largest lake in CA with no road access?

[dave54]

Anyone know for sure?

No road access at all, not even closed/gated. Foot trail or off trail only.

Snag Lake, Lassen Volcanic NP comes to mind, at ~460 acres surface area. Can't think of any others off the top of my head.

[rlown]

quick question. where did you draw your size info from? might be there for other lakes.. I'm betting on Desolation Lk maybe in Humphrey's basin.. Just don't know how to measure it from a PC

[giantbrookie]

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say Thousand Island Lake. As for acreage, there is data available from various sources. I think that outside of the NPs the DFW site has the lake specs, but I could be wrong. I know the old school Angler's Guides did.

Edit: Just checked the DFW online fishing guide and 1000 Is falls short of Snag. It's 330.4 acres.

Upon further review, I can think of three very large lakes that are reached by road but said roads are closed to the public. 1. Eleanor Lake (Yosemite). 2. French Lake (N of I 80), and 3. Donnell Reservoir below Hwy 108.

[dave54]

quick question. where did you draw your size info from? might be there for other lakes.. I'm betting on Desolation Lk maybe in Humphrey's basin.. Just don't know how to measure it from a PC

I freehanded a polygon on screen because I could not find a reliable size by googling. Hence my ~approximate stated size.

[rlown]

Thanks, Dave. I remembered about the GE polygon capability after I posted, as my internet died. Desolation only comes in at ~210 acres.

[maverick]

1000 Is Lake in the Sierra, followed by either Deso or Duck Lake.

[rlown]

Duck lake comes out at ~228 acres. 1000 Island is harder to draw around, and if you take out the islands, it's about the same as midway between Duck and Deso.

But the op's question was about CA, not just the Sierra. What else is a Saturday for..

I also learned what a smoot measurement is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot

The people at Google Earth obviously have a healthy sense of humor as it's included as a measure of distance as part of the package for perimeter measurements.

[dave54]

I was going to ask for the U.S. but figgered that would degenerate into a (humorous) arguing match. Logging lake in Glacier is pretty large, then there is the BWCA -- which would be its own category.

I looked over several CA maps and do not see any that would rival or exceed Snag. If someone finds one please post back. Not looking for an argument, just curious for no particular reason.

Reputedly there is good fishing in Snag if you get out on the water and fish the depths. Fishing from shore is so-so. The NPS stopped stocking the lakes in the 80s, but the residual trout population is self-sustaining. Could not find any bathymetry for Snag. Possibly never done. It does not get much fishing pressure because of the hiking involved, and getting a yak, canoe, or float tube there requires a portage on your shoulder. Wilderness -- no carts.

Hiking from the roads end is 5 miles, but if you paddle to the south end of Butte Lake and hike from there it is only 2.5 miles. That is a long way to portage on your shoulders for just a couple days of fishing.

I saw one old map that showed the trail as a road. Not true. Never was a road. Just a map misprint.

[TahoeJeff]

Can you park at the north end of Juniper lake and hike north? Looks like a trail west of Inspiration point and Cameron meadow ending at the southeast corner of Snag. Only +/- 3.5 miles?

[maverick]

But the op's question was about CA, not just the Sierra. What else is a Saturday for

True, but he posted this in a Sierra related section, not in the "Beyond The Sierra Nevada" section.