Colin and I had planned on going to San Diego this year (cancelled twice). Evidently that just wasn’t in the cards for us so we planned a last minute camping trip before I had to go back to school (I’m already stressed).
I knew it was important to stay close to home so after doing some research, I found some open campsites in the Tahoe National Forest. We reserved two campsites, one at Sardine Lake for one night and one at Lakes Basin for two. This post will be about our time at Sardine Lake.
I want to give a huge shout out to my Aunt Sharon for letting us borrow her kayaks. The trip would have been fun regardless but the kayaks allowed us to explore this area in a different way.
We got to Sardine Lake campground around noon on Thursday. We set up our campsite and drove just a little less than a mile up the road to the Lower Sardine Lake. We unloaded the kayaks and got on the water.
The lake is beautiful. It was so calm and peaceful with a amazing views of mountains all around. It is a great lake for fishing. We saw a bald eagle while kayaking which was super cool because that was my first time ever seeing one in person! We also got a glimpse of the waterfall.
Once we made a lap around the lake, we headed back to our campsite and went on a hike to the upper lake. From the campsite it is about a mile and half trek. You walk along the ridge with a view of the lower lake. The trail itself is very rocky but a gradual incline. Near the top, you come across a little creek and the beginning of the waterfall.
Once you reach the Upper Lake, it is just as remarkable with an even better view of the mountain range on the other side. You can further hike up the rocks where you have the lower lake to your left and the upper lake to your right. We hiked to the highest point, just the two of us up there.
That night we had dinner and of course s’mores, played cards, and went to sleep pretty early. The next morning we woke up and decided to do the same hike as the day before but catch the sun rise. I’m so glad we woke up in time. It was breathtaking. And again, we were the only ones up there. I love how we now have that memory together. We explored a little more up there. When we got back, we had breakfast, I journaled (I’ll include a little excerpt here), packed up our campsite, kayaked the lake one last time, and then headed over to our next campsite.
Thursday August 20, 2020 8:43am I am currently at Sardine Lake Campground, and surprising to the name, this place is beautiful. We decided to do the hike again to catch the sunrise. We were hustlin, we got there so quickly and the sunrise was INCREDIBLE! MAGNIFICENT! Watching the sunrise with my love. These are the moments that mean the most to me. Can’t put them into words.
Sardine Lake is only an hour and a half away. It is a great new place to explore that isn’t far at all. It’s important to note swimming is not a primary activity at these lakes since it is a pristine fishing lake and there really aren’t any beaches. But other lakes around would be great for swimming. It could easily be just a day trip. And is not crowded especially compared to Tahoe. Another thing I want to add is that there is no service once you get to the lake. It is a perfect place to unplug. This is exactly what I needed and I think it made the trip more fun.
Stayed tuned for my next post on getting Colin and I lost :)! hehe
Boundless Adventures 