Pinecrest Lake and Dodge Ridge

PINECREST LAKE
Although Pinecrest is too far from the Mother Lode vein to have gold itself, the Gold Rush brought activity here because of the need for water to wash the gold out of gravel and dirt retrieved from the creeks in the foothills. Aqueducts were built high up in the forest to tap the water of the Stanislaus River and take it to the foothills. Much of this aqueduct system remains and is used as the main water system for the area. A large part of the aqueduct in the forest was built with wooden flumes, and builders carried portable sawmills into the forest to saw up trees into boards to construct the flumes.

Later, in the late 1800s, permanent sawmills were built in the Pinecrest area, with lumber transported by wagon trains pulled by large teams of mules. The sawmills in the forest were eventually shut down after the Sugar Pine Railroad was built in the early 1900s. This line went from Standard, in the foothills east of Sonora, up into the forest through what is now Twain Harte and up to Strawberry. The right-of-way is now used as a hiking trail. Timber was transported to a sawmill in Standard and the resulting lumber transported to the San Francisco Bay Area and elsewhere via the Sierra Railway, which as built in 1897.

Wildlife in Pinecrest
You will likely see the ubiquitous gray squirrels, who live in the tops of the trees here. You will hear and perhaps see the smaller Douglas squirrels, also known as “chickarees” for their chattering. Raccoons and flying squirrels come out at night. There are chipmunks a little higher up in the forest, especially at Donnell. You may also see mule deer and sometimes gray foxes. Black bears and cougars (mountain lions) are also in the area but avoid humans. You are also likely to see ravens and Steller jays (a medium sized bird with deep blue feathers and a black head that does not migrate). In the summer you will see many smaller migratory birds in the spring and summer. Red-tailed hawks can also be seen.

Fishing
Lake fishing is available at Pinecrest Lake and Beardsley Reservoir, while stream fishing can be done in the Stanislaus River and the many creeks and streams that feed into it.

Pinecrest Lake has a marina with a boat launch ramp and outboard fishing boats for rent. See the blackboards at the marina and at the sports shop for information on plantings and on where in the lake fishing are being caught and with what. Bank fishing is popular around the lake (not allowed at the beach or marina), especially near the dam.

DODGE RIDGE
Dodge Ridge was founded on the ideals of family. Beginning with the Purdy family and continuing on today with the Helm family, core family values remain the foundation of Dodge Ridge.

The current owners, the Helm family has owned and operated Dodge Ridge for the last 36 years of the resort’s 61 year history. The resort as it stands today is a direct result of their commitment to continual growth. They have achieved this through many large scale investments in the resort. The most notable expansions began with the installment of chairlifts 7 in 1985 and chair 8 in 1998, which subsequently tripled the skiable acreage available to Dodge Ridge skiers + riders. As a part of their commitment to continual growth, the Helm family created the 15 year Master Development Plan. Stage 1 of this plan was completed in 2007 with the $6 million base area expansion which included the addition of the 16,000 sq. ft. Family Lodge. The Family Lodge is home to the newly expanded Children’s Snowsports Center, tickets sales and guest services center, day use lockers and the North Fork Bistro. The most recent expansion is the doppelmayar T-Bar T643 installed in the summer of 2011. T-Bar 643 gains access to the second summit, doubling the length of the shots. Future expansions to Dodge Ridge include a complete chairlift infrastructure upgrade with the addition of the second summit chairlift and a high speed detachable lift connecting the lower mountain to the summit with a vertical rise of over 1,400 ft.