Eagle Lake - Lassen County, California

Jeff and Summer enjoying the day on the boat out in the middle of Eagle Lake.


Visited on 7/21-23/2017 – Picture taken on a weekend camping trip in our Truck Camper and Boat with Jeff and our dogs, Summer and Skye.  We camped at Eagle Campground, site #23.  Our good friend Merlin and his two dogs came up from Reno, Nevada to spend the day with us boating on the Lake.  The second largest natural lake in California, Eagle Lake is framed by pine and sage.  Eagle Lake is at 5,098 feet elevation and covers 24,000 acres approximately 15 miles north of Susanville, California.  The lake was very shallow, 45 feet deep out in the middle!  We didn’t see any eagles, but we did see lots of Pelicans and a couple of deer during our visit to the Lake.  Visitors in the area driving A1 north will top a final rise and see the dramatic vista of the Eagle Lake Basin below, surrounded by mountains and highlighted by the dramatic aspect of the lake itself.  Eagle Lake is located at the juncture of four major geologic provinces. To the west and south is the Sierra Nevadas, a giant mountain range formed by tectonic uplifting along the edge of the continental plate. To the west and north are the Cascade Mountains, which run through California, Oregon, and Washington, and up into Canada. This mountain range is volcanic in origin, but is also a result of a clash between the Pacific and continental plates. Eagle Lake is located within the Great Basin and the semi-arid lands to it’s east are known as the Modoc Plateau. Long ago the area was inhabited by many different groups of Native Americans, including the Hat Creek, Mountain Maidu, Valley Maidu, Paiute, and Pit River, all of whom hunted and fished at Eagle Lake.  Eagle Lake was created by the melting of glaciers during the last ice age and is the second largest natural lake in California. It has over 100 miles of shoreline. The lake sits in a closed drainage basin with no outlet and only limited surface water flowing into it.  Aptly named, Eagle Lake is a great place to view golden & bald eagles nesting. The lake is also home to the unique Osprey Overlook, a ½ mile trail near Gallatin Beach that gives a chance to view osprey nests and flight up close. White pelicans, western grebes, great blue herons, and many diving ducks feed on fish in the lake. In early spring, Canada geese, mallards, pintails and other waterfowl are especially numerous. May to June and September through October are peak months for viewing shorebirds, waterfowl and osprey, though viewing is good through the summer. The months of April through September are the best months for viewing bald eagles.  Black Tail and Mule deer are also common throughout the area. Pronghorn antelope cross the northern and eastern sides of the basin, while various small mammals find homes there. Deer, coyotes, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, and an occasional bear or mountain lion also roam the area.

Honey Lake - Lassen County, California

Visited on 7/23/2017 – Picture taken on a weekend camping trip in our Truck Camper and Boat with Jeff and our dogs, Summer and Skye.  We visited Honey Lake on our way home on Sunday morning.  This picture was taken from the Rest Area located off of Highway 395.  Honey Lake is at 3,987 feet elevation and is approximately 12 miles east of Susanville, California.  It is a endorheic alkaline lake, is very shallow, only 21 feet deep at it’s deepest!  Honey Lake was, during the ice age, part of a massive lake called Lake Lahonta, which covered parts of present-day Nevada, Oregon and California. Today, it's very much a desert lake. In cool weather, it spreads 47,000 acres over a plateau. In hot weather, Honey Lake can dry up entirely.  Honey Lake's seasonal nature and its alkali waters do nothing to deter the birds. In the damper months, Honey Lake is surrounded by marshlands. Few lakes can boast as many species at water's edge as Honey Lake. Just a handful of the birds you may spot here include the tundra swan, the Sandhill crane and the White-faced ibis. During peak migration, the sky crowds dark with Snow and Canada geese, and thousands and thousands of ducks.

