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KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – On a bright and breezy March day, members of the California State Park and Recreation Commission, joined by community members, took a tour of Clear Lake State Park as part of the effort to create the park’s new general plan.
Commissioners were joined by State Parks staff from the park and district office, including District Chief Greg Martin; Ruth Coleman, a former State Parks director with the longest tenure in the position; Brad Rasmussen, chair of the Lake County Board of Supervisors; and community members for the tour on Wednesday, March 4.
The group made their way around the park in a line of vehicles. They started at the visitor center that morning before they looped through the park’s campgrounds, making stops to look at the amenities. At the Bayview campgrounds, they checked out the access. Eventually, they ended the day at the Cole Creek campground.
Their lunch stop was at the swim beach, with its imposing view of Mount Konocti and Soda Bay.
“This is just an amazing spot,” said Jared Zucker, district services manager for the Northern Butte's District of California State Parks, turning toward Clear Lake, which lapped at the beach a stone’s throw away.
Zucker told the group that they were on the shore of a 2.5 million year old lake, the oldest freshwater lake in North America and the largest freshwater lake entirely in the state of California.
A North Coast native who grew up in Cloverdale and started fishing at the park with his grandfather, Zucker acknowledged that he didn’t know those facts about Clear Lake until State Parks started working on the new general plan.
During the shoreline stop, Zucker told the group that Clear Lake got its name because of the county’s clean air.
He spoke about the sacred significance of Mount Konocti, part of which is within the park’s footprint, and which makes for a picturesque backdrop for the park’s popular beach. One park staffer said that on a clear day San Francisco can be seen from the top of the mountain.
Zucker explained that 10,000 years ago, Clear Lake’s outflow went into the Russian River. However, a landslide shifted the outflow into Cache Creek.
He also noted some of the lake’s challenges, mentioning the Sulphur Bank mercury mine across the lake in Clearlake Oaks.
Clear Lake, he noted, is mentioned in Rachel Carson’s 1962 book, “Silent Spring,” because of the use in the 1950s of DDD to control gnats. Zucker said DDD impacted grebes and other wildlife due to bioaccumulation.
Topics on the tour then turned to recreational activities such as stargazing, an activity that is popular at the park.
Park Interpretive Specialist Tyler Lindberg, who leads the stargazing program, explained the Bortle Scale, the nine-level ranking system for sky darkness.
It begins with class one level, for when it’s completely dark and the Milky Way is visible, to class nine, which is extremely limited due to lighting from cities.
Lindberg said Clear Lake State Park comes in at a two or three on the scale for darkness. Class two is described as a truly dark site with low amounts of light pollution, to class three, for rural skies also with low amounts of light pollution and where the Milky Way can be seen.
He said the park has partnered with the Lake County Library to bring out telescopes for the stargazing program, and the Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association purchased a telescope.
“It’s just a really popular, successful event,” Lindberg said.
Preparing a new park plan
Zucker told Lake County News that staff wanted the commission to have a good idea of the park and its issues. Thus the tour: The goal was to “front load” the process and make sure commissioners visited the park. It’s expected that they will visit again as the planning process continues.
The process for updating the park general plan began with stakeholder and community outreach meetings in June 2024.
State Parks anticipates having the plan in a draft form by later this year. An environmental impact report is to be prepared by the spring of 2027, with the final general plan to be completed as early as the summer of next year.
The 590-acre park was established in 1949 following land donations the previous year from Fred and Nellie Dorn.
It’s a favorite spot for county residents and visitors alike, with multiple programs, hikes and other events. State Parks said the park draws an estimated 120,000 visitors each year.
Keeping in mind its history and importance to the community, Zucker said the new general plan is important to help understand future potential, with a focus on the next 20 years.
He said they want to realize the park’s full potential and that includes considering opportunities.
One future opportunity is what Zucker called the “Shoreline to Summit Trail,” which would extend from the swim beach – which would be its base camp – to the summit of Mount Konocti.
There are 260 acres of the park property on Mount Konocti, including two peaks – one unnamed and one called Dali-Dona where that trail could be located, he said.
It would give visitors a reason to stay longer, he said, and would be a world class trail opportunity.
Zucker said he attended a recent meeting with county officials about trails and raised the new trail opportunity. Early talks are taking place about that partnership opportunity between the state and the county.
He noted that there were old plans for a proposal to put a gondola on the mountain at one time.
On Thursday, March 5, the day following the Clear Lake State Park tour, the commission gathered at the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building for its first meeting of the year.
During that meeting, State Parks staff touched briefly on the new general plan process for Clear Lake State Park, along with several other parks that also are having their plans updated.
Email Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.com. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.
