Lake Cuyamaca

Ok Here’s the best Kept SECRET if you look North of the lake you can see a place called «Lake Cuyamaca Lodge» By far a great place to stay! Overnight very Romantic hideaway! All new rooms. Excellent Service!
They let you store your food and have a fireplace area super Quiet. Check it out!

It’s beautiful, peaceful, and relaxing. I like it, because it’s not crowded, at least not the times I’ve gone there. They have some picnic tables, which is always nice to have, especially if you pack a lunch. My only advice is watch out for all the duck and geese poo near the water! Other than that, it’s a great place to visit. From Lake Cuyamaca, it’s just a «hop, skip, and a jump» to Julian!

Had a nice walk around the lake with family and friends. I was happy to have my camera with me during the hikes each day… beautiful… It appeared quite a few people caugh fish. Love the fact their were canoes and little metal boats on the water that you were able to rent at a pretty fair price, and after 12 — 1pm half price for remainder of day.
Pretty little place out of Julian. Restaurant had some great choices on the menu and tasty.
A very nice young woman who was very helpful throughout the weekend at check-​in post for Chamber’s Campground.
Would like to try out the cabins that have the basics inside, they seem cozy and functional, with a nice little picnic table and bbq grille outside and even a man made little stream outside these little tent cabins. That will be are next adventure. .
I however… Sad to Say… with all the positive attributes about Lake Cuyamaca speaking only of our experience with (Chamber’s Campground) will
have to leave a Negative note.
««They Need To Have More Security For Late Evening. Hours”“‘Especially for families with children camping there.
«Their was an unfortunate situation that happen throughout the entire weekend in the late evening hours. It made a weekend camp trip that was suppose to be peaceful and relaxing a very stressful weekend… with very little sleep…
Possibly someone could patrol throughout the night to make sure everything is going smoothly for campers, would help everyone feel safe and secure, and also to make sure everyone is following camp ground rules and regulations. .
I do realize their will always be somebody or someone that upsets the apple cart .but that is where having someone patrol would give us the reassurance so everyone could enjoy a peaceful and relaxing time.
I will return, but can tell you the other family that join us will not. This is a shame because it was their first time camping and our first time out in awhile.
Safety and Security should always be the upmost importance for any campground. .
I’d say all and all a nice campground with a pretty little lake and green and lush hiking trails.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. We will give it another try possible late fall.

First off, this review has nothing to do with the gorgeous surroundings or the cabin «Anglers Retreat» and Tent site we rented. This review is strictly for the reservation staff and the very poor information or lack of there of was provided to us. We rented, at first 2 nights for the Anglers Retreat. We were up-​sold later when I called when more guests wanted to join us. We were told that we get a free boat rental with a 3 day rental, no specific day of the week given during the up-​sell. We were also told that we can set up a tent outside our cabin to sleep 4 more people, as we were expecting 12 people. We also rented tent space#30 for two nights. I also put my name in for the pontoon boat rental. 1 was waiting for repairs. I said I’ll wait for it, and they would call me to confirm.
In the last 3 days before going and multiple phone calls, and different staff answering my calls that absolutely had no clue at all, we were told that you cannot set up a tent by your cabin, than we were given an extra night at tent site 30. The problem is that only 1 tent will fit and the only water spigot available for all the tent sites is right in the tent site #30.
They gave the pontoon boat to someone else.
The free boat rental is only for a weekday, oops,
Little late to take advantage of that.
So after dumping $ 600 for sleeping arrangements, it’s still an $ 8 fishing fee on a public lake, obviously public since you need a fishing license, $ 7 per car to park,
This place milks you for every penny they can while lying to you on perks that you will never receive.
Update. An employee disguised as a visitor slammed me for my honest review. Funny, Jane works at the tackle shop. See her message to me.

Three nights of camping at Lone Pine area of Lake Cuyamaca. Tent sites were great compared to other areas of the park. Chemical toilets were horrible. No locks, doors wouldn’t close, tons and tons of horse flies in each stall, not level, extremely dirty and hot. Closest bathrooms were 20 minute walk. Someone told us there was a mountain lion lurking around our sites, which were on the bank near the fire station 46 – 48. If you have burnt firewood in your site you pay $ 200 fine even if its not yours so best to tell the ranger there was already burnt fire wood there so they can remove it, as in our case. Water temp was high. Not a fish caught from shore or motor boat. Dogs got 4 ticks. I would not camp at Lone Pine again unless only overnight or with trailer. Did see a tarantula and great horned beatle (in our site) also saw vulture, hawk, eagle, coyote, deer, turkey.

