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.

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....

Beautiful state park with giant sequoias, easy trail which is beginner friendly. Points of interest…read moreinclude a large tree stump which is large enough to be a little stage, fallen ancient giants, humongous exposed roots, hollowed out tree stumps which kids can walk through etc. Apparently the people who took care of the park previously cut out a hollow in one of the trees as a point of attraction for cars and people to walk through to compete with other such parks. The tree finally gave away and fell during a heavy rain a few years ago. We took the north grove trail, with kids and toddlers it took us about an hour with several photo stops. There is no elevation so it was an easy stroll. There is no signal in the park. But since it's a single loop, there is no possibility of getting lost.

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.

The area is right across from the Dorrington ranger station. The area right next to the road is…read morefull of trees. There is a clearing above that with a gentle slope. If you go up from that, just past the electrical lines you will find an open are with a nice little bowl. The slopes were very nice for sledding. Not too steep, not too shallow, and a nice flat area that you could slide along after the slope. We had been to all 3 sno-parks in the area, and this had the best terrain for sledding.

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.

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.

Pinecrest is a great recreational area all year long. During the summer months it is great for…read moreswimming, hiking, boating and fishing. During the fall its great all of the above but may be too chilly for swimming. They drain part of the lake in the fall and more closer to winter so the water is pretty low in the fall. Pinecrest is also a great place to build a snowman in the winter and is right by the Dodge Ridge ski resort. It is beautiful, alot of people take photos here. They have a trail that goes around the lake, its not the easiest trail but it is not difficult either.

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!!!

We visited Bodie State Historic Park/Ghost Town and it was awesome. We arrived around noon and…read moreheaded to the Museum to purchase tickets for the Stamp Mill Tour, we lucked out and got the last tickets for the tour. The museum has some cases you can look at and displays of items from the time period. They also have a small section for a gift shop as well as the tour books and pamphlets on the cemetery. We headed up toward the stamp mill for the tour, and checked out some buildings and abandoned trucks in the field. We were s family of 8 for this trip with the youngest being 2. We ran through safety precautions and other general information from our guide, Malcom before beginning the tour of the stamp mill. Malcom gave factual information over the different areas of the tour and answered questions from the group. We had a sold out tour and alot of ears and questions. We got to tour through the stamp mill and see everything from the electrical room to the stamping and the Shaker tables. Malcom was an excellent guide and provided alot of information. We learned that for ever 5 homes still standing there were 80-90 more! The school has as many as 625 students enrolled at one time and that Bodie was the 6th largest town in California at that time. We had a great time visiting Bodie and getting to learn some of the areas rich history.