Amazing natural Hot springs. We stopped by here on our way from Tahoe to Mammoth and really enjoyed…read morethe beautiful scenery and the natural Hot springs which were really awesome. One tip if you get to the main springs try not to go to the one on the right which is the bigger pool because it's more stagnant water and so there were a lot of these red looking worms or maggots swimming in there. The smaller pool on the left is much cleaner as there are two mini waterfalls that are keeping the water circulating and fresh. Anything less than five stars is an injustice so a glowing five stars and two thumbs up for Travertine Hot Springs!

Travertine Hot Spring is one of those rare places that stays with you long after you leave…read more I've been lucky enough to experience this spot in multiple seasons and it truly delivers every single time. Whether it's a crisp winter soak with snow on the ground, a calm spring sunrise, warm summer nights, or the quiet stillness of fall, this place always feels right. What makes it special isn't just the hot springs themselves, but the feeling of escape. At night, the sky opens up, endless stars, the Milky Way glowing above you, and if you're patient (or lucky), shooting stars cutting across the darkness. It's peaceful in a way that's hard to find anymore. This is my favorite place to unplug, reset and breathe. No noise, no rush, just nature doing what it does best. Respect the land, pack out what you bring in and soak it all in. If you're looking for a true Eastern Sierra experience raw, beautiful and unforgettable this is it.

Beautiful park! We hiked around the North Grove and it was wonderful. The park is one of the most…read morewell maintained parks I have experienced. There is also a cute food truck near the visitor center that had the best garlic fries I have ever had. North Grove was really great for families with smaller kids. The hike wasn't too strenuous. We did the Overlook trail and it was around 2 miles. The kids had a few stops for snacks along the way but overall it was great for them.

Giant trees, wild mushroom, snow cover paths, and wild stuff animals - it was an adventure…read more -been wanted to check out the "GIANTS" and they didn't disappoint. I guess January is the most awesome time to visit. Whether was nice and warm, with snow play still available in the parking lot and on the trails. Perfect day to be outdoor. -Park is very well kept and accessible for all. The North Cove Trail was a walk in the pak with stunning display of different trees. Look carefully, wild mushroom has been inoculated and is ready for their debuted. -Visitor center and ranger were very informative. -Pro tip: if your family is the outdoorsy type, buy a California State Park Pass - include entrance to this place and you can skip the line when visiting on a busy weekend....

What a great park! We drove Vegas to Reno and decided to…read morestop here to stretch legs. It's clean and quiet. There are well-maintained restrooms. Lots of grass, a basketball court, and picnic tables are available too!

We have enjoyed many take out meals at this park during our travels. It is convenient, clean,…read moreshady, and has some nice playground equipment. We will definitely be returning when we travel through here once again.

I can't believe nobody has reviewed this awesome hike yet! The hike begins at Mono Village…read moreCampground which can be found by turning onto Twin Lakes road in Bridgeport and taking said road all the way to end, which is the Campground. You can park in the day use area if you're just doing a day hike but if you plan on doing backcountry camping, you'll need to pay them the $10 bucks to leave your car overnight. That $10 will buy you up to 7 days of parking. Follow the road between the maze of tents and motor homes until you reach the sign that marks the official beginning of the trail to Barney Lake. Take that trail roughly 4 miles up and you'll find it. It's simply gorgeous and an amazing view up there. From here, you can turn around and head back or continue up the trail to Robinson Lakes, Crown Lake, Snow Lake, and eventually, Yosemite National Park. The trail is very easy to follow and is mostly on an even level. There's switchbacks towards the end as you near the lake, but they're not bad incline wise. From car to lake and back to the car, it's just a hair over 9 miles. This is one of my favorite hikes in the area and I do it at least once or twice every season. Just please be respectful and leave no trace. Also, this area is known to be popular with Bears. I've personally never seen one here, but a lot of others have. That being said, you have nothing to be fearful of. If you do come across one, give it plenty of room and respect and you'll be fine and for god's sake DON'T FEED THEM! Or any wildlife for that matter. You have no idea how many moronic tourist I yell at for feeding squirrels and deer. Lol.

