Overview

Don Pedro Lake CA is just about an hour west of Yosemite National Park and offers premiere outdoor recreation. With more than 160 miles of shoreline and many coves and inlets to explore, it makes a great place to go for boating, swimming, water skiing and much more.

Location & Information

Don Pedro Lake is west of Yosemite off of California Highway 140. From the park, go west on Highway 140 for about 12 miles, turn right on California Highway 49 and go 26 miles, then left on California Highway 132. Turn right on Bonds Flat Road after 12.8 miles and follow that to the lake’s visitor center. The entire trip takes about one hour and 30 minutes.

Don Pedro Lake is accessible the year round.

Contact information:
Don Pedro Recreation Agency
31 Bonds Flat Road
La Grange, CA 95329
209-852-2396

Activities

Don Pedro Lake California has almost 13,000 acres of surface area with plenty of water sports and other outdoor fun available for visitors.

• Fishing
  Don Pedro Lake fishing is great whether from the shore or by boat. Catch trout, salmon, Black bass, catfish and bluegill. You might even pull in a few smallmouth or spotted bass. Bass fishing is open all year.
• Boating
  You’ll find convenient boating on the lake, with two full-service marinas, one on each side. Both have bait and tackle, a store and boat and rental equipment.
• Hunting
  You’ll find some big and small game in the Recreation Area, such as black bears, deer, wild turkeys, squirrels, hares and valley quail. Be sure to check out the hunting regulations in the area before embarking on your adventure.
• Camping
  Don Pedro Lake camping is available at any of three campgrounds. Fleming Meadows Campground has a swimming lagoon, volleyball and softball facilities, a boat ramp and marina, showers and much more. The Moccasin Point Campground has tent and RV camping, as well as a fish cleaning station, boat ramp and marina, restrooms with showers and a group picnic area. Blue Oaks Campground has 161 tent sites and 34 RV sites, a group picnic area, restrooms with showers and a fish cleaning station.
• Events
  The rainbow trout derby in June is a great favorite of anglers, and the whole family will enjoy the annual fireworks on the Fourth of July.

Fun Facts

The construction of a new dam to replace an old one was begun in 1967 and completed four years later at a cost of $105 million. Originally known as the New Don Pedro Reservoir, the “new” was dropped from its name later on when the old dam was fully replaced, so that now the location is simply called Don Pedro Lake or Don Pedro Reservoir. The old dam sits 250 feet below the surface of the full lake.