Bear Valley Village is a wonderful place to get away into the mountains and still have everything you need right at hand. The village is located about 25 miles Northeast from Arnold, California, at a little over 7000 feet.  I’m not sure what makes it so special, but everything in Bear Valley always seems to be more more relaxed and friendly than other similar mountain resorts.  The Village, and all its amenities are open year-around.

In the summer and fall, Bear Valley is a great place to come to go fishing, paddling, bicycle riding, hiking, 4-wheeling, motorcycle riding, or just plain sitting around, doing nothing, relaxing!  In the winter and early spring, this is an awesome place to come for cross country skiing, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, snowmobiling, or just plain sitting around, doing nothing, relaxing!

As you turn left into the village off of Highway 4, almost immediately on you’re left, you’ll see the Bear Valley Cross Country Ski and Adventure Company.  In addition to the gas station you can see outside, the store offers a nice selection of snacks and beverages as well as seasonally appropriate gear and clothing.  In the summer you can rent or buy bicycles (road and mountain) and kayaks.  They also offer a variety of gear and clothing for hiking, paddling, and cycling.

In the winter, the shop pulls a bit of a cameleon act and transforms itself into a cross country ski rental and equipment shop.  They also build and maintain one of the finest groomed cross country trail systems in the Sierras right on the other side of Higway 4.  You can rent all the gear you need and buy your trail pass for the cross country ski trails in the shop.  You can also get a pass, and equipment  here for their awesome sledding hills, or snowshoe trails.

Make sure and visit their website and stop by when you come up the mountain!

Just a bit further down the road, on the left, you’ll see the Bear Valley Snowmobile shop.  They sell and rent snowmobiles.  I’ve not done it yet myself but have heard from others that it’s a blast!

Next, we will be coming into Bear Valley Village, and the Bear Valley Lodge will be on your right.  Conveniently, particularly in winter months, under the same roof you’ll also discover a variety of places to shop and eat.  The lodge itself is a beautiful, old fashioned mountain lodge.  It has a large common area with lots of cozy places to curl up and read a book with an immense fireplace.  There are also 53 guest rooms at the lodge.  Check out their website to learn more or make reservations.

If you’d prefer, you can also rent cabins or condominiums in the area through Bear Valley Vacation Rentals.

You can enter the enclosed area with all of the other shops, restaurants, etc, either through the Lodge’s lobby, or by going around the back of the building. There are a number of signs around showing where various businesses are located.

The general store carries a nice selection of groceries, beer, and wine as well as some dry goods.  In the summer there may be some local competition from the Lake Alpine general store, but in the winter the nearest alternate is  18 miles down the mountain in Camp Connell.

The Bear Valley ski area is a couple more miles north east on highway 4.  It’s very popular in the winter, but closed after the ski season.  However, there’s still plenty to do in the area.  Right across the street (not across the highway) from the Bear Valley Cross Country and Adventure company, there is a Disc Golf course that’s open to the public.  Just 3 miles further up Highway 4, there’s Lake Alpine, and there are many hiking and mountain biking trails in the area.

I hope that you decide to come up and enjoy the peaceful beauty that the Bear Valley has to offer as a destination!  Remember to check out their website.

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Pinecrest lake is a very popular destination in the western Sierras!  Located just a bit off of Highway 108, at an elevation of 5600 feet, it offers a refreshing change of scenery to many visitors from the Central Valley and Bay Area.  Unlike Lake Alpine on Highway 4, Pinecrest Lake has a relatively highly developed resort sort of feel to it.

There’s a lot offered at Pinecrest Lake including swimming, boating, fishing, camping, picnic areas, restaurants, etc.

The lake has a surface area of about 300 acres.  There are designated, buoyed, swimming areas where no boats and no fishing is allowed.  The swimming area is near the main parking area, right off the day use beach.

One thing to note about Pinecrest Lake… it is NOT dog friendly.  Dogs are not allowed in the Day Use Area between May 15 and September 15.

Another thing to note is the reason given for the restriction on dogs… “because of the very high visitor use”… This is a VERY popular place.  If you’re planning on going up on a weekend or holiday, get there early or you may not find a parking place.

There is a very nice picnic area with a beach and the swimming area near the main parking lot.  There are 50 picnic sites with grills and plenty of extra space if you don’t need to use their tables or grills.  There is also piped water and flush toilets in the day use area.

Just to the north of the Day Use Area you’ll find the Marina, Snack Bar and Boat Ramp.

The Marina offers rentals of Canoes, Kayaks, Paddle Boats, and even small motor boats.

Motor Boats are allowed on the lake, but there is a speed limit of 20 MPH, and 5 MPH in designated areas like near the swimming area, dock, etc.  So don’t plan on doing any water skiing at Pinecrest.

