Camping at Lake Huntington

We spent this past weekend up at Lake Huntington, for three days of camping, fishing and boating. Our friend Dafna and her boys Nate and Ben were all sailing in a regatta on the lake, so we joined them for a few days of wilderness action.

Nestled between Yosemite and Kings Canyon, the lake is about a 4-hour drive from the South Bay. From Gilroy, it’s almost a straight shot through Los Banos and Madera, before cruising though the mountains up Highway 168, past Millerton and Shaver Lakes.

The lake is one of the prettiest in California, reminding me of Pine Crest Lake and Lake Alpine to the north. We had a nice big camp site that easily hosted our family, Dafna & her kids, as well as two of the boy’s friends Chris and Rylie.

I got to spend some time hanging off the side of a 20-foot catamaran with Dafna at the helm. It was great except for me almost falling off the boat as I tried positioning myself on the cable that dangles you over the side of the boat. After a couple of attempts I got it down, and really got to enjoy the real speed of a racing catamaran.

The highlight of the weekend for me though was seeing Ry catch his first fish. I’ve taken him fishing a couple of times, but he never had any luck angling. That all changed when he landed a nice 12-inch rainbow off the shore.



Karsyn brought home her own 14-inch brown a few minutes later. I loved to fish when I was a kid, so it was cool to see them experience the thrill of feeling a fish on the end of your line. Trout are fun because they’re active, but easy to land. Ry certainly got a kick out of bringing home his first catch.



After the first day of boat racing, we all trekked to a restaurant that overlooked the lake and enjoyed beer and pizza. The weather was perfect (warm, but not baking like the Bay Area), and the kids all seemed to have a great time.

We had the option of renting a cabin, but I opted for the tent thing, because the kids really wanted to sleep outdoors. I think that was the right decision because all the other kids were at the camp ground and it made for a real camping experience.

Sunday was highlighted by Nate & Ben taking 4th place in the final race of the weekend. These are teenagers that beat quite a few adults in their 16-foot catamarans. Watching the start of the races was pretty exciting, but watching them cruise to their best finish of the weekend was just plain cool.

After lots of smores, camp fire songs, fishing, lounging by the lake, and just plain relaxing, I have to call it one of my favorite camping trips.

All in all, it was a great weekend.

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