Outdoors with Don Q: Virginia Lakes is a fun-filled destination high in the mountains

Elaine and I recently returned from a fun-filled, three-day, fishing and hiking destination in the mountains; and if you like hiking, trout fishing, together with good food and comfortable accommodations, you might be interested in knowing about the Virginia Lakes area in California.

How to get there:
It's easy, just take U.S. 395 south from Carson City, through Minden, Gardnerville, Topaz, Coleville, Walker and Bridgeport to the very top of Conway Summit. At the summit, take the paved road on the right for six miles to the end of the pavement at Little Virginia Lake.

Virginia Lakes Area:
It contains a cluster of small, trout-filled, high-altitude lakes. They include Little Virginia, Big Virginia, Blue, Cooney, Moat, Red and Trumbull Lake, plus the tiny Frog Lakes. Those lakes offer fishing for brook, brown and rainbow trout.
Three of the lakes (both Virginias and Trumbull) can be reached by vehicles on roads, and those waters are stocked during the fishing season by the Calif. Department of Fish and Wildlife and a private hatchery out of Oregon.

Virginia Lakes Resort:
The resort, which is owned and operated by John and Carolyn Webb, includes a small general store (they do not sell fishing licenses), restaurant, cabins and it has rowboat rentals.
The resort is located at Little Virginia Lake (elevation 9,770 feet).
It opens each year on Memorial Weekend (weather permitting) and closes the Tuesday after Columbus Day in October.

Cabins:
There are 20 cabins that can accommodate anywhere from 2 persons all the way up to a maximum of 9 people.
Smoking is not allowed in any cabin, nor is rearranging the furniture.
All cabins are housekeeping and are equipped with linens and bedding; they have showers and hot water, and their kitchens are stocked with cooking and eating utensils, stoves, refrigerators, and heaters.
All of the cabins have fireplaces, except Cabin Nos. 4, 7 and 8.
Cabins 1-9 have scenic views of the lake. We were in No. 7.

Restaurant:
Breakfasts are served 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., and include just about anything that you would want to eat in the mornings. Lunches/dinner are served 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and include hamburgers, hot dogs, chili, garden burgers, desserts, drinks and a whole bunch more.

High Altitude:
If you go to this area and you like to hike, be advised that you’ll be at high altitude (9,000' to 11,000'), so be sure to take it slow and easy when hiking. The air is thin up there.
Taking photos of the mountain scenery and the lakes is a great excuse for stopping to catch your breath. Heck, I do it and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

Our stay at Virginia Lakes was memorable because:
01. The comfort of Cabin No. 7, with an awesome view from the kitchen and bedroom windows of Little Virginia Lake and its many fishermen.
On Thursday (the day it was planted), the lake was crowded with lots of shore fishermen and all kinds of fishermen in float tubes (the majority of them were fly fishermen in pontoon float tubes).
02. No telephone - no internet - no television service, which added up to a very peaceful and quiet enjoyment of where we were in the Great Outdoors.
03. The buck and doe mule deer and then later another doe who were waiting for us to come out of our cabin's front door.
04. Visiting with Carolyn Webb, a friend of many years.
05. All of the hikers (28) and horseback riders (5) traveling on the Summit Pass Trail, the day we fished at Blue Lake (elevation 9,886').
06. Our hike to and from Blue Lake and its outstanding scenery and fishing.
07. Catching and releasing many small Brook Trout (5-7 inches) on small red/white striped lures at Blue Lake, which we had all to ourselves.
08. