Pinecrest Chalet

This place is BEAUTIFUL! My family and I stayed at Pinecrest Chalet during Christmas. We stayed in cabin A and had the most glorious view of the snow covered forest. It was really magical! We were only a couple of miles from Dodge Ridge; which made it easy for us to go back & forth.
This review is not only for the cabin & location, but also for Ashley & Mark who manage the chalet. My son is disabled and needs constant care. They really went above & beyond to make sure we had everything we needed & had a great time. Mark & Ashley watched our son for a few hours so my husband, daughter and I could go snowboarding at Dodge Ridge! My son was happy and well cared for; they even cleaned up the cabin while we were gone!
Thank you Ashley & Mark for helping make our stay so amazing!!! We will be back! :)

Great place to stay. Very comfortable and clean. Had a nice cottage with 2 queen beds, kitchen and bath. Gas fireplace and deck. Can’t wait to go back.

The best things about Pinecrest are the price and close proximity to Dodge Ridge Ski Resort, a great place for children to learn to ski while parents have their own ski day. It is family friendly and really allows you to be a regular at the ski slopes with children able to go along.
Earlier this year, I had a concern with my reservation and the Pinecrest Chalet director was very responsive and helped me with it. I plan on returning to Pinecrest and our family have been regulars for a number of seasons. I’ve stayed in many of the cabins; for our family of 4, the cottages didn’t suit us. However, Unit «N» is the best, most updated unit that can be shared with another family comfortably. Unit «L» was also nicely kept with the right space for young children, a kitchen for easy breakfast prior to heading our for the day, and the place is quiet and peaceful.

We have stayed at Pinecrest for the last 4 years during the summer, and recently stayed for the weekend to go skiing and sledding with our two kids, 9 and 10. Firstly, I love the location near Pinecrest Lake and Dodge Ridge, super easy to get to where you want to be for the day without having to drive/​walk very far. The accomodations are clean and the staff friendly. Lastly, the Winter Lair program is really cool. Really nice to hang out in the lodge for meals. We love this place!

We stayed for a week in July 2014. Our until was horrible and I’d likely never go there again unless I could be guaranteed one of the brand new units for bigger families. In general, the outside area was fine — it had a run down kids’ play ground and tar basketball court with deflated basketballs and footballs available and ancient iron horseshoes. However, the pool is very nice, so if you had a new unit and went straight to the pool or stayed in your RV you’d probably be fine. But unit G left A LOT to be desired. First off, it was built into a hill so our two-​bedroom «townhouse» was actually below ground, making it incredibly dark all the time. The overhead lights (those that worked) had huge decaying bugs in them, and the kitchen light was totally broken and couldn’t be fixed. The carpet and bathrooms were also gross — after years of melted snow and being beaten down by ski boots and having beer spilled on it, the carpet was frayed and puke brown colored like it had been there since 1986. The kitchen lacked even the most basic things like a cork screw or a sharp knife, or a serving spoon, as well as more than one pot and pan. The stairway to get down into the unit consisted of a metal grate for snow to come off boots, so our toddler couldn’t walk on it and neither could our senior guests. In fact, it was completely inaccessible to my mother in her wheel chair. She couldn’t walk down the stairs, so we had to go around back — but couldn’t because on one side, someone had placed a picnic table in middle the cement walkway, and on the other side, a car was parked that extended over it. We basically had to push her around the car onto the dirt hillside to get in the back door. Every day we had to go to the office and ask for light bulbs, garbage bags, and whatever was broken or not working that day. Unit G felt like a frat house the day after a big party — I can’t believe we spent almost $ 300/​night for it. We’re not coming back — our VRBO the next week was just so much better for the same price. The two stars are for the great location near Pinecrest Lake, the free laundry, and the fact that the college kids who work there were really nice and apologetic about how gross our unit was for a family with small children and seniors.

We have been coming up to Pinecrest Lake for the past 6 years. This was our first time not taking our travel trailer and staying at the Pinecrest campground. Boy what a little gem this place was. Dog friendly, great staff, clean and most of all the setting was so beautiful and relaxing. We can’t wait to come next yrs.

I love the Chalet. It is the perfect place to stay when visiting the Lair of the Bear. It is clean, affordable and has a very friendly staff. The cabins are rustic and located a few minutes from the lake. There is so much to do in Pinecrest in the summer that we were hardly in the room. I am already looked for next year

We stayed here two nights and loved it! Great place to stay for dodge ridge (if it ever snows) or for going to the lake! It was a beautiful 15 minute walk to the lake
The staff are extremely accommodating and friendly! Can’t wait till next time! Thanks guys: D

Very clean and just the right size for us! There is a little creak right next to us and is about a 15 minute walk to the lake! We are having a blast

Our family just spent three nights in a mini-​chalet. We loved it and will be back again next month. The access to Dodge Ridge can’t be beat. The accommodations are simple, comfortable and in good condition. It was really convenient have the full kitchen and my kids had a great time on nature walks around the property. The manger was very welcoming and told us a lot about the local history. He also recommended two tasty restaurants within a few miles — the Steam Donkey and Mia’s. I agree with the previous review — a trip to Pinecrest Chalet is what California is supposed to be like.

