The trail to Bull Run Lake can be difficult depending on what kind of shape you’re in and how much water is flowing in the streams you have to cross, but the lake is beautiful and a great place to camp.

From the Stanislaus Meadow parking area just off of Highway 4, it’s almost exactly 4 miles to the lake.  You can cut up to a half mile off of that if you drive in on the dirt road to the official trail head.  However, there are some pretty rutted sections of that dirt road that I would not want to take without elevated ground clearance and maybe four wheel drive.

Stanislaus Meadow Trail Head

I parked in the large parking area, about four miles East of Lake Alpine on the South side of Highway 4, and walked the dirt road into the official Stanislaus Meadow Trail Head.  The parking area is at about 7900 feet elevation.  It was a pleasant walk and I wanted to get some video footage anyway.  From the parking area I followed the road for about 0.55 miles to the well signed Stanislaus Meadow Trail Head.

There are no facilities at the parking lot or trail head so plan ahead.  Make sure and bring plenty of water for the hike.

Near the trail head is a junction with the Emigrant Trail that will take you to Mosquito Lakes in one direction and to Lake Alpine in the other.  On some topo maps the trail to Lake Alpine is shown, but the trail to Mosquito Lakes is not.  There is another trail junction further up toward Bull Run Lake that also goes to Mosquito Lakes and some people make a loop out of it.

From the Stanislaus Meadow Trail Head, we travel mostly South down a gentle slope for a little more than a half mile to the signed boundary of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness Area.  Remember that motorized vehicles and bicycles are not allowed in the Wilderness Area.

Continuing mostly South from the Wilderness Area Boundary, or path begins to steepen it’s descent.  This steeper South bound part of the trail continues for a little over six tenths of a mile until we reach a crossing near the headwaters of the North Fork of the Stanislaus River, about 1.7 miles from the parking area.  When I did this hike in early September the river was dry.  However, earlier in the season when the snow is still melting, this crossing can be challenging.  There are several places where people or horses have chosen to cross depending on the rate of flow.  This is the low point of our hike at about 7440 feet.

From the crossing of the North Fork of the Stanislaus River, we begin to climb gently in a Southeasterly direction for about four tenths of a mile where we come to another stream crossing.  Again, when I did the hike this stream bed was also dry but it would not have been just a few short weeks earlier.

From the stream crossing at about 2.1 miles from the parking area, we turn toward the North East, and begin to climb more steeply.  In another six tenths of a mile, or about 2.7 miles from the beginning, we come to the trail junction I mentioned at the beginning of this article.  If we continue North East at this point we can go to Heizer Lake or further on to Mosquito Lakes and Highway 4.  Today though we are going to Bull Run Lake so we take the right fork of the trail which now takes us toward the South East.

For about then next four tenths of a mile our path is nearly level… it won’t stay that way.  At about 3.1 miles from the beginning we start one of the steepest inclines of the hike.  Going steeply up hill we travel first to the South East, then East, then South for a bit less than half a mile where we come to a short level stretch and a small pond on our right.  I know my first reaction upon reaching this pond was great disappointment having mistakenly concluded that this was my destination… luckily the person I was hiking with knew better.

From the pond it’s only another four tenths of a mile (all up hill) until we reach Bull Run Lake at about 8360 feet elevation.  The lake is fairly large and has quite a few great camping spots pretty much all around its perimeter. Being a relatively short hike and a beautiful location, it is a very popular spot for weekend day hikers and back packers.

The hike into Bull Run Lake is easier that the hike to Wheeler Lake.  They both have lots of good camping spots.  One big difference between the two is that the scenery going to Wheeler Lake is very volcanic in nature whereas the hike into Bull Run Lake is like a lot of the Sierras… Granite, Granite, Granite.  In fact, there are some stretches of the trail where you pretty much have to rely on the rock ducks (small cairns) and tree blazes (examples shown in the video) along with map and compass and GPS if you’re lucky.

I hiked this trail on one of the busiest weekends of the year, Labor Day weekend.  I saw lots of people on the trail, some who looked like they were prepared, others who did not.  There are some steep sections, exposed sections, gravely sections, and depending on the time of year, some significant stream crossings.  Bring plenty of water, good hiking shoes, and stay within your abilities.

Elevation Profile

I hope you get the chance to enjoy this hike to Bull Run Lake!

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.

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.