Lake Elsinore

Lake Elsinore is the largest natural freshwater lake in Southern California and with a beautiful weather forecast scheduled for the weekend, we decided to check it out. We arrived late Saturday evening to an almost packed La Laguna Resort and took a convenient site near the restrooms.

This lakeside campground features fairly well maintained facilities with showers as well as electrical hook-up for $30 per night. After a quick dinner it was off to bed in anticipation of exploring our new surroundings. We were initially worried about the amount of surrounding campers and ensuing noise but everyone seemed to respect the quiet time hours and all was good once 10pm came. Cool overnight temperatures left us with a quality sleep on the top bunk and after the sun was shining, the existing weekend campers departed in droves leaving the campsite relatively empty. This allowed us to choose a perfect site right by the lakefront as well as having some additional shade from a few palm trees.

 

VW of America had a weekend challenge on their Instagram site asking people to submit photos of what they were doing on the weekend with their VW so I asked my talented wife to "Instagram" one of my photos. We were happy to find out on Monday that the picture we submitted won the challenge, here's the winning shot: 

As this campsite had electrical hook-up, I was unable to really test out our new solar panel but I can report that the auxiliary battery was maintained at 100% charge. The only other upgrade I performed was a new coat of semi-gloss black spray paint for the front grill. What a rewarding update some fresh paint makes when compared to the old faded grill.

Temperatures peaked in the 90's so we decided to take advantage of what the lake had to offer. Although swimming was not allowed, there was a wading area that had depths of approx 5 feet. I must admit that the lake wasn't the cleanest by far and the algae was quite thick to the point where you couldn't see beyond 6" of water. We also wanted to shower after swimming but it was a refreshing break from the heat of the day. Here is a morning shot of the lake which was teaming with life of all sorts.

I don't know if it's me but I feel food always tastes better when eaten outside. Steak, onions, pasta, and a delicious beverage did the trick to finish off another great camping day.

The camper ran as flawless as a 32 year old vehicle can and we thanked her with a new oil change. After our last somewhat disappointing camping experience, Lake Elsinore reminded us why we have enjoyed our journeys so much and we're looking forward to our next trip