"In a canoe a man changes and the life he has lived seems strangely remote. Time is no longer of moment, for he has become part of space and freedom. What matters is that he is heading down the misty trail of explorers and voyageurs, with a fair wind and a chance for a good camp somewhere ahead. The future is other lakes, countless rapids and the sound of them, portages through muskeg and over the ledges." - Sigurd F. Olson, 1972, Early Boundary Waters advocate
Nothing can compare to a trek to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, except perhaps for a trek to Canada's adjoining Quetico Canoe Wilderness! But for those of us that live in Norhtern California, these destiantions are the stuff of multi-week treks and year long planning efforts. Luckily, there are a number of nearby lakes that make wonderful weekend, or even longer, paddling trips. We'll talk about a few of them here.
| Ahjumawi | HWY 299 to McArthur, boat-in only! |
| Fordyce Lake | HWY80 to Cisco Grove, N past Camp Robert Cole |
| Lake Clementine | Off I80 near Auburn |
| Englebright Lake | Off HWY 20 between Grass Valley & Marysville |
| Hell Hole | HWY 40 to Georgetown |
| Lake Valley | Near the intersection of HWY20 & I80 |
| Lost Creek | Off LaPorte Road out of Clipper Mills |
| Loon Lake | ElDorado Nt'l Forest |
| Utica/Union Reservoirs | HWY 4 out of Angels Camp to Bear Valley |
Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park
Accessible only by boat, this is a unique wilderness area. 65 miles NE of Redding, the only launch is maintained by PG&E; the 'Rat Farm'. Over 2/3rds of the 6,000 acre park is covered by recent (less than 5,000 year old) lava flows. Fed by natural springs, the lake was a favored fishing spot of the Pit River Ajumawi indians. Their rock fish traps still remain.
Paddle in camps are available. Facilities are minimum. Hiking is rugged, but very interesting. Preserved within the Park are lava flows broken by great faults and deep cracks, lava tubes and craters. Freshwater springs flowing from the lava are prominent along the shoreline.
Download scanned park brochures here; Brochure 1, Brochure 2 (Acrobat PDF format ~391KB & ~284KB file sizes).
Vist http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23153 for more information on the fish traps and for more info on the State Park visit http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=464
A high Sierra lake located near the Council's Camp Robert Cole, Fordyce is a great paddling destination with high narrow granite canyons, lake side fish camps, good paddling distances, and most of all, solitude.
Operated by PG&E, the lake levels are often subject to significant drawdown by mid-Summer (August). The paddling and camping are best from just after the snow melts to early Summer. In June'07, after a particularly dry winter, we found the lake to be full, quiet and a wilderness wonderland!
There are no facilities. A car top 'launch' (barely a slope in the ground) exists at the South end of the lake. Be prepared to treat all your own water and pack everything out. Camping is best near the North end of the lake where the lake shore levels out. There was plenty of downed fire wood, but check on fire restrictions ahead of time and be sure you have your camp fire permit. Fishing is reported to be good, but we didn't give it a try.
Take the Cisco Grove exit off I80 left (North) to the frontage road and then left again to the private campground (a former KOA facility). Take a right on Fordyce Road (Forestry Road 85) just before the campground. It's about 6-1/2 miles to the lake, mostly gravel but some dirt. The road is classed as 4WD and is especially rough after a wet winter. This lake is well worth the drive. There is no fee.
A Califonia State Park facility, this lower elevation foothill lake offers on-season boat-in camps accessible from the main launch at the dam or with a beach launch from the upper day use area. There is a fee for camping and day use. Check the web site for details, http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=1141 (cut & paste this link into your browser's Address window).
Just a few miles off Interstate 80 at Auburn, this lake is popular with water skiiers in the Summer. The best paddling is in the off season, though the upper day use area is great for practice any time. With a length of 3.5 miles, this is a nice day paddle or a good intro to canoe camping. This lake is full year round.
Located in the lower Sierra foothills between Marysville and Grass Valley, this Army Corps of Engineer maintained lake is full year around. It is popular for water skiing in the Summer, but the rest of the year belongs to paddlers! Boat-in camps are located along the lake's entire 9 mile length, with the upper camps, like Point Defiance, being the best for paddlers.
