Can anyone recommend a beautiful lake or river – within about a 4 or 5 hour radius of Silicon Valley in California – for easy flatwater kayaking and nice camping? Utica Reservoir in the Stanislaus National Forest is absolutely perfect for me – the lake and scenery are gorgeous, it has lots of coves and inlets to explore, and wilderness camping is allowed anywhere you can paddle to. But I don’t want to keep going back to just this one lake.

I recently paddled on Lake Sonoma – a pretty lake, but there is WAY too much motor boat activity. Speed boats with water skiers, swarms of obnoxious jet skiers, and whole fleets of god-awful patio boats with noisy partiers blasting boom-box music. It was so noisy it was like a cross between a construction zone and a discotheque. Hardly the quiet wilderness experience I’m looking for.

I kayak for the serenity and leisure, not for an adrenaline rush. Which is why I prefer flat protected water to the open ocean. And I like wooded scenery.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

Twin Lakes near Bridgeport, Mono Lake, Tahoe, Pyramid Lake, Nevada, The sloughs around Redwood City are nearby but you need to know the tides

Thanks, Chuck. I’ll look into Twin Lakes and Pyramid Lake. (I already know about Mono and Tahoe.)

Donner Lake and Fallen Leaf Lake are close to Tahoe as well and less trafficked. Rollins Lake Boca and Stampede are off I 80

Near Utica Reservoir and New Spicer Reservoir. New Spicer is by far the largest of them. Half allows motorboats, but limited to something like 5mph. the other half is official wilderness, so no motors allowed at all. Should be good water in it this year.

Might be some good stuff in the Delta, like around the town of Locke. Don;t know about camping options out there.

Thanks, Peter.