Too crowded. Boats are too loud. Jet skis make too much noise. Lake gets too much algae.read more

The loud motor boats were very disruptive, driving back-and-forth all day in front of the beach…read morewhere little kids and people paddleboard. This place has gotten worse Each time I return. And I live close so I try and come here at least three or four times to camp a year. Some of these motor boats are unbelievably loud!

I love that this place exists…read more Nature is so magical. As other reviewers have pointed out - it is a bit of a steep climb down - so I'd recommend bringing some good shoes with traction - in addition to a towel. It's also become quite popular - so be prepared to meet some new people, some of whom may be wearing more than others - as they soak. It's always nice to see people from all over - sharing in nature's healing water. Trust.

Beautiful but oh so very crowded. I think it's still possible to find a peaceful time to dip your…read moretoes in at buckeye but be prepared for large crowds and lots of people vying for a spot in one of the pools.

Great little place to go and try to reel in some trout when the water flow allows....picnic…read moretables,bathroom are also available...when the river flow lightens up you'll see people playing in the water here... a very popular jeep 4x4 trail entrance is also here.

This is a roadside snow play area off Highway 4 about a couple miles pass the town of Dorrington…read more If you are heading east on Hwy 4 it will be on your left. There is a wide area for parking and it is where the Dorrington-National Forest sign is located. We tried to get a snow park permit for $5 at SNAC in Arnold but they were closed Christmas Day--duh! You can always get one in advance online. Our family was on our way to Spicer Sno-Park on Christmas Day when it began to snow heavily as we passed the town of Dorrington. My parents were getting a little nervous about being stranded in the snow-- saying we should probably turn around, but we didn't want to let the kids down so we kept pushing forward. A couple miles after passing Camp Connell, we see a line of parked cars on the left side of the highway with a bunch of sledders going downhill. There were about 12 cars parked and many more cars pulled up after we did. I was surprised to see a few families traveling from the bay area. Thinking that my snow paranoid parents would not want to go half an hour more in elevation, we decided to stop and just let the kiddies play in this area. I am very glad we did as it was an awesome area for snow play. It is a wide area and the hill is pretty high enough to get some fun sledding action. Adults and children alike were screaming with glee. This is about one and half hour drive from the Central Valley so it is quite closer than Tahoe. Although it isn't as picturesque or gorgeous as Tahoe, it is a convenient location for snow play. There was NO TRAFFIC on the highway and the road and conditions were not as treacherous. AND it is not as busy and congested as Tahoe. Perfect for kiddies..

I don't doubt there's a park. But the directions take you to the middle of a residential street and…read morefield full of impassable thorny ground cover I don't know where the hell I am, and can't find any patch of green on Google maps that makes sense.

This park has been a landmark in Hawthorne for decades. Growing up her I knew it as 'Lady Bird…read morePark' It's now the Veteran's Memorial Park and they have done an amazing job keeping it up. Though it's at the entrance to town next to the highway, it's a comfortable place to rest and with the back area fenced off for dogs, you have a safe place to let your dogs run a bit too.

First full weekend of June, visited the lake several times…read more Parking Saturday by 10:20am, most of the overflow parking across from the restaurant and general store were already full. To avoid walking too far if you have a vehicle, strongly recommend getting here early to keep the walk short. In contrast, on a Sunday at Noon, there were sporadic parking spots lakefront. Crowds Saturday had some areas of the lake crowded with most benches or picnic benches taken but there were some left by 11am. Sunday, dramatically less crowds. Weather Even in mid-60s, being in direct sunlight can feel much hotter and burn you. Water Just fine for early June, did not feel terribly cold. Restrooms Generally in very good condition and multiple throughout the lakefront, no soap though.