Lone pine camp was amazing. great views. new and improved connections with porta pottys as well. didnt catch fish but had an absolute blast. friendly staff in the tackle shop and we will be returning soon as we can

Not complaining about the lake. The tackle shop has extremely rude employees. Particularly a skinny white woman. She literally yelled at us when we asked how many parking passes we needed. We didn’t know if it was one per group or per car and she screamed, «well how many did you buy?!» She didn’t understand what we were asking and obviously got frustrated and took it out on us in front of children. And in the midst of our conversation she turned her back and started helping someone else without a word. Hopefully she isn’t the owner.

Good day on the lake. Beautiful weather. Boat prices discounted after 1pm. They only have 2 pontoon boats that seat 8 so call ahead to reserve.
The lake is pretty small but still big enough Plus you can park your boat on land and have a picnic too.
Clean bathrooms and friendly staff. We rented a power boat after 1 pm for $ 30 and fit myself, my wife 2 dogs and a cooler on it with plenty of room.

Very pretty destination near the town of Julian. Drought has sucked back the shoreline, but there are still optimistic boaters at the dock.
The surrounding area is preserved land and veined with trails. At dusk, a small herd of deer bounced across the main highway to browse. Gorgeous!
Trails are pet friendly, but please keep your doggies leashed if you love them. This is the natural range of endangered puma. In town sightings closed school last year.

We made reservations to stay in one of their condo cabins a couple months in advance, for a Friday and Saturday night at $ 200 per night (x5 of us scheduled, but only x4 of us showed up)! We stayed in the Raccoon retreat. The kitchen was well stocked with cooking supplies, which I will not complain about. However, there were some property related issues that were unacceptable, such as: The bathroom fan was EXTREMELY loud, PREVENTING you from running it without being annoyed in general (or at night) after someone dropped a deuce; one of two patio lights was missing a light bulb; the grill had not been cleaned in God knows how long; one of the electrical outlets (which was hot) did not have a cover plate; one of the upstairs wall lights did not work (or had a blown bulb); The fridge was a mini-​fridge (which does not hold much product, causing you to utilize your coolers and buy their ice); the fireplace ash can located outside was filled to the brim and had not been dumped in who knows how long; they need to supply you with fresh bath towels for each day/​night you are staying; and they only provided you with a small batch of firewood for the fireplace, but they should actually supply you enough for each night of your stay. The two upstairs’ beds were comfortable, but the bunk beds downstairs sucked ass. And had our fifth person showed up someone would have been designated to the couch, which was not a pull-​out sofa bed (which they do have in their other condo cabin).
Two, of the three, women we interacted with at the bait /​permit shop were not overly friendly, which was a drastic drop off from how the place use to be run 5, 10 and 20 years ago. We rented a boat one day, but received no discount — although they offer you a FREE boat if you rent the condo cabins SUN-​THU at a lower nightly rate (try to figure out how that makes business sense). The young man launching us was okay, but not much of a personality.
As for the fishing — we had a good time and my buddy caught a nearly 9 POUND freaking trout!!! Grant it, most were in the ¾ to 2 pound variety and we never caught our full limit as a group, but it was still fun. They took his photo for their brag book, but I guess did not feel it worthy of posting on their website (they do have quite a few 2 to 4 pounders posted though).
The lake is beautiful, even with the burned down hillsides to the west and northwest, and worth the trip to relax and fish. That, in and of itself, is 4 to 5 stars. As for the condo cabin and personal service, which my rating is primarily for, don’t have high expectations — unless overall maintenance issues, professionalism and amicableness changes for the better.

Don’t know how many people camp at chambers park, but if you have then you probably met the wonderful ranger Becky and her dog cliff. Recently Becky lost her job there. I’m trying to put together a petition to get her job back. I don’t know about Anyone else but beckys 99% of why I go camping there. She makes the camping experience so much better. She’s an awesome person to know. Becky has worked at cuyamaca for about 10 years or so. And has lived at the lake. She loves her job more than anything. Please help me to get her job back. She deserves another chance.