Lake Oroville - Butte County, California

Visited on 7/23/2017 – Picture taken on a weekend camping trip in our Truck Camper and Boat with Jeff and our dogs, Summer and Skye.  We visited Lake Oroville on our way home on Sunday afternoon, stopped at the pullout just north of the “Little Green Golden Gate Bridge” on the east side of the Lake.  The water level has been purposely lowered to about half or 50% because of the famous Oroville Dam failure of 2017.  Jeff and I had an adventurous trip down the hill from Plumas County via Highway 162 from Quincy, CA and Buck’s Lake.  Highway 162 was damaged so badly during the rain storms this past winter that it washed out the road and the road has been closed.  Jeff and I didn’t know the road was closed and drove 25 miles down the hill until we reached the barricade in the road and it really wasn’t a good area to turn the truck camper and the boat around.  We were sitting there trying to figure out what to do, when a couple drove up to us and told us to take a 6 mile off-road dirt logging road around the mountain!  With hesitation we did it!  It took us 45 minutes going 5-10 mph along that white knuckle path, but we made it and now we can chaulk it up to another adventure.   Lake Oroville is at 901 feet elevation and covers 15,805 acres approximately 5 miles northeast of city of Oroville, California.   Lake Oroville's dam was built in 1968 and has a height of 755 feet, making it the tallest dam in the United States.  Jeff and I have camped and boated several times over the years on this Lake.  We have taken our horses a few times to Loafer Creek Horse Camp located on the southeast corner of the lake for weekend trail rides and camp with our horses.  The Loafer Creek Campground and over 50 miles of trails along the Lake were donated to the State of California Dept. of Recreation by Roy Rogers to be developed for hiking and use by equestrians.

Thermalito Afterbay - Butte County, California

Visited on 7/23/2017 – Picture taken on a weekend camping trip in our Truck Camper and Boat with Jeff and our dogs, Summer and Skye.  We visited Thermalito Afterbay on our way home on Sunday afternoon, picture taken while traveling west of Oroville crossing the northern portion of the Afterbay on Highway 162.  The Thermalito Afterbay is located about six miles west of the city of Oroville and is an offstream reservoir.  The Afterbay provides storage for the water required by the pumpback operation to Lake Oroville, helps regulate the power system, produces controlled flow in the Feather River downstream from the Oroville-Thermalito facilities, and provides recreation. It also serves as a warming basin for agricultural water delivered to farms east of the Afterbay.  Thermalito Afterbay Dam and facility was constructed from 1965 to 1968.  The Afterbay is located at 138 feet above sea level and has a surface area that measures 4,302 acres in size.

Lake Almanor - Plumas County, California

Visited on 7/21/2017 – Picture taken on our way up to Eagle Lake for a weekend camping trip in our Truck Camper and Boat with Jeff and our dogs, Summer and Skye.  We visited Almanor Lake on our way up to Eagle Lake for a weekend camping/boating trip.  This picture was taken from the northwest corner of the lake off of Highway 36.  Lake Almanor is at 4,505 feet elevation and covers 28,257 acres approximately 35 miles west of Susanville, California.  The Lake has a maximum depth of 90 feet. It is formed by Canyon Dam on the North Fork of the Feather River, as well as Benner and Last Chance Creeks, Hamilton Branch, and various natural springs.  Fun fact:  the lake was named for Alice, Martha and Eleanor, the 3 daughters of the vice president of the power company that put the dam here in 1914. 

 

Antelope Lake - Plumas County, California

Visited on 7/23/2017 – Picture taken on a weekend camping trip in our Truck Camper and Boat with Jeff and our dogs, Summer and Skye.  We visited Antelope Lake on our way home on Sunday morning, stopped at the dam, dogs jumped in the water and we tried to keep them away from a little snake that was near the water’s edge.  This picture was taken from the Southwest corner of the lake near the dam.  Antelope Lake is at 5,007 feet elevation and covers 931 acres approximately 43 miles northwest of Quincy, California.  This beautiful, peaceful lake has experienced a recent forest fire and the trees show signs of the burn.  It has three nice campgrounds on the north side of the lake.  We would like to come back and spend the weekend at this nice alpine lake. 

Ice House Reservoir - El Dorado County, California

Visited on 6/18/2017 – Picture taken on a Sunday early afternoon from the Northwind Campground with Jeff and our dogs, Summer and Skye.  View from north side of Lake in on our way back from spending the weekend camping and hiking at Loon Lake.  Ponderosa pine is a pleasing part of the surrounding region. The trees fill the air with a vanilla aroma and it's the tallest known pine tree in the country.  Ice House Reservoir spans 700 acres and is 5,500 feet above sea level.  This nice lake is in the Sierra foothills 50 miles east of Sacramento, California and located just southeast of Union Valley Reservoir in the Eldorado National Forest.