"Bass Lake & The Sierra National Forest" Bass Lake by sunshinejo

I visited the Bass Lake area of the Sierra National Forest with my parents on the last day of our stay in the Yosemite area. We'd decided that we'd had enough of the crowds of tourists in Yosemite, and were ready for a change of scenery and some peace and quiet. and the Sierra National Forest turned out to be just what we were after.

Although it shares the same stunning scenery as Yosemite (although slightly less dramatic than that around the Yosemite Valley) and has plenty of hikes available for those wishing to explore it's less well known and therefore less visited than Yosemite.

Bass Lake from the Boat

We drove to Bass Lake and followed Highway 222 which takes you right around the lake, although it doesn't always follow the shoreline exactly. The lake itself is really beautiful, on the day we went it was really warm and sunny and the lake shown bright blue, matching the clear blue sky and contrasting with the deep green of the pine trees that line the shore - perfect! There were a few small fishing boats out on the lake, and you'd occasionally see children playing on one of the small, sandy beaches along the shore. However, you got the feeling that most of these people spent a lot of time at the lake - perhaps Americans living within a few hours of here who have holiday homes in the area. There certainly weren't the crowds of international tourists we'd gotten used to in Yosemite.

• Pros:Very peaceful, relaxing and beautiful to boot!