Hike In Camping & Fishing

[fivefeezy]

I'm looking to take my two boys, ages 15 and 12, on a hike-in camping trip this coming weekend. Someplace within three and a half hours driving distance from the Bay Area. We'll stay 1 to 2 nights, depending on my work schedule. We would like the destination to have some decent fishing opportunities. My kids also hate ticks, so we're looking at altitudes of around 5000 feet or higher, where the ticks are sparse. We are looking to hike 3 to 5 miles in. Thanks for the help.

[pntballgunz]

Loch Levens off of I-80 towards Reno off the Big Bend exit is a good hike and great overnighter camp sites. Sierra Buttes off of Hwy 49 near Bassetts is great for camping and many hiking trails. Google both and I'm sure you'll find a wealth of info. Have fun!

[MONGO3006]

Eldorado national forest spider lake park at loon lake hike to spider. From the north bay 3 hours, east bay 2.5 hours. Off hwy 50 icehouse road lots of lakes and hiking

[ECG_88]

Yosemite is always beautiful. I don't remember the name of the lake, but we left Yosemite valley one morning and took 120 up towards Toulame and stopped at a trail head right off the 120. The trail was then about 2 miles to the Lake where we fished for trout. There were people camping there and cabins that you could rent. Seemed like a cool place that not a lot of people knew about. Very small lake. Just look at a map and pick one of the lakes within 1 to 2 miles of the highway.

EDIT: Oh I remember the name of the lake, May Lake

[fivefeezy]

Loch Levens off of I-80 towards Reno off the Big Bend exit is a good hike and great overnighter camp sites. Sierra Buttes off of Hwy 49 near Bassetts is great for camping and many hiking trails. Google both and I'm sure you'll find a wealth of info. Have fun!

Have you fished the Lock Levins Lakes? The little I can find about it says that the fishing isn't great there. Thanks for the tip.

Eldorado national forest spider lake park at loon lake hike to spider. From the north bay 3 hours, east bay 2.5 hours. Off hwy 50 icehouse road lots of lakes and hiking

How is the fishing at Spider Lake? I guess if we get skunked, we could always fish Loon Lake on our way out. I appreciate the tip.

Does anyone know the conditions of the Grouse Ridge Area? I heard that it might still be inaccessible because of snow. The fishing at Glacier Lake seems promising, from what I've read.

[NORCAL#1]

Check out Green lake near Bridgeport,Ca. We literally just got back one hella of a trip you hike in like 2.5 miles but it's actually like 4.5 miles with all the switch backs. You park at like 7,500 feet elevation and hike up to to around 9,300 feet where Green lake is , then if you like you can hike up a little higher to East or West lake which are closer to 10,000 feet I believe. I took my two boys who are 14 and 13 we also took two of my nephews who are only 12 and they all made it safely and had a great time! It's a little farther than your looking at but might be a fun option. I'll try and post some pictures later we literally just got back yesterday. There is still snow on the mountains which makes the water a little cold for swimming but we definitely went in, it also makes for some pretty impressive waterfalls. The fish are still a little bit deaper with the colder water IMO but it's still good fishing mostly trout about a foot long but definitely fun and good eating. If you interested take a look at this info below, not me personally but some good info. Have fun!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/thepathlessbeaten.com/2012/08/16/backpacking-to-green-lake/amp/

[CVShooter]

Forget Yosemite and especially May lake if you haven't booked your trip before May. Overnight trips require a permit and the High Sierra Camps (May Lake, Glen Aulin, Vogelsang, Merced Lake, etc.) are always in high demand. Lesser-known areas off the main roads are more doable. But even then, permits are tight due to high demand. Good fishing areas are like good hunting areas. They're out there. But I ain't tellin where.

[NASA 5]

Stanislaus National Forest takes about 3.5-4 hours to get to (at least the part I've camped at) and it's gorgeous. There's a beautiful, really secluded camp site that you'd need to off-road or hike to get to. It's at a pretty high elevation, has a small lake there for fishing (we caught some small but delicious rainbow trout and cooked them over the fire). Great area to hike as well once you're there, we brought two dogs with us and let them roam about with no trouble. While there were two other families near us, we only saw them once in 3 days. I don't have the exact coordinates but if you just explore Google Maps a bit, I'd bet you could pin point a target area. Good luck, enjoy!

[echo1]

Stanislaus National Forest takes about 3.5-4 hours to get to (at least the part I've camped at) and it's gorgeous. There's a beautiful, really secluded camp site that you'd need to off-road or hike to get to. It's at a pretty high elevation, has a small lake there for fishing (we caught some small but delicious rainbow trout and cooked them over the fire). Great area to hike as well once you're there, we brought two dogs with us and let them roam about with no trouble. While there were two other families near us, we only saw them once in 3 days. I don't have the exact coordinates but if you just explore Google Maps a bit, I'd bet you could pin point a target area. Good luck, enjoy!

My crew and I are all over the Stanislaus, but it's only an hour 1 1/2 + to most trailheads. We'd usually do one a month starting in February, Angel Island, until July, start back after Labor Day, around a hunnerd miles. But the last few years it's been tough to get away for all.

Some good starter ones. Off hwy 4, Highland Creek from Sand Flat at Wolfs borough, Bull Run, Utica Reservoir (park & pack to a primitive camp), lots of kayakers. When we lived in Freekmont, we were in the Sierra on a regular basis as well. Hell Hole on the Rubicon & the Blue Hole on the Mokelumne. My son's up at Sword Lake this week end. There's literally hundreds of places. you'll need a fire permit, which you can get on line, or wilderness permits which you can call ahead for.

Where did you end up going.PAX

[fivefeezy]

My crew and I are all over the Stanislaus, but it's only an hour 1 1/2 + to most trailheads. We'd usually do one a month starting in February, Angel Island, until July, start back after Labor Day, around a hunnerd miles. But the last few years it's been tough to get away for all.

Some good starter ones. Off hwy 4, Highland Creek from Sand Flat at Wolfs borough, Bull Run, Utica Reservoir (park & pack to a primitive camp), lots of kayakers. When we lived in Freekmont, we were in the Sierra on a regular basis as well. Hell Hole on the Rubicon & the Blue Hole on the Mokelumne. My son's up at Sword Lake this week end. There's literally hundreds of places. you'll need a fire permit, which you can get on line, or wilderness permits which you can call ahead for.

Where did you end up going.PAX

Thanks for the info.

We ended up going to Bowman Lake off of Highway 20. The bridge is out about a mile and a half from the lake so we just hiked the rest of the way in and had the lake to ourselves. There were only three other people on the whole lake who had drove in from the other side. My son caught a small brown trout (or possibly a golden trout, I couldn't tell) on his second cast. We released it but it ended up being our only fish. We slept on a high flat boulder overlooking the lake. It was pretty awesome.

[echo1]

I'll bet the water quality was good. Looks like a great spot, especially with few neighbors. Try Angel Island some time. Most all the camps are booked well in advance, but if you go for the day and are prepped for an overnighter, you can check at the ranger kiosk for cancellations/no shows and even open handicap slots, before the last ferry leaves. It's pretty cool camping in the middle of humanity, no fires, though you can bring briquettes. PAX