I came up to the lake this afternoon with my 2 and 4 year old. After talking about feeding the ducks and taking a paddle boat out for our first time, they were pretty excited. We arrived about 4 hours before closing and let the ladies behind the counter at the boat rental office know we were coming back to rent a boat after we fed the ducks. We had a great time feeding the ducks, then went back up to the main office to rent a paddle boat. One of the two ladies behind the counter let us know they had just decided to close early. One asked the other if they would stay open and and she replied, «I’m not interested in staying.»
It’s a shame how disgruntled employees can affect others. Please, if you are not happy with your job, find one you are happy with. There is likely a person out there that would happily replace you… and in doing so, would have saved the day for me and the fam by remaining open until your normal closing time.

Amazing drive up to Lake Cuyamaca (you’ll see plenty of motorcycle riders enjoying the twisty roads so keep a sharp eye out especially on blind switchback corners) and it’s easy to find (take the 8 to 79N and follow the signs) but you’ll need to come prepared with cash if you plan on renting any boats as there are no ATMs until you get to Julien (9 miles away) and they require a $ 20 cash deposit + the rental fee ($ 15 for a pedal boat, $ 20 for a kayak, $ 35 for a little motorboat) + $ 7 to park.
Luckily the prices I quoted are only for an hour cause even in a pedal boat powered by paraplegics you’d be able to lap this ‘lake’ twice. Tiny. More like a pond.
There were a lotta people out fishing (they have bait and tackle), both from the shore and from the boats. Didn’t see anyone catch anything, though.
It says it’s pet friendly but you’ll need to keep Patches on a leash. Also no swimming, and that goes for Patches too.
There is a little general store and also a restaurant with a nice elevated covered patio over-​looking the lake. It would be an awesome spot to chill with your sig other and a glass of wine from a local Julien winery buttttt… No alcohol is served. So I hope you and the sig other are on good terms with each other and can get all Romantical with just a glass of sprite. Food looked decent, typical diner fare. You can bring Patches up to the patio with you while you enjoy those steamy glances over your plastic glass of Sprite though so that’s pretty neat.
I think my sig other and I would have had a better time if we came prepared; we were just out exploring and decided to pull in as we drove past. Since we are not cartel bosses or on our way back from recycling bottles we didn’t have any cash… Ergo…
Also, we were on a wine-​tasting/​hiking adventure (don’t knock it till you try it!) and the lack of alcohol was a major buzzkill. Still. They had restrooms.

Stopped by here on a moto ride towards Julian.
Nice and peaceful place to stop and stretch the legs.
Only 3 stars because u didn’t stay at the actual campgrounds. So I have no idea how those accommodations are.

went camping for 2nights in this beautiful park. Our tent ground was fantastic situated in chambers area. Nice walk around the lake, rented peddleboat and motor boat to fish with y husband and grandson. We only wish theres a bike path.
the weather was nice altho morning is a bit chilly. There are Cabins and also Condo for those not adventurous enough. The staff was friendly. I will go back again.

Great for a quick day-​trip with lots to do for the family. Plenty of lakeside parking for a few dollars per day. On the lake: peddle boats, small motor boats, small sailboats, fishing from the pier, day camping, but no swimming or wading. Lots of Canadian Geese, so watch out for poop.

Purely a fishing review from beginners! On Thursday three days after lake stocking.
This is a gorgeous lake, everyone around us was catching fish which was great because it kept my children excited about the day. There are several areas to fih and all of them are extremely nice.
The staff at the local bait shop and restaurant are very helpful as well. They went through the checklist of things I should have and or need to get. I even left without my new license and they came and found me immediately. Not to mention they always were friendly and well informed.
Mini marshmellows and trout powerbait sem to be the go to tool for this lake so enjoy!
The campgrounds and condos looked pretty nice and there are fis cleaning stations throughout the grounds.
I would also suggest this place to those who like hiking as they would love the panoramic views as well as the fact that they can bring their dogs!

We reserved spots in Lone Pine and initially held high amounts of skepticism. We considered not coming up due to the photos online and the Google maps view. Listen… Don’t believe it! GO. It’s amazing. Stay in the tent area ONLY. It is beautiful, it is fun. Yes, the spots are small and you’re possibly next to someone… but if you’re not a putz and vice versa, you’ll be great! Don’t feel like cooking, eat at the restaurant! Such great food and service (thank you, Rebecca!).