All camp sites have pit toliets and fire rings. Camping is free in the off season, though parking fees apply year around. Fire wood is abundant in the Spring, but fires are often outlawed by Summer due to wildfire concerns. Fishing is good, as are the local hikes. From Point Defiance, you can take an easy day hike out to Bridgeport State Park along the South Yuba River, walk across the longest span wooden bridge on the West Coast, and continue for several more miles up the river to some great swimming holes, though the water is cold in the Spring!
Check out the lake's web site http://www.spk.usace.army.mil/organizations/cespk-co/lakes/englebright.html for more information (copy & paste this link into your browser address field).
Here's a scanned map from a brochure that's become hard to find (Acrobat PDF format ~226KB file size).
In the Spring this remote higher elevation reservoir is much like the Boundary Waters Canoe Area with nesting Eagles, wilderness camps and beautiful paddling. There is a developed boat-in camp (Acrobat PDF format ~49KB file size) at the upper end of the lake, Upper Hell Hole, though it is a state of 'arrested decay'. Fish camps are also scatter along the shore. Boat-in camping is free year around. Water levels do vary considerably during the year with Upper Hell Hole becoming inaccessible late in the season in some dryer years. A Forest Service campground is near the lake providing year around camping (unless the roads are closed by snow!).
You can check reservoir levels before you go online at http://cdec.water.ca.gov/misc/daily_res.html (cut and paste into you browsers Address field). The max level is 208,000 AF (acre feet). I've been told that paddling is good down to about 175,000AF (usually early June, but it varies - a lot!). Our older Scouts were there in May '06 when it was at full capacity. I would recommend this!
Though not the most obvious route, we take the highway out of Georgetown to get to this lake. Be sure to stop at the Ranger Station to get your camp fire permit!
Easily accessible off I80, this is a popular spot for paddling, fishing and swimming in the Summer. There is a campground at the boat launch. Surrounded by mostly public land, camping is also popular along the shore and on the larger island. A Forest Service road allows car access to some upper shore areas as well.
An isolated reservoir below Sly Creek at about 5,000ft elevation. A dirt access car top launch is available. Fishing is good. There are no developed camp facilities, but several fish camps exist along the shore.
To get to Lost Creek, head to Clipper Mills on LaPorte Road and ask directions!
In the Eldorado National Forest, this higher elevation lake is a popular fishing spot being regularly stocked with trout. The boat-in camp is at the upper end of the lake (Acrobat PDF format ~59KB file size). This makes a good base camp for day or even weekend hiking of the nearby Pacific Crest Trail! Water levels do drop through the season, but the bolders along the shore are attractive year around! We've been able to find good paddle camps even late in the season.
Be advised that these higher elevation lakes can get cold at night! Bring warm sleeping gear.
A chalet is available http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado/recreation/cabins/loonchalet/ (cut & paste this link into your browser's Address window) for overnight stays and day use in the winter.
True high sierra lakes, these twin reservoirs are a greatpaddling destination. Utica is reserved for paddlers year around (after the snow melts!), while Union is open to small motor boats with a 5 mph speed limit. Shore line camping is allowed at both lakes. There are no developed facilities, though there are some pit toliets. There is no fee.
Utica is dotted with small islands. With an interesting shore line, this lake can easily take a full day to explore. A short portage (~200 yards) connects the two reservoirs extending your paddling to multiple days! This is a perfect spot to practice your North Tier skills; wilderness camping, portaging, map reading (to avoid getting lost among the islands!), and paddling in the wind (esp on Union!).
Directions: Take highway 4 from Angels Camp towards Bear Valley. A few miles before Bear Valley, you will come to Spicer Reservoir Road (watch for the Sno-Park signs). Go down this about 5 miles until you see a forest road with a sign about Utica Reservoir. Take this. At the next intersection, you will see a sign for Union Reservoir to the right or Utica Reservoir to the left. Take the left and continue down until you see the reservoir.
To learn more about Northern California paddling trips, you might take a look at these books
"California Camping", Tom Stienstra, AvalonTravel Publishing, 2001; identifies paddle-in camps
"Paddling Norhtern California",Charlie Pike, The Globe Pequot Press, 2001; lake and river paddling
"Canoeing the California Highlands", John Coale, Chnaging Sky Publications, 1998; reviews over 100 lakes, most with camps
This page revised April 7, 2008