The first trip I will be writing about is my off-roading adventure down at Deer Valley Trail. After loading up on all the necessary food and camping items I road some hours down into El Dorado National Forest. Deer Valley Trail is a mixture of beautiful scenery and intense rock obstacles. It is an option to run this trail in one day but staying in Hermit Campground is preferable if you would like to explore the region around as well. The weather down here is almost always terrific. If looking for other fun activities, Alpine Lake is situated very near to this trail. Fishing, eating, and relaxation are all parts of the experience when visiting down here. On Alpine Lake, there are boat rentals available for their stocked lake. In addition to Alpine Lake, about 15 minutes down the road is another called Mosquito Lake. Contrary to its name, I was not eaten alive mosquitos while I was there which most people first think. Spending a whole day by this lake I can say that there is very little interrupting noise and several great fishing spots to check out. I recommend bringing lunch to eat near the lake and maybe a small raft to float. Although I didn't have the best of luck catching fish, from experience I know that the upper lake around 6 pm is the best time to catch. There are areas around the lake to cook your fresh caught fish if you so desire. If this sounds interesting, there is a campground in walking distance from this lake to make for an amazing short or long camping, fishing adventure. Altogether, this was one of the most relaxing and yet exciting trips I have been on recently when combining both the beauty of Deer Valley Trail and the fishing on Alpine and Mosquito Lake. The pictures below are both of Mosquito Lake and scenes throughout Deer Valley Trail. I truly hope some of you will be able to make it down towards these beautiful places for yourselves to experience many attractions of El Dorado National Forest.
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