Chambers Park (RV Camping) was a very nice place to spend an extended weekend, and we seemed to have a more pleasant experience than the prior reviewer who also stayed at Chambers Park. I’ll only add here to his [pretty complete] review so you might want to read his first for the basic info.
Many of the trout caught were via nightcrawlers + powerbait according to the lakeside chatter.
Showers are $ 0.25 for 1 – 2 minutes (not sure exactly), but 2 quarters were plenty for a man-​shower. Instant hot water. It’s basically a building where you enter a big room (maybe 100sf) from the outside, lock the door, and then disrobe and shower. There are hooks on one side to hang stuff and a little bench thing on the other side to place stuff. The shower is in the middle, and the stuff on the ends of the room stayed pretty dry. You’ll want to wear slippers or other suitable footwear; sometimes there are leaves that blow in, but again, I’d say I was surprised how clean it was for a campground shower). You can get quarters at the little shop right at Chambers Park, but it’s not open all the time, so bringing a roll of quarters is a pretty good idea.
RV Tips: Sites 1 — 8 are in a semi-​circle about 50 yards from the water (nothing between you and the water except picnic tables, a horseshoe pit, etc, and you’re elevated slightly so the view is good from sites 3 – 8. You pull (or back) into the slot, so the front or rear of your RV will be facing the lake. Sites 3, 4 and 5 are the small cabins the other reviewer mentioned. Pretty nice, and they include a [tiny] patio area on the lake side. It wasn’t clear where the parking was for these cabins, so you might want to ask when you reserve one. Site 6 is smaller and will only take up to a certain size RV (that’s the one we were in and our 25′ fit). Sites 6 and 7 are larger and also include a decent sized area in front (lakeside) of the RV where you could set stuff up (tables, etc.). Site 6 does not have that area.
There are other sites, some of which have lake views and some back right up onto the main road, but I didn’t have time to scout those.
Edit: Site 23 also has a lake view, and looks like it’s the best site available from that perspective (lake view from the side vs. front/​rear).
Edit: Verizon coverage available at the RV site and lakeside, 1 – 2 bars (which are somewhat meaningless) and decent 3G connectivity (no LTE).

This review is specifically for the Chambers Campground.
We are used to going camping in some pretty grand parks, so I am trying really hard NOT to compare it to these other spots. I keep telling myself, HEY this is only 30 minutes away and nice for a quick get-​a-​way. So for those of us who want a last minute camp get-​a-​way this place can do it for you.
This campground is not very large, and it’s on the main road so you do have road noise, but then again, there isn’t much traffic up there. The Lake is really low now and it was sad to see it so dried up, but then again look at my photos, it’s still beautiful and peaceful and lends to GREAT photo opportunities.
This campground has your basics. They have a few hook-​ups for RV’s, they have room for tent camping and they even have a couple cabins for rent. The cabins are only for sleeping, there aren’t bathrooms or cooking features. We chose an RV spot that had room for tents, because we had 11 people going up for a 2-​day birthday trip. Many campgrounds won’t allow the mix of tents and RV’s so this was a nice bonus. On the negative though, the tents had to be posted on a bed of large gravel (small rocks) and if we had been given a heads up would have brought better bedding than sleeping bags. Many of our group woke up with very sore backs.
There are big airy bathrooms and a separate building with showers (you must pay for showers). There is fishing, but it starts to get very pricey and although we could see the fish jumping out of the water daily, the fishermen caught very little. Dogs are allowed on leash, which many campers ignored, but NO ONE or nothing is allowed in the Lake unless you are in a boat. So forget about bringing your swimsuit unless you just want to sunbathe.
There are many hiking trails and even a mine to hike to that isnt that far away. The BIG plus for me was all the wildlife, we saw raccoons, squirrels, geese, ducks, blue herons, cranes, deer, buzzards, hawks and eagles. The more you sat quietly the more you had the opportunity to experience. I would go back again, just to have the opportunity to photograph all the amazing wildlife.
It’s not the largest or the best appointed campground you will ever visit, but it’s really peaceful and gives you a great escape from the city.