Camping, recreation gems still available for holiday
The era of lock-down, sure things at landmark destinations means that off-the-grid sites for camping and recreation are still available for the Fourth of July weekend. A big snow year and late openings add to the sizzle for people who do their detective work.
All the famous sites — Point Reyes, Angel Island, Yosemite, Tahoe, Monterey Bay — and many state and national parks are long booked full. These are among the sites that you have to be able to get a summer reservation the moment they become available, or forget about it.
Beneath the best-known names, however, are hundreds of lesser-known destinations that can provide the ultimate escape hatch for the coming holiday and beyond through summer.
The Redwood Empire, dozens of small lakes with campgrounds in national forests, and many openings this week can provide the best of opportunities, even on a holiday weekend.
In addition, wilderness trailheads in many areas are finally on the verge of being cleared, with the snow line in the Sierra Nevada sitting at roughly 8,500 to 9,000 feet elevation. Below that, recreation areas on the flanks of the mountain range are beginning to open.
In the popular Bowman Lakes Recreation Area in the central Sierra, for instance, the road to the trailhead at Carr and Feeley lakes opened last week and the campground and wilderness access opens Thursday; at the same time, the turnoff from Bowman Road up to Grouse Ridge and its campground and trailhead is still blocked by 4 feet of snow.
Here is a synopsis of what is available, booked, open and still closed:
Central Sierra
Synopsis: In the Tahoe front country on the west slope of the Sierra, 53 of 60 campgrounds are open for the weekend in Eldorado National Forest, with temperatures forecast in the 50s to 80s with no thunderstorms. Crystal Basin: All of the campgrounds at Ice House, Union Valley and Loon are open with the paved roads cleared. The last of the campgrounds to open, Pleasant Lake (boat-in/ hike-in and connected above Loon Lake) and Gerle Creek Lake are now accessible. Wrights Lake is closed (projected to open July 8) and the boatin site at Pleasant Lake will close July 5 for summer for a restroom replacement project. Info: Pacific Ranger District, (530) 644-2349, www.fs.usda.gov/eldorado. Blue Lakes: Forget it until mid-July. The campground at Lower Blue Lake will open July 15, Upper Blue not until Aug. 1, and Middle Creek will be closed all season. Info: PG&E, www.pge.com/recreation. Highway 88 Corridor: On Wednesday, the campgrounds opened at Sugar Pine Point at Bear River Reservoir, Silver Lake and Caples Lake. The camp at Woods Lake, with access to Red Lake and other small lakes in the basin, are projected to open in mid-July. At Carson Pass, rangers measured snowdrifts as high as 7 feet on the Pacific Crest Trail, which blocked access to the Mokelumne and Carson-Iceberg Wilderness Areas. Info: Amador Ranger District, (209) 295-4251, www.fs.usda.gov/ eldorado. Bowman Lakes Recreation Area: The road to the trailhead and walk-in campgrounds at Carr and Feeley lakes opened 10 days ago; the campgrounds open Thursday and are expected to fill quickly Friday morning. On the way in, you also pass Fuller Lake. Nearby, the fork to Lindsey Lake and its campground and trailhead is projected to open July 15. The road to the campground and trailhead at Grouse Ridge is blocked by 3-4 feet of snow. Beyond the turnoff to Carr and Feeley lakes, Bowman Lake Road is closed from storm damage with no access to Bowman and Faucherie lakes. Info: Yuba River Ranger District, (530) 288-3231, www.fs.usda.gov/tahoe. Gold Lakes: The remaining snow off Gold Lake Road is melting and access is available to Sardine, Packer, Haven, Goose, Gold and Salmon lakes. Backcountry access to the Sierra Buttes and Mount Elwell is still snow-covered. Note: The Forest Service website says that Gold Lake Road is “closed” (it’s been open since early June), but yet the area is “open.” Info: Beckwourth Ranger District, (530) 836-2575, www.fs.usda. gov/plumas; Sierraville Ranger District, (530) 994-3521, www.fs.usda.gov/tahoe.
