Just as your eyes were starting to glaze over with the same old, same old repeat locations, we find a new campground! Lake Camanche Resort is located in the Sierra foothills, just a little to the east of Lodi. It’s a huge, private campground with multiple loops around an expansive reservoir. One can tell that the place is packed in the summer time, and there is not much in the way of shade. Late Fall camping is perfect though, as this means a quasi deserted campground, with full solar.
The drive was easy, though much of it was in the dark. Our site was listed as “Premium” due to its lakeside proximity, but it needed quite a bit of leveling. We made a note to order more Lynx Levelers for just such circumstances. Most of the sites along the water appeared to be about the same in terms of tippiness. This side of the campground offers a nice sunset view, so I think I’d be looking at this one again, or one close by.
Saturday Richard biked around the lake and I got my boat in the water. There’s a lot to explore, though not much in the way of vegetation. This is an open grassland area and we lucked out with the weather – not too hot, not too cold. I did spot a huge fish in the water, which apparently the resort touts as an enticement for fishers. I wouldn’t know a Trout from a Bass, but it was definitely the largest fish I’ve seen swimming around. There are also some amenities listed on the resort website, like a store and cafe, but we did not check those out this time.
On our way home, we stopped at a very cute little deli and bakery called Clements Ridge. There, we picked up some pre-made, ready to bake fruit pies, just in time for Thanksgiving. We also stocked up on holiday gifts from their store. There’s a nice selection of locally produced wines, honey, candies, and specialty olive oil. That, combined with a nice steak sandwich, smoked on site, made for the perfect lunch stop on Richard’s birthday.
Nice discovery, worthy of return trips.
Total miles: 93.5, 16.6 mpg, 3 hours 6 min. Site 84. No hookups. Great solar, lakeside site, launch from site. Great LTE for both. Good dump on site. Nice bathrooms, showers available, water spigots throughout.