Small yet popular lake in the Stanislaus National Forest. Very convenient for Bay Area vacationers…read moreas it is only a 2.5 hour drive. I've done a few summer weekend trips here, but as a child. So don't remember many details, just that it was always a blast, camping with a large group and delving into lake activities. As an adult, I've mostly come to this area during the winter/spring months, and that's only because Dodge Ridge Ski Resort is in the same area. But never really knew how close the actual lake is to the ski resort...until recently when I finally did both in a one weekend stint. The actual lake is man-made, it is a reservoir meant to harness water, snow melt is my guess due to the regular snow fall every winter in these mountains. Then PG&E bulit a dam and used this for hydroelectric energy and you can see the raging water on the bottom of the dam if you hike over to that corner. We hiked only half of the lake on a gorgeous clear winter's day. I wanted to hike the entire circumference of the lake, which is only a little over 3 miles, but we had a small child in our group, so we kept it manageable. The trail is well kept and very easy to stay on, not many off shoots to other trails. It climbs in a few spots but nothing too difficult (at least to me). The lake is in view in practically every spot on the trail, so very very scenic and picturesque. Even though a man-made lake, seeing the clouds drift by the snowcapped mountains and all the pine trees all around, that I never felt like it was a man-made lake. Very natural contours and plant and tree habitat. I saw an occasional deer and tons of birds enjoying the sun on an otherwise cool winter's day. Even saw a couple of eagles soaring from the trees to the lake line, may have even been bald eagles as I observed white heads. I didn't have binoculars to confirm, so just a hunch, but it still felt special. Not much activity on the actual lake during my winter visit, maybe just a few people fishing off of rocks near the shore. No one was boating or swimming in these months. But in the summer, it is a much different story, as my memories recollect. Now i want to come back during the summer/fall and do some camping and kayaking. A promise I am making to myself and will surely bring into fruition. Trust.

This is really out in the middle of nowhere. It's on hwy 395 right before Bridgeport California…read more Look for the sign and turn off. There's No cell service, only 10 miles of paved road the 3 miles of gravel road. It's windy up there and we were there on June 27th and it was low to mid 60's. My phone was having issues working up there and we couldn't figure out why. My phone was telling me it was hot. So I just turned it off. Not sure what that was about. But Bodie is definitely a cool place to visit. I couldn't imagine living somewhere like that. I told Mark that's where you would move if you were really mad at your kids. Because to live in a place like that would be punishment. It's a harsh environment. No trees, no birds, no grass. I didn't even see a lizard. People just up and left. They left piano's, beds, stoves, clothes, photos. The casinos, bars, gyms. Look like the people just vanished on day. Curtains dangle and weathered in windows. You can look through the windows but you cannot enter the buildings. It's $8.00 for adults and I think $5 for kids to take stamp mill tour it's another $6 dollars that you pay for in the museum inside the park.

We saw the sign that said Ghost Town 10 miles, but that it could take 30 minutes to get there. We…read morethought what the heck. Soooo glad we did! The drive is partially paved, and mostly unpaved down a dirt road. There were a couple of cow gates to crossover, a few smaller rocks in the road. We traversed it in a Toyota Camry and were fine. A truck or SUV is ideal, but a sedan was completely workable. You are driving way out in the middle over nowhere then come of the hill and there is a rather large ghost town. We were COMPLETELY surprised at how large it was. Being a State Park there is a nominal entrance fee. See sign of posted prices in pictures! The park is very educational, historical, cool things to see! It is a great way to be outdoors walking and getting exercise without calling it exercise! There are both restrooms at the parking lot and then outhouses down near the hotel for use. There was a water fountain (we brought our own) I only saw that it was working if needed. This park is preserved as is for people to see. There are things on the ground to step over which are natural terrain like rocks and stuff and then there are items like chains to step over to prevent injury. An individual with serious mobility issues would have a hard time unless they utilized a wheelchair or mobility device of some sort. The paths that you walk on are dusty, plan on being dirty, it is a ghost town in nature!! There was a museum to enjoy. In the museum there was the option to purchase tickets to see the mill for $6 per person. We also saw a sign on the church that there would be a talk shortly. There was an indoor area to sit on benches and watch a movie about the history of Bodie. It was neat seeing some of the items inside the buildings like original wall paper, toys, toddler potty chairs, vintage furniture, old tools, wagons... If you are looking for a great way to enjoy a drive, exercise, family time, history, and see the largest preserved ghost town then this is for you! Would we return: ABSOLUTELY.. I was sad I didn't know about this before and didn't have more time to explore and do the Mill tour!! We only spent about an hour there. I'd love to plan appropriately and spend the better part of a day here. What is there to eat, drink and snack on?? NOT A THING OTHER THAN A WATER FOUNTAIN.. PACK ACCORDINGLY AND DONT FORGET AND HAND SANITIZER!!!