Redwood Empire
Synopsis: Available campsites, open trailheads and wilderness clear of snow spark the best opportunity for Fourth of July vacationers. State parks with campsites available: Richardson Grove, Standish-Hickey Grizzly Creek Redwoods, Hendy Woods, Humboldt Redwoods; plus Humboldt Lagoons, first-come, first-served. Booked full: Prairie Creek Redwoods, Jedediah Smith Redwoods, Del Norte Coast Redwoods. Info: California State Parks, www.parks.ca.gov. Yosemite National Park Synopsis: Do not go to Yosemite without a reservation for a campsite, lodging, or wilderness trail permit. Tioga Road opens Thursday, its latest opening since July 1 in 1998. Caution: The trailhead out of Hetch Hetchy is open, with water from Wapama Falls flowing over the footbridge — and that can be dangerous. A 66year-old man slipped while crossing the bridge last week and was killed when he fell into the torrent below. The two-day route up through Beehive and to Lake Vernon is clear and accessible, with Falls Creek running high and fast. High country campgrounds/ trails: Tamarack Flat opened last week, Crane Flat opens Thursday. White Wolf, Yosemite Creek, Porcupine Flat, Tuolumne Meadows are closed, with no projected opening dates. Out of Tuolumne Meadows, the Pacific Crest Trail is covered by snow north toward Glen Aulin, and is wet and flooded in spots south to Lyell Fork. Tuolumne Meadows is at 8,600 feet; at 9,000 feet, you find near complete snow coverage. Info: Yosemite National Park, (209) 372-0200, www.nps.gov/ yose. Tahoe Region Synopsis: Everything is open at sites near Lake Tahoe, with huge crowds expected. Do not go without a reservation. The high country is rapidly melting off, but on trails that connect to the Pacific Crest Trail, high snow blocks access to Desolation and Granite Chief Wilderness areas. A picture in time: At Echo Chalet at Echo Lakes, the winter snowpack was 190 percent of normal, and the ice finally started melting off the lake last week. The owners of the chalet plowed through 10 feet of snow in early June and found significant damage to the docks; no opening date set, no access to PCT. Trailhead: One of my favorite Tahoe day hikes — up Meeks Creek into the Granite Chief Wilderness to Crag Lake — is partially snow-covered and ice melting off the lakes on the route has created a hazardous stream crossing over a damaged bridge. Info: Lake Tahoe Basin District Office, (530) 543-2600, https:// www.fs.usda.gov/ltmbu. Lassen Volcanic National Park Synopsis: It’s all or nothing. There is no snow at Manzanita Lake and other destinations in Lassen’s front country, but you hit a wall in higher country with 10 feet of snow at the parking lot for Lassen Peak and the snowpack still holding on throughout much of the backcountry. Campgrounds open: Manzanita Lake and Southwest Walkin, located on the Lassen Park Highway/Highway 89 at each end of the park are open. From access points out of Highway 44 and Chester, campgrounds at Butte Lake and Warner Valley are also open. Campgrounds closed: Juniper Lake, Summit Lake North and Summit Lake South are projected to open in mid-July. Trails: The trails to Crags Lake and Devastated Area are clear. From Butte Lake, follow tracks in the snow to Cinder Cone or Widow Lake. From Warner Valley, the trail is clear to Devils Kitchen. Trails are blocked by fallen trees to Drake Lake, Terminal Geyser, Horseshoe Lake, Inspiration Point.
Greater Bay Area
State parks with campsites available: Brannan Island, Henry W. Coe, Little Basin, Mount Diablo. Info: www. parks.ca.gov. First-come, firstserved: Castle Rock Trail Camp; Pantoll walk-in and Bootjack walk-in at Mount Tamalpais. (415) 388-2070.
Rangers and recreation officers with the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, PG&E and California State Parks provided details for this report.
Tom Stienstra is the outdoors writer for The Chronicle. His Outdoor Report can be heard Saturdays on KCBS (740 and 106.9) at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 12:35 p.m. E-mail: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @StienstraTom