Tag Archives: San Joaquin

Asparagus Festival

Deep-fried Asparagus

Stockton Asparagus Festival
San Joaquin Asparagus Fest

A 3-day, multi-event, food, and entertainment festival, which celebrates asparagus. Live music, cooking, wine, beer, crafts. Bring your family and friends and enjoy Asparagus Alley, Deep Fried Asparagus & Asparagus Ice Cream, Craft Beer and a Wine Pavilion, Kids Zone with carnival rides and games, monster truck rides, vendors, and much more.

San Joaquin County Fairgrounds
1658 S Airport Way
Stockton, CA 95206

Annual event;  May
916-370-3647

visitstockton.org/events/san-joaquin-asparagus-festival

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Central Valley Reservoirs

California’s Central Valley Recreational Lakes & Reservoirs

boatingcampingRV campshiking fishing

(listed from north to south)

North State / North Valley / North Sacramento Valleyboatramp

Black Butte Reservoir
Stony Gorge Reservoir
East Park Reservoir
Lake Berryessa
Lake Oroville SRA
Thermalito Afterbay
Thermalito Forebay
New Bullards Bar
Collins Lake

Sunset at the Lake
fishOak foothills of the Historic Gold Country, at the edge of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

  • boating
  • canoe
  • camping
  • fishing
  • hiking
  • houseboats
  • kayaking
  • wildflowers

Most Central Valley Reservoirs have blooming wildflowers in early springtime. Summer heat can measure triple digits for months as most of these lakes are located below 1000′ elevation.

Central Sacramento & California Delta

Trimmer Boat Ramp
Trimmer Boat Ramp @ Pine Flat

Central Valley / San Joaquin Valley

Lake Amador
Lake Camanche
Pardee Reservoir
New Hogan Lake
New Melones Lake
Woodward Reservoir
Salt Spring Valley Reservoir
Lake Tulloch
Don Pedro Lake
Turlock Lake SRA
Modesto Reservoir
Lake McClure
San Luis Reservoir SRA
Eastman Lake
Hensley Lake
Woodward Reservoir
Millerton Lake SRA
Redinger Lake
Pine Flat Reservoir
Lake Kaweah
Lake Success
Buena Vista Reservoir

Walk-In Camp Site at Lake
Walk-In Camp Site at New Melones Lake, Gold Co

Kaweah Sequoia Sierra
Lake Kaweah, near Mineral King & Southern Sequoia NP

Central Valley CA

happyvalleycow
Happy Valley Cow

The Great Central Valley of California – the San Joaquin Valley (on the south side) & the Sacramento Valley (on the north) together make up some of the most fertile farmland on the whole West Coast. Agriculture thrives, water flows & smog settles.

This huge valley, bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west & the Sierra Nevada mountain range on the east side, is the one of the biggest farm land regions of the U.S. The food that feeds the world is grown right here in the Center of California. Vegetables, rice, fruits, citrus, garlic, onions, nuts, you name it.

redlettuce

Central Valley residents can easily enjoy fresh produce year round. Centrally located they can access the neighboring Central Coast, Historic Gold Country, and the Sierra Nevada mountains, plus The City (San Francisco) is not too far away either.

Since the capital city of Sacto has a “port of entry”, the California Delta & surrounding waterways, make for excellent fishing, boating & camping.

Unfortunately this low lying area is one of the worse smog basins on the west coast. The upper & lower Central Valley see the worst of it, as wind pushes the emissions right up against the mountains. Triple digit temperatures are common throughout the summer months. The super heat just magnifies the poor quality of air.

cauliflower

California Country – CA Countryside Communities

California Central Valley Map

Counties, Cities & Towns of the San Joaquin Valley:
(south to north)

Kern County
Tulare County
Kings County
Madera County
Fresno County
Merced County
Stanislaus County
San Joaquin County
Solano County
Sacramento County
Yuba County
Sutter County
Yolo County
Colusa County
Glenn County
Butte County
Tehama County
Shasta County

Reservoirs

blue links lead to more info on camp services. camp RV Camping

Central Valley Parks & points of interest:

Henry W Coe State Park
George J. Hatfield State Recreation Area
Carnegie SVRA
Dos Reis County Park, San Joaquin River
San Juan Bautista State Historical Park
Hollister Hills OHV Park
Pinnacles National Monument
Hernandez Reservoir
Los Banos Creek Reservoir
Caswell Memorial State Park
Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park
Codorniz CampgroundEastman Lake
Kern National Wildlife Reserve
Kesterson National Wildlife Reserve
San Luis National Wildlife Reserve
Merced National Wildlife Reserve
Modesto Reservoir Regional Park
Honey Run Covered Bridge
Oroville Wildlife Area
Spenceville Wildlife Management & Recreation Area
Lake Oroville State Recreation Area
Mount Diablo State Park
Auburn State Recreation Area
Sherman Island Waterfowl Management Area
Grizzly Island Waterfowl Management Area
Cache Creek
Sutter National Wildlife Reserve
Gray Lodge Wildlife Area
Colusa Sacramento River State Recreation Area
Colusa National Wildlife Reserve
Delevan National Wildlife Reserve
Sacramento National Wildlife Reserve
Mill Creek Wilderness
Ishi Wilderness
Tehama State Wildlife Area
Red Bluff Recreation Area
Shasta-Trinity NRA
Whiskeytown Reservoir NRA

California Central Valley Lakes & Reservoirs

walk in camps

for more lakes in California, check the BIG LAKES LIST

Redinger Lake

redinger lake

Redinger Reservoir

south of Yosemite NP, Bass Lake, CA

dammed lake canyon NFS sierra river sierra mountains

Officially this lake is actually a reservoir, located in the low lands of the Sierra foothills country. Narrow, winding back roads, a way outta the way kinda spot.

a long, narrow lake w/ steep hills, inside a tight canyon

  • canoe
  • fishing
  • hiking
  • jetski
  • kayak
  • waterski

The San Joaquin River flows west, down from the highest granite peaks of the Sierra Nevada and into the Central Valley foothills. If you find your way off the main highway 41, exploring way back behind Bass Lake, CA – then you may consider this scenic loop to Redinger.

off the beaten path

Truthfully, this place is usually an afterthought, sorta near Yosemite National Park. Not exactly a top destination for tourists, but it is very accessible most anytime of the year due to low elevation.

Spring wildflowers can be decent. Summers do get super hot here, so take that into consideration when planning your visit. Due to extreme wildfire danger, no campfires are allowed at any time.

redinger bridge

Lake, Reservoir, or a good wide section of the San Joaquin River w/ hydro-electric dam.

elev. 1000′

open camp no fires boating fish

public boat launch ramp
Camping is restricted to a large open area near the dam. No fee is charged. No campfires are permitted. Services limited, no drinking water or garbage pick-up available. Nearest town 7 miles away.

NORTH FORK, CA

Redinger Lake Road (Rd# 235) can be found south of the town of North Fork, CA. The paved route down is long, steep and winding. At the bridge crossing, the road loops to Joe Basin Road, which connects to the small community of Auberry, CA

Way up river, a dozen plus miles, is the utterly beautiful Mammoth Pool, only accessible half the year.

A few miles down river from Redinger, around the horse shoe bend, another neighboring reservoir called Kerschoff Lake (elev 971′) has a developed campground.

campSmalley Cove Campground NFS

Contact:
Bass Lake Ranger StationNFS
559-877-2218

https://www.fs.usda.gov/