Camping advice for Amador/Camanche/Pardee or Turlock/Don Pedro

Out of the lakes mentioned, I would go to New Melones(never been to Pinecrest though). Some of the banks are steep, but its a best all-around lake on the list; good fishing, pretty good scenery, andthe water is perfect for swimming. One of the best places for camping with a family, IMHO, is Stampede, but it is 14 miles past Truckee. Camping anywhere with the family is or at least can be a great experience anywhere as logn as you spend time with the family. Let us know where you end up going.

      Don Pedro or any lake at a similar elevation is going to be like camping in the desert.  Not much shade and too much dust.   Great fishing though.  Limits of trout every day trolling.  My favorite bass spot that never lets me down.  10 fish days are common.  I caught a 15lb catfish two weeks ago while bait fishing for striper.   Be prepaired for boat traffic.  Probably one of the busiest lakes around on the weekends.  It is sorta neat that you can load your gear up on a boat and camp anywhere on the shore you want.  I don't know of any other lake that lets you do that. 
      Melones has a nicer campground and usually less traffic then Don Pedro and I have a couple of friends that swear it has the most bass of any lake around here.  I haven't fished it much but I have seen their pictures. 
      Turlock is a nice lake that I like going to for day trips.  I have never been skunked there it has plenty of trout and bass to keep you occupied.  The problem there is the campground is a mile away on the river and full of mosquito's.  It is usually empty though. 
      Pinecreast is a beautiful mountain lake that everyone in the family would love.  I haven't had the best luck fishing but I have seen people with nice stringers full and they always say they were using powerbait.  It is usually pretty busy on the weekends so that is why I recommend...
    Lake Alpine.  It is up highway 4 about the same distance as Pinecreast.  It is absolutely beautiful and one of my favorite lakes to go to.  It is so nice just paddling around the lake and relaxing.  It has never really been crowded while I have been up there and that makes camping much more enjoyable to me.  Also if you can't catch any fish at Lake Alpine you can drive up the highway 20 minutes and fish at Mosquito lake that gets stocked at least once a week all summer. 
   

Wow! Thx for all the advice everyone. Bought a new tent recently and have been meaning to try it out. Thx again. Btw, rattlers scare me more than gws- statistically i have a much higher chance of being bitten by a rattler. I better check that i have a snake bite kit in my first aid box.

Thx again everyone.

Not to say those lakes aren't awesome but remember lake Mendocino is a good spot too has all the above just another option

      Don Pedro or any lake at a similar elevation is going to be like camping in the desert.  Not much shade and too much dust.   Great fishing though.  Limits of trout every day trolling.  My favorite bass spot that never lets me down.  10 fish days are common.  I caught a 15lb catfish two weeks ago while bait fishing for striper.   Be prepaired for boat traffic.  Probably one of the busiest lakes around on the weekends.  It is sorta neat that you can load your gear up on a boat and camp anywhere on the shore you want.  I don't know of any other lake that lets you do that.

Don Pedro does not have stripers.

Hamachi,

If you are interested in Pinecrest and are feeling reluctant to camp, we stayed at Rivers Resort.  http://www.theriversresort.com/  $253 bux all in for one night.  The place was very clean, new kitchen, Stanislaus river right outside your door.  The drive up is very pleasant and easy

      Don Pedro or any lake at a similar elevation is going to be like camping in the desert.  Not much shade and too much dust.   Great fishing though.  Limits of trout every day trolling.  My favorite bass spot that never lets me down.  10 fish days are common.  I caught a 15lb catfish two weeks ago while bait fishing for striper.   Be prepaired for boat traffic.  Probably one of the busiest lakes around on the weekends.  It is sorta neat that you can load your gear up on a boat and camp anywhere on the shore you want.  I don't know of any other lake that lets you do that.

Don Pedro does not have stripers.



Yes it does.  Launch at Moccasin, paddle like a quarter mile to the main channel and throw out some cut shad.  Then come back and tell me there aren't huge stripers in there. 

I've camped at Pedro, Melones and Pincrest. I live in Sonora so I frequent each of these lakes. I would say go camp at Pinecrest then drive down to Pedro to swim. Then make your way over to Melones to do some fishing. But since that's probally not an option I would say Pedro. You will catch some fish. Have mostly clear water to swim, but you are going to take a hit in the scenery department. Lots of small oak trees and weeds. It's hot as hell around here, near 100 everyday lately. But if you are out early the bass are hitting decent. Landed about 10 12"-14" largemouth over at Melones last weekend. Can't say how the bass are at Pedro lately. And there is no competition with the planters at pinecrest. Good luck in your adventure!   

      Don Pedro or any lake at a similar elevation is going to be like camping in the desert.  Not much shade and too much dust.   Great fishing though.  Limits of trout every day trolling.  My favorite bass spot that never lets me down.  10 fish days are common.  I caught a 15lb catfish two weeks ago while bait fishing for striper.   Be prepaired for boat traffic.  Probably one of the busiest lakes around on the weekends.  It is sorta neat that you can load your gear up on a boat and camp anywhere on the shore you want.  I don't know of any other lake that lets you do that.

Don Pedro does not have stripers.

Yes it does.  Launch at Moccasin, paddle like a quarter mile to the main channel and throw out some cut shad.  Then come back and tell me there aren't huge stripers in there. 

Prove it!  Do you have photographic evidence?  Of my 32 years of existence on this fine blue planet, I've NEVER heard of, caught, or seen pictures of stripers in Don Pedro.

Sorry for the threadjack John, I'm done cuz I know stripers don't exist in Pedro.