Lake Alpine

My family just came home from Lake Alpine this morning, we found it on Unilocal and were really looking forward to going. As a young family with 2 toddlers, we were very happy to see that Pine Marten Campground is VERY family friendly and dog friendly too. There were a lot of families and also boulders everywhere that amuse the kids. The Eastern lake shore is very shallow which is great for children to wade around in, there are a lot of beaches so that makes it easy to find a spot in the sun to spend the day. The camp hosts were nice as were our neighbors. I’m afraid that the only group keeping others up all night was mine, my 1 year old didn’t like sleeping outside of his crib and woke up screaming about every ½ hour both nights. Exhausting, I’m sorry to those he kept up. We were also very cold over night, but that can be expected in June at 7300 feet. The water was at normal capacity, which was great considering the drought we are in, it appears that this lake is not one that is drained for the general population.
Now for the «real» review. The reason I gave this place 3 stars is:
*Because the water is VERY cold, and being so shallow I didn’t end up going in at all. I brought float toys and life jackets for the kids that were never put to use because even laying down the kids would not have needed them. That is, if they wanted to get in the cold water at all. The beaches themselves are half grass, and covered all over with pine cones and sticks. I don’t think that it is the rangers job to keep this clean, that would be too much of a task, but there was nowhere to sit if we didn’t have chairs.
*This place is almost too dog friendly. There are no dog fees, which is nice, but there are also no rules. There was dog poop everywhere. EVERYWHERE. I couldn’t take my dogs on a walk without them stopping every 5 feet to smell some poop. If I didn’t watch my dogs closely, while tied to a tree with a long rope, then they would be eating some previous dogs poop. We couldn’t walk on the beach barefoot because there was dog poop all over it. I didn’t see any signs saying to clean up after dogs, so hardly anyone does, and it’s gross.
*Fees were different. The
site for Pine Marten (the only site we could find) stated the fees were $ 22 when we were charged $ 24 per night.
I will have to prepare accordingly if I want to return.
This lake is perfect if you have a canoe or kayak that you can paddle around in and skip the shore all together. I suggest water shoes if you are going to the beach, so you can easily walk on all the pine cones and sticks without hurting your feet. This is great for group camping if you aren’t too set on going in the water or all have personal boats. The views are gorgeous, though I never did check out the other side of the lake.
All in all, we might return later in the summer to check out the West shore, see if it’s more appealing to our style. Otherwise we will be going else where.

Great Lake Camping Resort. Thanks Justin. (camp host) for all the hot tips.

Perfect Place in High Sierra’s. Food, Service, Fishing is all perfect. Great place for a nice breakfast in the Summer, but all the food items I’ve ever had were perfect. Good Lunch. Great Dinner Specials and Best Bar around.
–Jerry & Mitzi

The lake is beautiful. We drove over from our campsite, and managed to find a parking spot in the lot. We probably could have walked, except that we had coolers and a lot of gear.
We set up at a table, and then went for a canoe ride for 6. That thing was difficult to maneuver, but it was fun going in circles, and then ending up on a big rock in the middle of the lake. We sunbathed, swam, jumped off, ate and then paddled back to shore. I wished we had brought fishing poles because it looked like everyone we saw caught at least one fish.
Tintin said at one point, he looked down in the water and saw a ton of fish. The water really was that clear. It also felt very clean and refreshing, especially after sitting in front of a fire all night, and cooking a hearty breakfast. I would definitely come here again.