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Spicer Reservoir Campground - CaliforniaAug 13 '02 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Nice little comfortable campsite located deep in the high Sierras. Lake nearby, fishing, swimming. Here in California, many of us love to camp. It’s so easy to do with millions of campsites available at no more than an hours drive while some especially in the high Sierras are a voyage and sometimes a trek to get to. Being surrounded by nature, sky high trees, and cool weather – camping is something that I and many of my family members have done every year since before I could remember each trip. This year we went to Spicer Reservoir campground located off Highway 4 east of Stockton situated around an elevation of 6500 ft. The main reason for choosing this location this year was that Spicer Reservoir doesn’t take reservations for their family campsite (they do for their group sites) and many other campsites that we tried to make reservations at were already full for most of the summer. Spicer Reservoir Campground has around 50 sites located in two huge circles. Nearby is a boat ramp that allows easy access to dip a boat into the water and do some fishing. Motorboats are allowed but restricted to under 10 mph. Water-skiing, etc., is prohibited. At 6500 feet the water is pretty cold – in fact it took me, a guy who normally takes cold showers about an hour to fully immerse myself into the reservoir. I didn’t go fishing but from what I saw most of fish were of good quality ranging around 2 feet in size. A license is required to fish. Getting to the campground is fairly easy if you have the proper directions (we did not). The recommended path is to take Highway 4 from Stockton and drive through Angel’s camp and up into the high Sierras heading towards Bear Valley and Lake Alpine. The turn off for the campground is just before Bear Valley – so if you pass Bear Valley or Lake Alpine and definitely if you find yourself suddenly on a single lane road you’ll know you have gone too far. The single lane road continues through the high Sierras eventually leading you to Nevada and a major freeway that could take you to Carson City and Lake Tahoe. The marking for the turn off is very basic. In fact, it is nothing more than a small street sign that reads “Spicer Reservoir road”. There is however a sign before it that mentions a Sno-Park named Spicer and the turn off does have a long right hand turn lane – two signs that are very rare up in that area and are landmarks to look for when driving to the campground. Once you exit the main road, the road to the actual campground is twisty and windy. Its clearly marked with two lanes – but there is a sign that states that the road is unmaintained during the winter season. It takes about 35 minutes to transverse the 8 miles, going slow around certain curves in fear of hitting a wild cow (I came close once). As I mentioned earlier the Spicer Reservoir campground does not take reservations. Once you drive in the main campground there is a “camp host” who lives in a trailer who you’ll see popping up throughout your stay. Once you introduce yourself, you’ll be directed to pick out a site and return within 30 minutes to mark your choice and pay your daily fee of $13.00. $6.50 if you are a senior citizen over the age of 62. The fee is daily – so you’ll pay more depending on your stay up to a maximum stay of 14 days. All of the campsites have large pull in parking spaces whereas one could easily fit a trailer, the truck that pulled it, and even a secondary car. There are two double sites that fit four cars or two trailers, and a pull through site for those too weary to actually back a trailer into a small site. There is a place to park extra cars since only two are allowed in each site. There is however a $5.00 fee per extra car. Because this is the height of the camping season, all of the spots were taken by the time I reached the campsite late Friday night. A sign was posted outside that simply read “Sorry, Camp Full”. Thankfully, my family had already been there a few days and reserved 5 sites for us weekend campers. But, this does introduce one big negative about Spicer Reservoir. For one, if you find yourself with the Sorry Full sign, you’ll have to turn around and drive back up the hill to find another campsite. If those are full (I’m not sure if they require reservations) you’ll have to stay in a lodge or hotel which I imagine could be really expensive since they are very few of them up there. More about the actual campsite, each site has a place to make a fire as well as water faucets and pit toilets nearby. There are no showers! And, no electricity hookups for trailers. One feature that the campground does have that very few do have are large squares of sand (not dirt) fenced off that make lying on the ground in your tent extra comfortable. Also, there are speed bumps throughout the campground that slow down the traffic making it more safe for young children to be out riding their bike. There is a pay phone nearby which helps since no cell phones work up in that area. As for what’s wrong with the campsite – every camp site is pretty dirty. Now I know that sounds strange to say – but the campsites were really dusty. Powdery dust that easily gets kicked up whenever anyone walks around. Also, there were quite a few bugs including some that bite. And, although illegal (we saw the cops looking for them) a few hunters are hunting nearby (you can faintly hear the sound of gun shots). As for the lake beyond the fishing – the reservoir right now is really low. This has eroded the “beach” which has become a bunch of rocks to sit on and perhaps move to make room for a folding chair. If you are planning on going in the water I would highly recommend that you purchase some water shoes to save your feet from getting torn up by the rocks. I unfortunately didn’t have some and my feet still hurt today. This also makes it very hard to slowly get into the freezing water since one little slip or uncomfortable step and there goes your balance. Overall, Spicer Reservoir is a nice little campsite. Well taken care of, with water opportunities nearby including fishing and swimming for those who dare. No outright wild animal problems; no bears going through trash, etc. Pit toilets are a drag and smell bad – but there is some running water although you are discouraged from trying to take a bath at the faucet. The camp greatly quiets down at night and for $13.00 a night the campsite is easy on the wallet – even cheaper if you are 62. The only drawback of course is that you could in theory drive all that way only to be turned away because the camp is full. So if you are planning a trip aim to arrive mid week instead of on the weekend. Price: $13.00 a day, $6.50 for seniors over age 62. Features: 50+ campsites all compatible for people with trailers, running water, reservoir nearby, fishing. Problems: dusty, lots of bugs some that bite, no store nearby, camp could be full. Location: Off Highway 4 just west of Bear Valley and Lake Alpine. About a four hour drive from San Francisco/Sacramento/Fresno. Longer drive if you live further away.  |
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by artemis8
by knotheadusc
