What a unique find! We were looking for a vacation within a few hours of home and stumbled upon TH…read more Looking at the rentals we noticed some had access to this private lake, which sounded great, so we decided to check it out and found it was totally worth it. At first the long list of rules and the $8 fee per person may be a bit off putting, but once you get there you'll understand the benefits that come from them. The beach is incredibly clean and large enough to accommodate quite a few families and there is ample parking. There are large trees shading benches along a well kept concrete path, all perfect for resting your belongings on less busy days. The trees also cast shade a good distance onto the beach, so you have some options for shade. I would still say a good umbrella is recommended, as the shade could fill up. The water feels cool when you get in but once you're under it's really nice. The water and lake are also very clean, with a nice sandy bottom. If you go out a little further you may encounter some algae as it gets deeper, but all in all it's a fantastic lake to swim in. There are water slides, sunning platforms in the middle if you swim out that far, great space for paddle boards and kayaks, and even a diving board in the deepest part and granite beach next to it. After 6pm it's free to enter and you can fish along the dam too. They said it's stocked with trout but we didn't find any. We did catch some bluegill though!

You have to have a membership to enter but this is the little piece of paradise we've dreamed of…read more Bring your own rafts and chairs. Just spent two days for my hubbys birthday. It was hot out and the lake was perfect.

I went here on a weekday, and when I arrived in the parking lot, I was shocked by how much was…read moregoing on. It definitely did not feel like a safe place to leave a car or to walk alone. There appeared to be drug activity, and there were people living in their cars. It felt more like a place for people to hang out and purchase drugs than a normal parking lot. I observed this as I drove through, which was very concerning. This was a bummer, especially since the trail itself looked beautiful. I'm surprised that law enforcement hasn't been called by the neighborhood, but then again, I understand that people can sometimes become used to these conditions.

We always love hiking here. It's easy to hike with kids, even though it can get a little rocky and…read morea little muddy. The cave is always beautiful, especially when the water is flowing. Today, there are still descent of people hiking, and we came around 12:30 Easy Hike!Gonna come back again soon. P. S please leave no trace

White Pines exploring this weekend was insane. My daughter and I had a blast riding some of the…read morefire roads with unreal views. There's miles of roads and trails everywhere that lead down to the river. Super chill people out and about enjoying the weather. Will definitely be back next time in Arnold.

Came up here for 4th of July weekend, and what a cool little gem it is! Lots of nice beach area,…read morehiking, frisbee golf, fishing, and just general fun on the lake with swimming, inflatables, etc. I totally recommend! :)

Up at cabin , getting cloudy , possible rain tomorrow! Home away from home. Neighbors are great,…read moremountains are beautiful.

My family and I were early to check in into our bnb so we decided to take our kids to the park…read more Mixed review with this park. I do like how it has bathrooms. Always a plus for me. Plenty of parking , places to sit, and shade. I think the park needs fixing up as some of the items are damaged so that's a safety concern. Some of the play structure like the swinging monkey bars and the one where you hang on a glide across is too tall for children to reach. It would be great if it was lowered to the children could reach it. It was an okay park.

This playground really needs some attention. I was there yesterday and it's not looking good. I…read morewill not be bringing my granddaughter to this park anymore and I advise everybody to stay clear of this place. There are too many dangers and sharp screws protruding out. It's not good. It needs attention right now.

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.

Railtown State Historic Park is extremely cool and fun for all ages! We got to stand on the caboose…read morebuilt for Back To The Future III, viewed the train smoke stack from Little House on the Prairie train, coal powered steam engines, and we saw the Well from the olddddddd show Peticoat Junction: We also were able to see some old trains including ones with wooden grates in the front, and lots of train parts!! He enjoyed explaining things to me.. For a very small fee you can take a ride on a train. Walk around the grounds and see old engines, workshops with all sorts of parts, machines of all sorts. A map is providing for easy understanding of the grounds. It is a trek to get across the grounds and would be difficult for someone with mobility issues. Both of my children grew up coming to not only this park, but to Columbia also. Our family has made many trips here over the years. We love combining, education, history and adventure. They host Christmas events here like the Polar Express train ride to North Pole. This was such a spectacular event I brought my daughter to when she was little. We watched the movie the night before. When we arrived in our pajamas for our VIP seat, we stood in line where we were lovingly harassed by actors. We boarding the train after getting a golden ticket! We sat in the back car. Actors were dancing and singing and chasing hobos off the train while we enjoyed a ride and spilled hot cocoa out of polar express keepsake mugs. Arriving at North Pile and seeing the elves and Santa pushed it over the edge for my young daughter. She was beyonnnnnd excited!! Will I return: We always do. There's something incredibly nostalgic about this place!

This review is strictly for the 'Polar Express' holiday ride…read more Our family had high expectations for the polar express train ride. We were looking forward to a "magical" evening for the kids but the experience turned out to be what a huge disappointment and waste of money!! 45 minutes of the one hour ride was a slow churn in darkness through unkept brush. for $80 a person ($720 for the family), it is an insult to people and to the holiday! Shame on these people! Wow!! Wow!! Wooow!! That is what we kept saying as we approached the 'north pole' which was some farm equipment with lights on them, crudely painted wood and cardboard cutouts of reindeer and other christmas figures, horrible lighting, and a couple of people standing in costumes waiving. At $80 a person, this is a complete RIP OFF! We all agreed that at best it is not worth more than $20, Avoid this scam at all costs.