A gem reopens amid the burn zone
A treasured paradise, closed to the public since mid-August 2013, is again open.
Cherry Lake, Cherry Valley Campground and the 23-mile drive from Highway 120 — right through the 257,000-acre burn zone of the Rim Fire — have been reopened to the public.
The lake, though only 70 percent full, is still a gem, where the high-country granite of the Yosemite National Park wilderness looms in the distance.
A mosaic of burned forest is visible on the far side of the lake beneath Kibbee Ridge, as well as on the northwest slopes at the head of the lake in Stanislaus National Forest. Yet the gorgeous campground remains untouched by fire, even pristine, nestled in deep woods near the southwest shore of the lake. Firefighters saved the campground by building a firebreak well outside its perimeter.
This is a great destination for anybody with a kayak and camping gear. The reopening also provides the public with a chance to see firsthand the devastation from the Rim Fire. For anglers, it is a special opportunity, because nobody has fished the lake for more than a year and a half.
Cherry Lake is at an elevation of 4,700 feet in the Sierra foothills, just west of Yosemite’s remote northwestern border and the jumping-off point for the short hike to Lake Eleanor (where the surrounding slopes also have burned areas).
Make sure you get gas in Big Oak Flat (best bet) or Groveland and then brace yourself for an hour-long twisting drive amid 402 square miles of burned forest.
The road is paved (narrow in spots), and the burn zone starts where the road crosses the Tuolumne River. The route rises up a ridge where the vegetation was incinerated to the dirt and then descends the other side, crossing Cherry Creek and its pristine, untouched riparian zone. You then start the slow traverse up another ridge and across the burn, with occasional long views of charred tree skeletons for miles, canyon after canyon.
When you top a ridge and descend to the lake, it can seem like a miracle — thanks to the firefighters — that the campground and surrounding forest escaped the inferno.
The campsites are nestled in deep woods just above the lake, one of the prettiest camps in the region. For now, it’s first-come, first-served. Reservations are available for dates starting May 15 and into summer.
The lake, at 70 percent full, is still very pretty, but larger boats shouldn’t try to launch at the primitive ramp. Small, light boats are OK, and it’s ideal for kayaks, canoes and other craft that can be handlaunched.
That makes this lake a prize destination for those who can throw a kayak on top of their vehicle, put camp gear in the back, stash some food and drink in a cooler, and head to camp, boat and fish.
Anytime a lake is closed, it almost always provides some great fishing upon reopening. That probably will be the case in May for rainbow trout, although all the key factors — weather, water conditions and your experience — are in play. Over the years, I’ve done well at Cherry Lake as long as I find the right depth.
If you drive over the dam and turn left at the fork (the right fork is a rocky and primitive Jeep road to the dam at Lake Eleanor), the road leads to several primitive campsites (with bear boxes, no water) on the left and trailheads to Yosemite wilderness on the right. From here, it’s a short walk over a ridge to a peninsula at Lake Eleanor, once the site of a great campsite and now burned, in some spots right down to the water.
The Rim Fire was the thirdlargest fire in California since 1932, when fire records became verifiable. It made news worldwide. The reopening of Cherry Lake, 20 months later, might be a relatively quiet event, but it is no less spectacular for those who cherish the place and its camping, boating, fishing and nearby hiking.
Tom Stienstra is The San Francisco Chronicle’s outdoor writer. Tom Stienstra’s Outdoor Report can be heard at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 12:35 p.m. Saturdays on KCBS (740 and 106.9). E-mail: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @StienstraTom