about a couple miles pass the town of Dorrington…read more If you are heading east on Hwy 4 it will be on your left. There is a wide area for parking and it is where the Dorrington-National Forest sign is located. We tried to get a snow park permit for $5 at SNAC in Arnold but they were closed Christmas Day--duh! You can always get one in advance online. Our family was on our way to Spicer Sno-Park on Christmas Day when it began to snow heavily as we passed the town of Dorrington. My parents were getting a little nervous about being stranded in the snow-- saying we should probably turn around, but we didn't want to let the kids down so we kept pushing forward. A couple miles after passing Camp Connell, we see a line of parked cars on the left side of the highway with a bunch of sledders going downhill. There were about 12 cars parked and many more cars pulled up after we did. I was surprised to see a few families traveling from the bay area. Thinking that my snow paranoid parents would not want to go half an hour more in elevation, we decided to stop and just let the kiddies play in this area. I am very glad we did as it was an awesome area for snow play. It is a wide area and the hill is pretty high enough to get some fun sledding action. Adults and children alike were screaming with glee. This is about one and half hour drive from the Central Valley so it is quite closer than Tahoe. Although it isn't as picturesque or gorgeous as Tahoe, it is a convenient location for snow play. There was NO TRAFFIC on the highway and the road and conditions were not as treacherous. AND it is not as busy and congested as Tahoe. Perfect for kiddies..

September 19 through September 21, 2023. Came up for a…read morecouple day fishing trip with good friend. Campsites are both reserve and first come first serve. We showed up as first come first serve and we're lucky to get a beautiful spot right on the lake. They have nice deep fire rings, picnic tables and bear lockers. We didn't see any sign of bears. The sites are $27 a night and you can buy wood for six dollars a bundle or two bundles for $10. There is a 14 day limit on first come first serve sites. This time around, the road to Upper Blue Lake was open, so we headed up there to check it out. There are a couple campgrounds up there that have nice sites and include bathroom facilities. We ran into a couple of backpackers who convinced us to take the "short" hike to Granite Lake to do some fishing. We grabbed our fishing poles and gear and headed out thinking that short would be a quarter mile or so. The hike actually turned out to be 2 1/2 miles with about a 700 foot elevation gain. If we had known the distance, we probably would not have done the hike, but once there, we got a couple of very nice rainbow trout. We did not have any cell phone coverage in our camp, but at the 9100 foot elevation of Granite Lake we did have some pretty good cell coverage.

Pack your hiking shoes and enjoy the gorgerous and relaxing view of Echo lake and continued on to…read moreLake Aloha ! Pictures don't capture the beauty and serenity of this hike it's a must to experience it for yourself (take a companion or couple with you)

Absolutely beautiful lake but nowhere to fish from the shore. The only place is a tiny dam right…read morenext to the boat launch. The entire shore is rocky which is likely fine if you're by yourself hunting for a spot but difficult with two people let alone a family. The only place to fish is right next to the boat dock which happens to be the lake taxi service. They leave the marina on full bore almost running over you're limited 20 ft of fishing space. Again it's gorgeous but not the place you want to go to if you want to try and fish from the shore.

Duck Lake Trail or Loop is a very nice, moderately challenging hiking trail around Duck Lake (one…read moreof several lakes with that name) in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, an appendage of the Stanislaus National Forest in the Sierra Nevada east of Sonora and north of Yosemite. This is reached by Highway 4 (running across the Sierra Nevada from Stockton to near Markleeville, via Ebbetts Pass). The trailhead is at the Silver Valley Campground on the eastern side of Lake Alpine. If coming from the west, this is reached via a small road to the right off of Highway 4 just east of Lake Alpine, which is just east of Bear Valley. The small access road ends at the campground and just before the campground is the trail head. As of September 2023, the trailhead was not immediately obvious because of damage to the trees and sign. There is limited parking on the side of the road. In its full length includes a roughly 4-mile loop. There are links to other trails as well. Much of the trail is easy going physically, but there are some significant uphill or downhill parts, mostly at the beginning and end; around the lake itself the terrain is mostly easy going, with some woodland, meadows, and granite outcroppings. This trail could take about 2 hours to complete, more or less, depending on a number of factors. For us, the biggest thing to slow us down was the fact that the trail, though obvious in the start/end, tends to become vague and harder to identify in many sections around the lake. It is not especially well cleared for much of that, and mostly one must follow it by being careful about the direction, orienting via the lake, looking for trail blazes, and, especially in the hard granite areas, stone markers which hikers put up. This is a common issue, apparently. Otherwise, it is a very nice hike, and the lake is lovely. There is an old cabin next to the lake, and some pasture areas with cattle since livestock grazing is permitted int the Wilderness. It is peaceful and we only encountered three other groups of people on the entire hike when there in September 2023.

Took a day trip from the bay. Lots of fresh snow after a new year storm. I strongly recommend…read moresnowshoeing or walking down the spicer reservoir road. Just a couple hundred feet and there are plenty of sledding options, with longer runs and fewer boulders. Paid $15 to park for the day ($40 for a season ticket). We arrived at noon and although the lot was full, people were constantly coming and going, so we were able to find a spot after one loop around the lot. It's 2hrs 40mins and about 150miles from our part of the Bay Area. This was a good amount of time for a day trip. more than 3 hours and it starts to feel a little less appealing.

Great park! A little past Arnold. But well worth the drive for a day of fun in the snow. We will…read morereturn!