California Travel | Pinecrest Lake

California is where our heart lives ❤️ California Travel is a series highlighting our favorite destinations along the golden state. We’ll be sharing our own experiences with some of your all time favorite vacation hot spots! We start in the heart of California located less than 2 hours from our home town of Ripon, CA. Sarah Darpinian (Garden Joy founder) shares some of her families favorite activities and places to stay while visiting this beautiful location.

P I N E C R E S T L A K E

A couple of weekends ago we were up boating and fishing at one of our family’s favorite places, Pinecrest Lake. With soccer season starting, we decided that we should try to fit in a camping trip before weekends get busy with games. Not too far past Pinecrest Lake and Strawberry, is a series of campgrounds along the Stanislaus River. After talking to a friend who had just been up there, we decided to check out Brightman Flat campground. Brightman Flat is a first come first served campground, but we had no problem finding a spot when we arrived Friday evening. We found a great campsite right on the river and started exploring the area. The campground was quiet and beautiful, with easy access to the river and to a tree lined road where we took a nice walk. We drove up the road a bit and found a great day use spot, Douglas Flat. I love to catch up on reading while the family fishes. They all caught several fish, and we swam in the river before heading up the road a little more to check out the area. Not far up is Kennedy Meadows, where there is a store, restaurant, campgrounds and cabins, if you’re looking for that type of experience. There are so many awesome spots up above Pinecrest on highway 108, whether you’re looking for a day use area to have a picnic or go fishing, camp for a few nights, or have a more rustic resort-like experience.