Lake Morena & Dam
0 Reviews
Hello everyone! This is a friendly reminder that any of these fun places we may visit, we are a guest at. Please treat both businesses and trails with the utmost respect. We here at Hidden San Diego follow the 'Leave no Trace' mantra, meaning whatever you bring with you comes back with you. If you see trash on a trail, please do your part to help remove it. Remember, we are not picking up trash from another person but instead cleaning up for Mother Nature. Happy adventures!
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2550 Lake Morena Drive
Campo, CA 91906
32.686006, -116.532059
(619) 579-4101
Dog-Friendly: Yes   Kid-Friendly: Yes
Parking: $3 or park on road for free
About Lake Morena & Dam
Lake Morena is a beautiful reservoir in Campo that can be used for all sorts of recreational activities, including camping, fishing, boating and hiking!
Sitting at an elevation of 3,000 feet, this is considered the most remote reservoir in San Diego County. This reservoir has ties to the infamous rainmaker, Charles Hatfield, who is responsible to the greatest flood our city has ever seen!
Personal Experience
Right upon arrival my friend and I were shocked that we had never visited here before. It is gorgeous! The lake is an aqua hue, which may or may not be a good thing.
The reason I wonder if that beautiful color may be of concern is because we came across dozens of dead fish along the shore during our hike. I am wondering if there is an algae abundance and the algae bloom is cutting off the oxygen source in the water.
We did not take the easy route to the dam and I do not recommend doing what we did. We started on a trail which abruptly stopped, but decided to keep going anyway. Not only did this take much longer, but it also required scrambling across rocks at some points which was not easy with my dog!
We had some curious, adorable ducks follow us for quite awhile though which made up for it. 😛 The dam is mighty with a vastness of trees on the other side. I wonder what types of adventures it holds over there?
There were a ton of dead fish that had washed up on shore. I wonder why? Could it be from too much algae blooms choking the oxygen levels?
We definitely took the more difficult way to the dam by walking along the shore. Not recommended. By the time we realized we were not on an actual trail anymore we were pretty far out there so just continued hoofing towards the dam:
Adventures for days on the other side:
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