A collection of travel and adventure stories

Slab Creek Reservoir Kayaking

Description and Directions >>

Description:
Slab Creek Reservoir is a narrow lake located along the upper South Fork of the American River in Northern California's El Dorado County. The steep shores are lined with rock slabs, waterfalls, oaks, and pine trees. The remains of the old Pony Express trail can be seen from the lake. The lake offers only a very rough and rocky dirt ramp. Total paddle distance is approximately 9 miles roundtrip.

Activities:
kayaking, boating, fishing, swimming, sightseeing

Directions:
Put-In #1 (only when the water level is high ? otherwise, use Put-In #2 below): From Sacramento, take Highway 50 East. In Pollock Pines, turn off at the Pollock Pines/Sly Park exit. Turn left at the stop sign, and then left onto Pony Express Trail. After the Safeway store, turn right onto Forebay Road. Follow this road for approximately 7 miles (at about 4 miles, the road merges onto Cables Road). After crossing the south fork bridge, turn left onto a dirt road and continue until it dead-ends at the top of the reservoir, where you will put in.

Put-In #2: From Sacramento, take Highway 50 East toward Lake Tahoe. After Placerville, you will turn left onto the Carson Road exit toward Camino. Turn right onto Carson Road and continue for approximately 1 mile. Turn left onto Barkley Road. Turn left onto Larsen Drive. Turn left onto North Canyon Road. Continue approximately 2 miles. Turn right onto Slab Creek Resv Rd (a dirt road). Continue approx. 2 miles to the put in. At about 1.5 miles, the road will fork. Continue to the right (the left goes to the dam, which is usually gated). The put in is a slight dirt incline to the water (no boat ramp).

Story Date 9/6/2003
Publish Date 11/5/2004

Story Perspectives >>

According to Mikala: Slab Creek Reservoir is an excellent paddle that not many people know of (or at least paddle on). The reservoir is a long, narrow lake that is surrounded by slabs of rocks on along the shoreline, mixed with green pine trees and oaks. The water is crystal clear and very cold.

The first time we paddled this lake, we put-in at the top (Eastern) portion. You can only put in at times when the water level is high, otherwise the water is to shallow and rocky, and moving too fast to enter. Most of the time, we put in at the bottom (Western) part, where there is a dirt incline toward the water. The western part of the lake is wider.

This story starts at the eastern part of the lake though.

As we started our paddle, we floated with the last of the river flow that enters the reservoir. I immediately began to notice the large slab rocks along the sides. I'm guessing this is where the name came from: Slab Creek Reservoir. At this part of the lake, there are not many places to land, but it is so beautiful. A little further, we came upon a trickling waterfall on the left. The rocks were covered in moss and trailing vines. I could kayak right up to the rock wall and under the dripping water.

Continuing on, we were able to kayak up three inlets where small streams were entering the lake. As you kayak up the inlets on the right, the water calms where there is less wind. We stopped at one creek entrance to eat lunch. Each of these inlets are very fun to explore. As we glided along the clear water, I could see the rock formations continuing below the water.

We finally reached the end of the lake on the eastern part (about 4 miles in), where the dam is located. This area is surrounded more by red dirt and small rocks. We turned around to return back to our put-in. It was late afternoon, and the water was flat as glass. The fish started jumping all around us. As I paddled along the shore, I could see the fish swimming below my kayak. It was amazing!