Reasons to visit one of Northern California's hidden gems:
A view of the lake.
Pinecrest, CA is a small town built on the shores of Pinecrest Lake. It is located in the Stanislaus National Forrest in Northern California and geographically centered between Yosemite Nation Park and Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. Pinecrest Lake is a man-made lake that was built in the 1920's and has been a tourist destination ever since. Today tens of thousands of tourists visit in the summer months from all over the world.
Yes. That's a double rainbow. Fully.
The Pinecrest Lake Marina rents boats for family fun on the lake. You can take out a kayak or a paddle boat and get a workout while you play. They have motorboats for fishing and party boats for umm... Well partying. Seriously. There's also bike rentals, horse back riding and endless amounts of hiking trails. There is an outdoor movie theater that shows movies under the stars every night and a snack bar on the beach with burgers, fries and ice cream.
Dan photobombs his family in a perfectly executed paddle board headstand.
Stand up paddle boarding is big all over right now. You can rent these on your own or take a lesson with certified instructors including myself and Daniel (pictured above) and then get out there and paddle confidently. Yoga sessions on the water are huge right now and a must try if you visit the area. One of the nicest ways to spend a morning on the water.
The winters in Pinecrest bring snow.
This is the sign outside my office window during the winter.
Pinecrest is just 10 minutes away from Dodge Ridge Ski Resort. A family ski resort with 8 chairlifts and over 100 groomed runs. The lake is drained in the winter and the water is used to create electricity and later used as drinking water in our county. The drained lake creates a massive snow bowl that is perfect for sledding.
The marina during the winter.
I just thought it would be nice to share a little bit about where I'm from and where I spend the majority of my days. I hope that if you're ever visiting Northern, CA or if you live here and have just never visited Pinecrest you think about coming up and enjoying this little slice of heaven in the Sierras.
All Photos by myself and Mike Souther.