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Lakes & Reservoirs

Lake Kaweah

wildflowers

Sequoia Foothills Reservoir, CA SR 198
Kaweah Lake

Southern Sierra lake located on Kaweah River, near the mouth of Mineral King Canyon. In between the western Sierra foothills and the agricultural San Joaquin Valley. West of Sequoia NP, east of Visalia, California.

Crystal Cave
Mineral King
Sequoia National Park
Three Rivers
Visalia

The small town of Three Rivers is just up the road from this small reservoir & their slogan is the ‘southern gateway’ to the Sequoia National Park.

There are several recreational reservoirs that are situated at the base of the Sierras, along the western slopes. The Kaweah River transports snowmelt deep from the Sierra Nevada mountains, down to the San Joaquin Valley (Central Valley), for human consumption, households, and agriculture.

Lake Kaweah California

elevation: 1945′
surface area: 1200′
vegetation: minimal trees, scrub oak, wildflower foothills

fishing –

  • bass
  • bluegill
  • catfish
  • crappie
  • trout

recreation –

  • backpack
  • bike
  • boat
  • camp
  • canoe
  • hike
  • houseboat
  • kayak
  • sail
  • swim
  • waterski

Horse Creek Recreation Area
Horse Creek Campground
76 camp sites

Kaweah Rentals

Kaweah Marina has patio boats, fishing boats, and paddle boards available for rent. Reservations are needed in summer for weekends and holidays. 559-597-2526

Kaweah Houseboats

Privately owned house-boats can be seen on this lake, although none are available at the marina for rent. Some can usually be found for sale on visalia.craigslist.org

Weather: Lake Kaweah Dam

US Army Corps of Engineers
PO Box 44270
34443 Sierra Drive
Lemon Cove, CA 93244
559-597-2301

Gateway

Sequoia Highway 198 has many side routes worth exploring: Mineral King Road will get you to amazing scenery, but there ARE NOT ANY Sequoia groves up that way; Crystal Cave, open for tours is located near the south entrance of the National Park; and a lesser known campground in this area is called South Fork, off on a residential side route canyon – South Fork Drive (Road #348); Located on the quiet South Fork of the Kaweah River.

Sequoia Maps:

North Fork Drive: North Fork of the Kaweah River is a seldom traveled dirt back road that leads from the east side of the lake @ Hwy 198, northbound (along the North Fork of Kaweah River), straight into the backdoor of Sequoia National Park’s ridge line highway @ Dorst Campground. The original town of Kaweah (elev 960′) is along this route. Many small dirt roads to explore up this way and a good topo map is advised.

 

Eshom Campground (on western border of Sequoia NP), a small slice of Giant Sequoia National Monument land, Redwood Creek and a trailhead called Redwood Saddle are all back up in here.

Campgrounds, Lakes & Reservoirs

Lake Campgrounds

Rancheria Falls
Rancheria Falls, Huntington Lake, CA

California Lake Campgrounds

Wanna Camp at the Lake?
(you’re not the only one)

lakes  fishing boating mountains backroad horseback trails picnic mountain bike camps hikesnight skies

Nothing beats fresh, cold, clean water from the California mountains, in the summertime. Find time to exit the urban rat race, soon. Escape the smoggy city life and the triple-digit heat for a road trip to the higher elevations.

View East from Davis
Crocker Mountain @ Lake Davis, California

Lake Campgrounds are abundant in California, where man-made reservoirs and recreation abound. Alpine lakes in pine forests are also numerous in the west, although only accessible for a portion of the year, they draw in the campers all summer long. A majority of the small lakes are located inside the California National Forests.
USDA / USFS / NFS

NFS State Parks

Larger reservoirs can often be managed by California State Park system. State Parks, SRA, State Recreation Area. Suburban lake locations can be local County Parks. A few locations listed could even be desert lakes.

