Mi-Wuk Village Library*, CA
Looking across Pinecrest Lake on the South Fork of the Stanislaus River at Pinecrest Peak (elev: c8460'), which formerly was capped by a U.S. Forest Service Lookout.
The road to the former lookout provided, and presumably still does, access to Herring Creek as well as trails to Waterhouse Lake and Copper's Meadow.
Panning right one see no yachts but rather many small sailboats and a few other types of watercrafts.
There is a trail, titled the Pinecrest National[?] Recreation Trail, which circumnavigates the lake, crossing the dam and a bridge over the S.F. of the Stanislaus. I walked paart of it to the right past the boats.
Incidentally, no dogs are allowed on the sandy beaches but they are allowed on the trails if they are leashed.
[Click once to enlarge; press ESC to return here.] PG&E plans to work with the USFS to meet the requirements of the ADA [American with Disabilities Act].
Taken from what may be the fishing platform in the above plaque; however, with the dryer than normal winter, the lake is abnormally low.
Looking to the right, a few more boats as well as the roof of one of the many houses which are prevalent on the more-forested south-east side of the lake.
One house, apparently in jest, had a sign which said "Bear Hibernation Station." Another dry winter and the sign may have to be changed to "Bear Feeding Station."
One can see the three beaches mentioned on the plaque. The fellow working the desk at the Summit District Ranger Station told me that the Pincrest Lodge was taken down sometime in the 1970s. Since I worked at the RS during the summer of 1960, I vaguely recall that lodge. All of my trips thereafter were up the Dodge Ridge Road, missing the crowds at the lake.
A view across the lake to just left of the dam. There only appear to be a couple of boats involved in fishing.
Hoped I had walked far enought up the lake to get a shot of the dam, but not so. It's "just around the corner" beneath the rocky outcroppings in the middle of the photo.
Panning right, one can see the white roof of a cabin, which is likely only accessible via foot along the trail or via boat.
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A road just past the Lyons Dam Road seemed like a good spot to get a photo of Lyons Lake from an adjacent ridge. So I parked on the old roadbed of CA108 and walked Lakeview Drive.
Because of all of the trees I was unable to get more than a bried glance of the lake. So I drove the 2 miles down to it, where I photographed this sign.
Lyons Lake has long been the water source for the town of Tuolumne, formerly the home of the West Side Lumber Company.
Here's a view of Lyons Dam.
Like Pinecrest Lake, Lyons Lake is also on the South Fork of the Stanislaus River.
Panning right again one can see that the lake's level is low. Unlike Pinecrest, only a few fishermen frequent Lyons Lake; also, the road to Pinecrest Lake is paved while the Lyons Dam Road is a sometimes rough gravel road.
The inlet to the lake is directly above the partially-submerged stump.
Here's the remainder of what is a rather small man-made lake.
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Links:
- Pinecrest Lake Resort website
- Sonora Pass Vacations website on the Pinecrest area
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*Mi-Wuk Village Library's WiFi operates 24/7; there is parking in front of their building for RVs of moderate size, but not Class A's, especially with toads.
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T 28 Aug Actual Route: 1 mi E of N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd - Sonora - Twain Harte - 1 mi E of N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd
W 29 Aug Actual Route: 1 mi E of N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd - Pinecrest - Mi-Wuk Village - 1 mi E of N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd
Th 30 Aug Actual Route: 1 mi E of N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd - Twain Harte - Sonora - Mi-Wuk Village - 1 mi E of N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd
F 31 Aug Actual Route: 1 mi E of N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd - Lyons Dam/Lake - Mi-Wuk Village - 1 mi E of N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd
Sa 1 Sep Route: 1 mi E of N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd - Sonora - Wi-Wuk Village - 1 mi E of N.F. Tuolumne Riv bd
Finding Campgrounds:
- RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
- Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
- Free campsites website
- Info on finding BLM Campgrounds
