Redinger Lake - Fresno & Madera Counties, California

Visited on 5/20/2018, Jeff and our two chocolate Labradors, Summer and Skye joined me on a business trip to give Drinking Water examinations in the Central Valley of California.  On our 18th Anniversary, Jeff and I loaded up the dogs and traveled back down the hill from our camping spot at Shaver Lake to Redinger Lake Reservoir to find a nice spot to camp overnight.  Redinger Dam is a dam in Fresno County, California.

The concrete gravity dam was completed in 1951 as one component of Southern California Edison's Big Creek Hydroelectric Project, a system of 25 dams, nine power plants and supporting tunnels and diversion channels in the upper basin of the San Joaquin River, one of the most extensive hydroelectric systems in the world. Redinger Dam stands 250 feet tall, with a length of 875 feet at its crest. 

The reservoir it creates, Redinger Lake, has a normal water surface of 465 acres and a maximum capacity of 35,000 acre-feet.  Redinger Lake is located on the San Joaquin River. It is surrounded by oak and shrub covered foothills.  We found a very secluded primitive camping spot on the north side of the lake by the old bridge for our camping spot right on the lake.  Absolutely a wonderful quiet and peaceful camping spot.  However, camping is restricted to a large open area near the dam we chanced it and no one ran us out!  This was the best spot to spend our 18^th Anniversary together with our dogs that really enjoyed swimming in the lake and chasing the ball and stick.  We only saw one boat on the lake and only a couple of cars/trucks drove by in the two days we were there.  Loved it!!!

Redinger Lake was constructed by Southern California Edison in 1951 on the South Fork of the San Joaquin River above Kerckhoff Reservoir. Redinger Lake is part of the Big Creek Hydroelectric project which includes a system of lakes, tunnels, steel penstocks and power houses that uses water to generate electricity.

The reservoir is named after David H. Redinger who helped plan and execute the Big Creek Hydroelectric project.  Recreation includes fishing (for German brown and eastern brook trout, small mouth bass, bluegill, or catfish), camping, and hiking.

Jeff playing with the dogs in the Lake.