For those of you planning on bringing your own boat, or RV, there is a designated parking area specifically set aside for vehicles with trailers or RVs.  However, when things get busy, some of the parking spots are bound to get filled by other visitors desperate to find parking so plan ahead and come early.

Near both the Day Use Area, and the Marina you’ll find a variety of shops including a General Store, A nice restaurant, a bike shop where you can rent a bike for the day, and the Pinecrest Resort.

The General Store sells everything from Groceries for campers to fishing gear, to floaty toys for the kids.

Speaking of campers, camping is one of the biggest attractions at Pinecrest.  There are 3oo campsites in two separate campgrounds.  The campgrounds have flush toilets and running water.  There are also 3 different group campsites.

One of the campsites, Pinecrest Campground,  has quite a few sites located just across the street from the lake.  Many, if not all the sites in this campground are within easy walking distance of the beach, general store, etc.

The other campground, Meadowview Campground, is located over half a mile further to the west so often times campers at these sites will ferry kids and gear over to the Day Use Area.

The town of Strawberry, just up the road (North) on 108 from the Pinecrest Lake turnoff, has a larger general store as well as another nice restaurant.  They also have cabins for rent in the area.

In case you want to “get away” in the area but don’t want the beach and crowds, there’s plenty of other things to do in the area.  From the turnoff for Pinecrest Lake, if you take the road up toward the Dodge Ridge Ski area, you’ll come across signs directing you to several popular hiking trails in the area.  There’s also a driving tour called the Sierra Grandstand Tour located in the same region.

If you plan on hiking in the area I’d suggest checking with the ranger at the Pinecrest Lake turnoff regarding permits, trail conditions, etc.  If you don’t already have a good topo map of the area, pick one up while you’re there.  And, if you came completely unprepared, I’m sure you can get a compass either at the Pinecrest or Strawberry general stores.

Another activity we stumbled across in the area is provided by the Aspen Meadow Pack Station.  They’ll take you on a horseback ride for anywhere from an hour to a whole day in the beautiful western Sierras.  They provide animals and  services for longer pack trips.

We ran into a group of new riders just getting started and it looked like they were having a blast!

Take a look at the map at the beginning of the article to see where things are located.  The downloadable KML file can be used in Google earth, and the gpx file, once unzipped, can be used in a lot of GPS devices

As always, use at your own risk!  This is an outdoor activity.  You should rely on your own experience, knowledge and judgment when deciding where to go or what to do.

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Lake Alpine is a wonderful place to come in the Sierras.  It offers just about everything you could ask for at a mountain lake and then some.

Lake Alpine is located right on Highway 4, just a little past the turnoff for the Bear Valley Ski Area.  It is located at 7400 feet and is past the gate where they stop plowing snow in the winter so Summer and Fall are the best times to visit unless you bring snowshoes or cross country skis.

The lake is open to swimming and boating but boats have to stay at trolling  / no wake speeds so it’s a great place to go canoeing and kayaking.

There are also numerous hiking trails around the lake and some awesome fire trails great for mountain biking.

There are four campgrounds, two located at the west end of the lake and two more located at the east end.  Silvertip and West Shore campgrounds are at the west end.  Pine Martin and Silver Valley are at the east end.

There are several nice picnic areas on the North Shore of the lake as well as several bathrooms, some with running water.  Also on the North Shore is a well maintained, almost level, paved, wheel chair accessible walking trail that stretches all the way from the West end of the lake to the East end.

There is a Boat Ramp and ample parking at the West end of the lake.  There are also numerous places along the lake where you can pull out and walk to the shore, launch a kayak, or just enjoy the view.  At the East end of the lake there is another, smaller parking lot and easy access to the shore.

The Lake Alpine Lodge is located just across the street from the lake at the West End.  The lodge has a small general store where you can buy everything from groceries to fishing tackle.  They also have a very nice restaurant with indoor or outdoor seating.

You can also rent cabins at the lodge if you’d like to stay for a while but don’t want to camp.

In addition to the Lodge, right down the road, a couple miles west, is Bear Valley Village.  Here you can rent bikes or Kayaks , or fill up your gas tank at the Bear Valley Adventure Company do some grocery shopping, eat at the Bear Valley Lodge, or any number of things a this great year around resort.

On your way up the mountain from the west you can also stop in Arnold at Sierra Nevada Adventure Company and rent a Kayak or Canoe.  Also make sure you stop at Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods to stock up on any camping or fishing gear you might need.  It’s also a great place to go to get the latest fishing report for the area.

So, Come on up and enjoy the mountains!  Lake Alpine offers you the opportunity to take it as you please with everything from relaxing on the deck at the Lodge with your favorite beverage watching the clouds roll by, to heart pounding adrenaline fueled mountain bike trails.

Directions.

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