Many ideal secluded lakes are only accessible with a 4WD vehicle, by foot or horseback. Super scenic, backcountry lakes are so far out – that a day hike is usually required.

tent camp developed campground

primitive camping primitive campsites

RV camper trailers allowed RV campground

hikes wilderness access

Spicer

No motorized boats, camping on west shoreline only, no fishing from the dam, catch & release?

No access for trailers? Individual rules for each lake are different. Learn the basic before you get out there.

CAMPGROUND RESERVATIONS tent camp

Lake Campgrounds are so popular in California that many require reservations during summer. Many locations accept reservations online and we have links for those too. Other lakes are so small and remote, that only the fishermen, hikers and 4×4 gear-heads know of them.

outdoor recreation found at or near lakes

  • backpacking
  • boating
  • camping
  • canoeing
  • creeks
  • fishing
  • floating
  • four-wheelin
  • hiking
  • horseback riding
  • house boating
  • jetski
  • kayaking
  • mountain biking
  • OHV trails
  • picnicking
  • rivers
  • river rafting
  • swimming
  • water skiing
  • waterfalls

Silver Lake from Above

Lake destinations listed here have some sort of campground facilities. Some may be mini resorts with boat launch, marina or bait shop/general store. RV hook-ups, maybe. Dump station, it will cost you. Usually these bigger lakes are busy centers of tourists activity with boat rentals, RV camping and certain locales are even walking distance from ‘town’.

Fine dining is a rare find on the lakes, but some lake side restaurants (open seasonally & with limited hours) can be found. Most will require reservations, especially on the weekends.

Other lake camps listed are literally on the edge of wilderness – with trails to the high country. The best little lakes will have one dirt road access. Below is a wide variety of lake destinations within California.

 gardisky_lake

Floating Flyfishing Tube
Red Lake, 4×4 access (primitive, no facilities)

and let’s not forget the ever-popular California Lake List

Grassy Picnic Faucherie Lake

Lakes & Reservoirs

Redinger Lake

redinger lake

Redinger Reservoir

south of Yosemite NP, Bass Lake, CA

dammed lake canyon NFS sierra river sierra mountains

Officially this lake is actually a reservoir, located in the low lands of the Sierra foothills country. Narrow, winding back roads, a way outta the way kinda spot.

a long, narrow lake w/ steep hills, inside a tight canyon

  • canoe
  • fishing
  • hiking
  • jetski
  • kayak
  • waterski

The San Joaquin River flows west, down from the highest granite peaks of the Sierra Nevada and into the Central Valley foothills. If you find your way off the main highway 41, exploring way back behind Bass Lake, CA – then you may consider this scenic loop to Redinger.

off the beaten path

Truthfully, this place is usually an afterthought, sorta near Yosemite National Park. Not exactly a top destination for tourists, but it is very accessible most anytime of the year due to low elevation.

Spring wildflowers can be decent. Summers do get super hot here, so take that into consideration when planning your visit. Due to extreme wildfire danger, no campfires are allowed at any time.

redinger bridge

Lake, Reservoir, or a good wide section of the San Joaquin River w/ hydro-electric dam.

elev. 1000′

open camp no fires boating fish

public boat launch ramp
Camping is restricted to a large open area near the dam. No fee is charged. No campfires are permitted. Services limited, no drinking water or garbage pick-up available. Nearest town 7 miles away.

NORTH FORK, CA

Redinger Lake Road (Rd# 235) can be found south of the town of North Fork, CA. The paved route down is long, steep and winding. At the bridge crossing, the road loops to Joe Basin Road, which connects to the small community of Auberry, CA

Way up river, a dozen plus miles, is the utterly beautiful Mammoth Pool, only accessible half the year.

A few miles down river from Redinger, around the horse shoe bend, another neighboring reservoir called Kerschoff Lake (elev 971′) has a developed campground.

campSmalley Cove Campground NFS

Contact:
Bass Lake Ranger StationNFS
559-877-2218

https://www.fs.usda.gov/