At the end of a longer road trip, we ended up at Levitt Lake, off Hwy 180 off of Sonora Pass. I heard the road was sketchy so I did a bit of research to get some more info. From what I could find, it seemed fine. The drive up was uneventful although I had to use 2ed gear, low range to get over some large rocks and deep ruts. I drive a single cab Dodge 2500 diesel and I was glad to be in that vehicle. As I was driving, I wondered what vehicles I would find at the top. I have to admit, some sections of the road were really rough, traction was not a issue, but low gears and high clearance were necessary. To my surprise I found a Subaru, Toyota Highlander, 4 door Jeep, Infinity SUV, all stock height with street tires at the lake. On some level, I was not all that surprised. I often find that big lifts and big tires are overkill, not really necessary.
OK, on the the lake. The Forest Service has closed a lot of the lake to camping, limiting sites only to the East side of the lake. It used to be full camping anywhere around the whole lake, no more. As well, all roads leading to the other smaller lakes surrounding Levitt have been closed. I like this, the areas were heavily impacted and need to rest and recover. Since we are not fisherman, we found a great site about 1/2 mile down the road with a small stream running next to it. It was great, we just drove up to the lake and day hiked from there. The surrounding lakes were completely empty of people, never saw anybody. Sort of typical, go a small distance off the path and it is empty. Beautiful day hikes to these smaller lakes and waterfalls, highly recommended. The fishing on Levitt did not look like fun. It was windy and some of the fisherman were having a hard time. Casting from the bank was iffy at best, those in kayaks were being blown around. The only ones who could control the wind were those in inner tubes and hip waders. We were bummed, but not surprised at the amount of trash around our site. We ended picking up all sorts of cartridges, clay pigeon bits, clay pot bits, and other junk, probably about 30 pounds of crap. I wish people would pick up after themselves, a topic that will go on forever.
Would I return? Yes. Although I would backpack into the smaller lakes, no fishing as they are too small, and spend a few days there, that area is awesome.
