Area Activities

Come see why Bill Tahoe’s famous last words were “They named the wrong lake after me.”

Located directly across the street from our Lodge, Lake Alpine is a main attraction for the area. This small reservoir is a peaceful gem in the Sierra. The relative shallowness of the lake helps the sun warm it for comfortable swimming, the dam keeps the water moving and clean. Early morning paddle boarding and kayaking trips are almost guaranteed legendary conditions.

Please call (209) 753-6350 for accurate boat pricing. A $5 Lake Alpine Day Use Fee is added to all boat rental fees. The $5 Day Use Fee is also in effect for the launching of personal boats. Any boat is allowed to launch, but a 10 mph speed limit on the water is always in effect.

There is a $5 day use fee to use the facilities at Lake Alpine. The funds collected from day use fees help to pay for waste removal, restroom, maintenance, employees, fire prevention, and general improvements.

The day use fee can be paid on site at Lake Alpine Day Use Areas, at Lake Alpine Lodge, or by using the link below. Please note, the Day Use Fee is not a parking pass, it s for use of the Day Use areas overall. Prepayment of a Day Use Fee online in no way guarantees a parking space.

Lake Alpine has been a fishing destination for generations. Its pristine waters are stocked with rainbow trout 3-4 times throughout the year, including during Kids Fishing Day in early July for everyone to watch! The surrounding rivers boast abundant fly fishing. Licenses can be bought online, we carry everything else you’ll need in the store.

Bear Valley Music festival is a two week long affair, with acts playing nightly a short two miles from us. Hermit Fest is a remarkably unique, secluded, free festival where musical acts and campers party the night away in Hermit Valley, which is even further up Highway 4 than we are.

For the history buffs and wine-tasting fans, further down Highway 4 is Calaveras County. The former stomping grounds of Mark Twain offers a window into the famous California Gold Rush. The climate is ideal for viticulture, and many of the vineyards have a down-to-earth vibe, tasting rooms, and other attractions (giant gold nugget, anyone?). Calaveras County is also home to the Big Trees State Park, an amazing grove of Giant Sequoias. If Lake Alpine isn’t remote enough for you, the pitch black of Mercer Caverns will make you forget you share the planet with anyone at all.

The expansive scenery, winding switchbacks, and dizzying drop-offs of Highway 4 make it extremely popular for road biking. The Death Ride is known as one of the countries most challenging cycling events, and this year for the first time the route will come all the way to Lake Alpine.

Mountain biking is available right out of our property, with the Tahoe-Yosemite route connecting to larger systems. The Pacific Crest Trail passes nearby, call for details on using us as a resupply.

We are nestled in between the Mokelumne and Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, and further engulfed by the Stanislaus and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests. We are as remote as you can get while remaining slightly civilized in the Sierra Nevadas. Bonus: Highway 4 is closed to large trucks, so we are blissfully free of the noise pollution that plagues other areas. No light pollution makes for great stargazing and photography, with or without a telescope. There are tons of hiking trails in the area including strenuous and satisfying ascents, minimal elevation change loops, and seldom used overnight excursions. 

Visit our Hiking by Henry page for more details on day treks.

Spicer and Utica are large, closeby, recreational reservoirs. The latter boasts stunning paddle-in only campsites, and the former connects to Lake Alpine by the famously difficult 4x4 and rock crawling trail, Slick Rock Road. Many more 4x4 trails in the area are open to exploration. 

Climbing is possible in the area, though mostly unestablished. Calaveras dome is the closest feature of significant size. There are many boulders in the area, and a beginner sport and trad crag (Box Canyon) about a mile away. Boulders along the Stanislaus River provide challenging, picturesque pebble wrestling. Hell’s Kitchen is the most well known, and therefore cleanest, bouldering in the area. V0s to V10s are steps from the car and a fifteen minute drive from Lake Alpine. Reach out to us or California Rock Guides for more info.