Pinecrest Lake is the last in a series of dams constructed on the South Fork of the Stanislaus River. In the beginning the purpose was to divert water via ditches and flumes to the mining claims in and around Columbia and the foothills. Much of this aqueduct system remains intact today and is still used as a portion of the main water system for the surrounding area. A large part of the aqueduct in the forest was built with wooden flumes, builders carried portable sawmills into the forest to mill the trees into boards in order to construct the flumes. The present dam at Pinecrest, previously called Lower Strawberry Reservoir Dam, was built by Sierra and San Francisco Power Company for hydroelectric power, the water is managed by Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
History
Pinecrest Lake, California
Prior to the California Gold Rush of 1848 anthropologists agree that the first inhabitants of Pinecrest were the early bands of native Me-Wuk.[citation needed] History shows that the area which is now Pinecrest was used by the Me-Wuk as a trading ground. Scattered throughout the forest you can still find evidence of ancient grinding rocks used by the Me-Wuk in areas assumed to be their campsites.[citation needed] As the Gold Rush began the Me-Wuk were treated with racism, violent displacement, and broken treaties by the early settlers;[citation needed] leading to the diminishing numbers of Me-Wuk. Over time miners and settlers began searching for new opportunities. Soon, logging became a major industry in the area. With logging came the development of many foothill towns.[citation needed] Water was vital to the survival of these towns. Many lakes, such as Pinecrest were developed in order to sell and provide water to the foothill towns.
The U.S. Forest Service's Summit Ranger District station, of the Stanislaus National Forest, is a mile from Pinecrest Lake. Pinecrest has a post office with ZIP code 95364.[3] The post office was established in 1917 and briefly closed from 1921 to 1923.[4]
Geography
Pinecrest is located in the central Sierra Nevada mountain range at an elevation of 5679 feet. It lies 77 miles east of Modesto, the nearest metro hub, and 165 miles east of San Francisco. Being in the Sierra Nevada, Pinecrest is located on a mountainous terrain filled with evergreens. Nearby, is the Dodge Ridge Ski Resort which brings in many people from all over Northern California during the snow season and Pinecrest Lake.
Recreation
Pinecrest Lake can be seen to attract over 25,000 people in busy weeks during the Summer. It is also a very popular spot for fishing, camping, and hiking.[5]
An outdoor movie theater at Pinecrest Lake shows first-run films during the summer. The theater is operated by Dodge Ridge Mountain Resort.[6]
Pinecrest is home to the University of California, Berkeley's alumni camp, the Lair of the Golden Bear, which is the oldest and largest alumni association-run family camp in the world, the Lair of the Golden Bear. The Lair attracts almost 10,000 campers annually. Its attendees are largely Cal alumni and their families, but the Lair is open to everyone since 1949.[7]
Climate
Pinecrest has a dry-summer continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dsb) that is characterized by warm, dry summers, with periodic thunderstorms, and cold, extremely snowy winters.[citation needed]
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