A collection of travel and adventure stories

Silver Lake Kayaking and Sidetrip to Woods Lake

Description and Directions >>

Description:
Silver Lake is located in the Northern Sierra mountains near the Carson Pass National Scenic Byway. This is one of many scenic alpine lakes located within this area, and all make for a great paddling desitination. Woods Lake is located just a few miles north past Silver Lake.

Activities:
kayaking, fishing, hiking, camping, picnicking, sightseeing

Directions:
From Sacramento: take Highway 50 east toward South Lake Tahoe for approximately 50 miles. Exit onto Sly Park Road and continue for approx. 5 miles to Mormon Emigrant Trail Road. Continue for approx. 25 miles to Highway 88. Turn left onto Highway 88 for approx. 8 miles to Silver Lake.

Story Date 8/14/2006
Publish Date 2/6/2007

Story Perspectives >>

According to Mikala: Silver lake...what a beautiful lake. The layers of scenery include clear blue waters, golden granite rocks and sandy beach, green marsh and tall pine trees, and finally, towering mountain peaks in the distance. Who could ask for more? Oh, did you want peaceful solitude? You can find it here!

There is so much to explore on Silver Lake. Right away, we decided that we would definitely like to come back to this lake. In fact, we noticed some cabins located along the shore and thought that would make for a great vacation. I discovered later that these are the cabins at Kay's Silver Lake Resort. We'll have to check those out at a later date.

Kayaking clockwise along the shore, we also passed a couple small islands, tall granite boulders, and a trickling waterfall. Continuing on, we reached a small marshy area, with tall green grass and reeds. The views are magnificent as you look over your shoulder to the massive mountain peaks in the distance.

We landed near a grassy beach for lunch and photos. My husband spent time exploring the shoreline and taking pictures of the geese coming to check us out. I had fun exploring the forest and enjoying the shade. After some great relaxation, we headed back out in the kayaks to explore the large island, called Treasure Island. There are some great views back to the mountains from the island, along with some very peaceful lake scenes.

After a great day kayaking on the lake, we decided to take a drive to smaller Woods Lake located nearby. The sun was starting to set, which set off the mountain peaks and granite boulders in a golden glow. Woods Lake is too small for serious kayak exploring. It is a great lake to have a picnic and do some relaxing kayak floating, though. There are so many lakes and other places to explore in this area, that it would probably be best to spend a few days here...either at a cabin or camping. We hope to do so very soon!