We’ve been going here for ten years and have loved it, especially being able to bring our dog. The cabins are cozy and the proximity to Dodge Ridge is great. The problem is that ever since UC Berkeley bought the place, the customer service has gone from a 10 to a 2. They never return phone calls or answer emails, even when I contacted them to ask about group rates. Before UCB the service was great. I am afraid this is what happens when bureaucracy takes over.

I love Pinecrest stayed at a very nice lil cabin had everything inside room dishes microwave fridge/​freezer. I stayed one night got the other night free.

This place was great. Reasonable price for the amenities you get and even totally booked the place felt quiet and peaceful. The man and woman who seemed to run the place were wonderful. I went with my wife and our two kids and anytime I leave my san francisco bubble I get a little nervous about how people will respond to us. They were lovely, treated us fantastic and I will definitely make this a family destination for us for many years to come. Thank you!

This place was great. The pool, the creek, the trails, the trees, everything about this place was pretty great. The cabin was very nice, they provided everything but the food and toothbrush. It was quiet, the grills and campfires were awesome, and they provide all the wood for the campfire rings. I’d definitely stay here again, and it’s a quick drive away from the lake. No cell service, which was fine with me, but they did have wifi for guests.

We just got back from a weekend at Pinecrest Chalet and Camp Lair and had a great time. The staff was super nice and our cabin was very comfortable and clean. We stayed in the log cabin which is one of the nicer and larger units — but worked out great as we shared with my sister’s family. 2 nice baths and nice kitchen. Price was great.

I stayed here on a Saturday to go back skiing the next day. They were very nice and let me have a nice cabin at a great rate at the last minute (Saturday @ 5pm). The cabin was great, very cozy, with great amenities like a DVD player and a good library of movies in the office. Friendly staff, great setting, and very comfortable room. Highly recommended!

We had a nice time here last year, but they butchered the reservation this year. I called a few months back to reserve our cabin — their website wasn’t letting folks reserve for February, and we were trying to get a popular weekend. I spoke to someone there who took all of my information and reserved the room for us, but when I called recently to confirm they had no record of our reservation and had given the cabin to someone else! An awful way to treat your customers.

I have been here many times throughout the past 6 years. It has been under new ownership the past few years owned by Cal Berkley Alumni and they take care of this place much better, we have had no trouble with RV hookup since. The place has cabins and RV spaces — no tent spaces. They gave us free wood which was nice, It wasn’t free before. They also have free wi-​fi thru most of the grounds. We always have a good time here, love the creek that runs thru it.

We had such a nice stay at the Pinecrest Chalet. We had our daughters 5^th birthday snow party there. Everyone had a blast! The accommodations are perfect. Just enough «roughing it» yet the resort still had all the amenities of home. We will come back for years to come. Whether it’s a romantic get away for two or a family of ten Pinecrest Chalet has accomidations for both. Talk about affordable fun, we went during the week and received 2 free lift tickets to Dodge Ridge a couple miles up the road. Pinecrest is a hidden jewel of California and the Pinecrest Chalet is the place to stay when you go.

We came here again for our annual family «camping» trip only this time we had a larger cabin. The first floor held 3 bedrooms and 1 ½ baths. One bedroom had a bunk bed & full bed, another had a full bed and ½ bath and my room held just one bunk bed.
For 5 adults and 1 miniature pinscher, this fit us comfortably.
Upstairs held a full kitchen with fridge, stove, oven and microwave, a dining room that sat 6 and living room with 2 sofas, TV/​DVD combo and a standing wood stove. Off the 2^nd floor is a nice patio, with a picnic table and chairs and BBQ.
Pinecrest Chalet supplies sheet, blankets and towels. They also have kitchenware and pots & pans. (though my mom brings her own stuff)
Being off Dodge Ridge Road, they are just a short drive away from Pinecrest Lake and just up the hill is Dodge Ridge (which is a great place to star gaze at night)
I believe Pinecrest Chalet was bought by Cal Alumni Association/​UC Berkeley as they were taking tours when we were there at the end of August 2009.
The cabins and site are very clean and well taken care of and we’ve already made reservations for this year.