this place is truly "eek! methinks not". i went here yesterday for my first time to experience the "many beaches" that the town/lake has to offer its visitors. the website for the town/lake ensured that there were many beaches, and after i drove 3 hours to get there, so excited to experience the lake on such a nice, sunny day, i don't see any beaches whatsoever. all that was there were private docks and many, many boat ramps. i asked about at about three different places, which brings yet another story on! i walked into a super-run down hotel "lobby" which was more just like a tiny room with a desk, and immediately was knocked out by the rancid, strong as hell, smell of indian something. i'm not a racist at all, but it is a fact that some of their bodies (or food, i couldn't figure out what it was!) are very pungent and overcome with strong odors. i asked the man who was running the first run-down hotel i stopped at and he seemed to have no idea where the beaches were. he just told us of one park across the street that offered a muddy, under-construction, full of low-life drunken people, view of the lake. no thanks! i then stopped at a place that was supposedly a tourist information spot, and spoke with a lady there who seemed to be a bit annoyed that i didn't know the area at all, but she told me of a long-stretch beach just a few miles down the road. when i went to drive around and look for it, it was nowhere to be found. i'm sure she just offered that place to me to get me out of there. i then asked at another run-down hotel that smelled richly of indian something, and the woman there was even worse. by then, i had wanted to find a way back to the freeway to get the heck out of that place, and after asking her where to find it, she offered to sell me a map. ummm, thanks, lady! haven't you ever been lost before? she also seemed to be a bit annoyed by my questions, but she confirmed that there weren't any such beaches in the whole vicinity of the lake. i then drove a whole hour around the lake just to get back to the freeway....ugh!!
overall, the towns surrounding the lake are extremely run down, full of mobile home areas that are referred to as "resorts", restaurants filled with old, retired people, and extremely shabby hotels.
i am still really confused! i hear of so many people from the bay area going to clearlake for a holiday weekend...and what for?! next time, i'll head to russian river, save on big time drives, and enjoy the nice beaches/rest areas that place has to offer. :) read more
