lake cuyamaca

Great little cafe under new management. Food is dinner quality with wine and beer. Nice patio overlooking the lake. Clean and great friendly service.

Hi, The more and more I go here I am loving this place. Its proximity to historic town Julian gives an added advantage for a day trip and a picnic. The place in summer isn't very attractive just to hang around. But clubbing this with Julian will make it a good trip. In my previous review I missed out mentioning about its location benefit for the people who are visiting Sunny Sandiego. When it is winter it snows here and to see fresh snow just drive up here which is 52 miles from San Diego. Just beware that 1000s flock this area and traffic can be a nightmare so plan very well in advance. The places around will be snow covered as well, so kids are going to enjoy making a snow man or throwing a snowball at you...Julian is a great place for food, wines and coffee... :)Enjoy your day trip...

The Lake restaurant is a fun place to stop and have breakfast or lunch and enjoy the view of the lake. We've always enjoyed everything they serve. Haven't had a bad meal yet! Owner is very friendly in greeting her customers and making them feel good about stopping by.

The camp grounds on the west side are OK. The sites have fences between each plot with a grill. The ground has rock just below the top soil, so tent stakes stop at about 3-4 inches down. Also, most of the year has a no WOOD fire restriction due to the dry climate. The staff at the bait shop and restaurant were cheerful and helpful for answering questions.

This lake was small but beautiful. We rented a boat and docked at the shore across the way to hike Fletcher Island. The geese were very entertaining. It was the best part of our weekend!

Seriously, the waitress we had made up for any flaws in the food which wasn't bad. She was a delight. Wish I could share her name but I didn't get it. She was honest and refreshing. When I reminded her about my drink she said, "Oh yes...I gave it to someone else." I love honesty!

Despite the water level being low (and where isn't it here in the west) this great little lake is an excellent place to fish or to take a little walk. Fish are stocked year round and there are always plenty of boats to rent or spots to take up. If you're up for a flat hike follow the Lake Trail that circles around. If you do the whole thing it's about 3 miles and is quite easy.

We thought that Lake Cuyamaca was a great place for a family picnic! We did not rent a boat, but they do offer rentals...

Please realize this is over 4k elevationGreat views and sceneryLovely hike and viewsWant to return and find camp site next year

Lake Cuyamaca. A beautiful little lake just down the road from Julian. From tent camping to condos, this is a great place to stay to get away from the city. Watch the sunrise over the lake to start your day. There's even a nice restaurant at the lake. Close enough to Julian to enjoy the sights and events of the day, Lake Cuyamaca is always a pleasant place to stay. Don't forget to hike Stonewall Peak for a spectacular view of the area and the lake.

We hiked around a bit here, and enjoyed a nice break in the country. We spied lots of little cabins that looked newer, and come to find out are rentable. One of the patrons even let us peak inside, they are cute, and perfect for fishing, or just to get away. We will be back and rent one soon.

We stopped here on the way to Julian. The lake is very pretty with the mountains in the background. There are picnic tables all around and I saw chipmunks around. A great place to picnic or to take pictures.

I'm a San Diego native, but just had my first Cuyamaca camping trip the other month. Well, a trailer trip as it were. The RV/trailer spots have a great spot looking over the lake. Price is so affordable. We stayed all the way down at the end spots and it really made such a picture perfect weekend with the open vistas. It might be a little tricky getting into your spot = the loop goes in one direction, but is on a curve and you'll be backing in. If a lot of people have longer RVs/trailers, then it will take a little maneuvering.We were pretty much the only people there that weekend who weren't park of a church group. It was neat to see the group had all the space they could use for their activities and that the kids were constantly engaged and entertained down by the lake or hiking around the trails or zooming around on their scooters. We didn't leave camp all weekend, but there are tons of little outings you can take to keep kids active. We'll go back for sure for a nice relaxing weekend stay, definitely booking that end spot again.

Booked a 2 night stay at one of the sleeping cabins at Lake Cuyamaca. These cabins are very cute and clean, but if you have a big family or require luxurious accommodations then look elsewhere cause it's your basic one room with maybe a double bed and bunk beds for the kids, side table and like a book shelf thing. There was a small heater in room and fan with light on ceiling. We were comfortable enough at night, but we brought sleeping bags, sheets, comforter, pillows, etc. We were pleased for 2 nights it fit 2 adults, an 11 and 12 year old plus dog. No hidden fees $70 a night plus $5 booking fee. Chambers park which is where the cabins were located has restrooms and shower facilities which we were satisfied with. Check in was a breeze, employees are nice and helpful. The lake itself is not huge, but not the size of a pond either. We were disappointed as far as fishing goes, but maybe it was the time of day, fish weren't hungry, wrong bait etc? Believe me, if my husband had a hard time catching them then they were elusive lol. Caught 6 trout in 2 days between the 4 of us so not one of our better fishing outings by any means, but renting a boat is a snap and $45 for the whole day is a heck of a deal. Beware, it is windy there. Not sure if it is like that all the time, but it was pretty constant for us for 2.5 days.Did not eat at restaurant, picked up bait and net at tackle shop and was pleased with service. The area is kind of remote with a lot of winding road so if your kids get car sick then prepare them. Mountains were beautiful and the weather is quite crisp in the morning. You will pass the very cute town of Julian where we picked up one of its' famous apple pies which we will be baking tonight.Overall another nice family outing. Its been 9 months for us since our last trip anywhere. Will be posting a lot more camp sites come July on our long trip!

Very windy and fishing was horrible. Pricy bait when website states cheaper than Walmart. We camped at Greenfield camp and Rangers were very pushy coming to or cabins multiple times. We played music on our Ipod and apparently it is too loud. We paid a lot of money for a.camping trip and had some friends over and they were being harassed to see if they paid additional car fee. They were all paid but they still felt the need to park their trucks down the road and sneak up to us to see what's going on. No privacy!!!