McAlpine Lake & Park

Really can’t add the actual stars, but thought I would pass on that this is a month to month park. Stopped by to inquire about reservations and we were told that they quit doing the night to night business and would only have a spot once in a while for fully self contained unit, no hook ups. Very friendly fellow, but didn’t really seem interested in campers. We did not have our RV with us, just passing by. I think the website is misleading.

I brought my girlfriend here for camping/​fishing for her birthday, the park was quiet at night and the other campers in the area were friendly. However, the people who live on this site are not so friendly and tell on you for everything. The park doesn’t allow you to collect firewood of any sort without charging. This is an RV park more of a residential park not a camping site. On top of paying entrance fee. we paid more than the entrance fee to get fishing passes (for the day). I will not be coming back.

Went there last weekend and it was almost full, BUT everyone was quiet and friendly. I didn’t catch anything, but it was nice to be there regardless. Chase was awesome as well! Very friendly and knowledgeable. I was surprised how nice it was even though it was right off the 101, Thank you!

Last couple years fishing here has been rough but I gave them a chance back in july and have been hitting every time since. My son who is 4 caught his first trout here a nice 2 pounder back in dec. Things are back to where they should be and I couldn’t be happier to be able to take my son out here.

Beautiful lake, and one of the only remaining places you can still fish in the area (because of the drought many lakes do not allow fishing anymore). Property is kept clean and the lake is always fully stocked year round with trout, catfish, bluegill, and sturgeon. Staff is friendly and attentive. We had a BBQ here Memorial Day weekend with a large group and the bait shop onsite had plenty of beer and snacks for us, along with all the essentials for camping and fishing. Great place to take your kids!

First, let me say I like this place. The staff is very friendly and helpful. It’s just a beautiful and relaxing place in general, a great place to spend time with friends and family or just get away by yourself for a few hours. The fishing? Not so great. My Daughter and I have been here 3 times, twice in the morning and once in late afternoon and have caught only 2 small Bluegill. While we were there, we didn’t see anyone else having much luck either. I do not believe they stock the lake as much as they say. We haven’t seen any trout caught by us or anyone else so far. BTW, we tried night crawlers, Velveeta cheese, Power Bait, and various lures. In spite of this, we will most likely return because it’s a great place to spend quality time with the kids. If the fishing were better I would give it 5 stars!

Well to begin with, the web site says $ 10 pp per night for group camping (we had more than 10 people, then they charged us $ 32 per couple saying they put us in «a nicer area» though it doesn’t look like there is a spot for «group camping» as we were next to a very large group. The $ 32 rate on their site says 2 adults, 2 kids, we had no kids in our group. The two bathrooms you see around the campground on the map are port-​a-​potties. They had two — and over 100 people camping for the weekend. We had to ask them to have them cleaned. The one «real bathroom» is up a very steep hill. And don’t use the handrail on the trail going up the hill, or you may go tumbling back down since it is not secure. The port-​a-​potties had hand sanitizer, but the regular bathrooms had nothing. No soap, no paper towels. The showers were very hot (best thing about the place) BUT they were gross, I don’t think they were cleaned the whole time we were there (3 days). The staff was nice (aside from one hand not telling the other what it was doing). Also VERY NOISY, your tent/​RV sits right on the edge of hwy 101.

Today was my families second visit. First time only caught blue gill. Today my kids caught 5 good size trout. It was a great time and the folks living there gave us great tips on how/​where to fish the lake. I recommend this to anyone wanting to hang out with kids for a day of fishing. Recommend calling to see about latest stock day, as that affects chances. Either way, it was a good place to hang with the family. Only four stars as your catching probability depends on stock day.
About to fire up grill now!

FIRST THINGS FIRST… YOU WILL CATCH FISH HERE!!!
My girlfriend and I had been on a fishing drought for the past few weeks. While driving up to the south bay from southern california i saw the sign for this place along the 101 and I was curious to check it out. One of the best decisions ever! Let me explain,
This place is a hidden gem. I checked this places Unilocal reviews and they weren’t too good. I was very hesitant to come check this place out yet I made the decision to do it out of curiosity. Do not let these old reviews fool you people. This place has given me the best fishing experience for a few different reasons.
When I arrived to McAlpine Lake, I went into the small store they have to buy some coffee and bait. I didn’t know how to trout fish either so I asked the gentlemen working for a few tips. These guys basically explained the everything and told me what exactly to do to catch fish. They taught me how to set up my rod, how much bait to use and how to apply it, some great fishing tips, and where some of the best spots on the lake were. These people did not want me to leave their lake without catching fish. When I got down onto the bank of the lake good ol’ John (older gentlmen) taught me to catch fish as his grandfather taught him. I really got the impression that they wanted both me and my girl to have a great time.
This is an incredibly welcoming family and this is a place that you can come to relax, buy a beer, and fish with not a worry. These people even remembered our names the next time that we came out which was really cool. We’ve gone twice now and caught a total of 8 fish between the two of us. There were other people catching even more fish! This is one the most relaxing places I’ve been to and I also think it’s pretty cool that the McAlpine family run this place (they are all extremely helpful and nice).
I definitely recommend anyone who is trying to do something different with their mate or simply wants to find a good place to fish to come check this place out. Me and my girl had a great time and can’t wait to come back. The people here are kind, welcoming, helpful, and will do what they can to ensure you have a great time. They stock this lake often and as long as you fish with the proper techniques you will catch fish. If you do not know the proper techniques (I did not) then ask one of the workers and they’ll help you out. These are really good hard working people that run this place and I am very grateful for finding this place. McAlpine Lake gave us the best fishing experiences ever!

This was a great camping experience for my daughter. All of the staff were very friendly and offered to let her experminent with fishing.
She got to touch a fish and collect rocks. She had so much fun she was upset when it was time to go home. Definitely a good place to have a local simple camping trip with a 2-​year old.

Went there about 2 years ago. My pops in law caught 2 healthy trout in the 2 pound range. My buddy had a massive pull on his line but he lost it. And i did’nt get any action. We spent 8 hours there and luckily we were’nt charged per pound on the trout. The store there is hella expensive too! I think $ 5 – 6 for some powerbait. But it’s a cool lil joint with some fish.

This is one of the best parks I’ve been to. I spent the entire day fishing for cats and fly fishing. There was a huge selection of bait too. I highly recommend coming here

While camping in Santa Cruz, we found it was too foggy and cold to do much with young toddlers. I did a quick search and found this place.
Maybe it was my bad but since it you pay an entrance fee and also per pound for fish caught, I thought it was a place where you could be relatively successful. I’ve been to places like that before.
They charged everyone in our group including 3 toddlers that were only 1 year old. Only 3 of us fished. We caught 2 tiny bluegills. The wives were getting bored since there’s nothing to do there and we weren’t catching anything so I asked them if we could use a better bait. I paid 8 dollars more for some trout bait. Still nothing.
We finally left after 3 hours there with no fish and dropping $ 210 between our 3 families. I mean, we could have spent the whole day at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk for that money and come back with some memories. Instead we left frustrated and feeling ripped off.
I emailed the business to tell them of our experience and got no response back. I imagine this is a regular occurence and they are perfectly happy to walk away with your money and a poor experience.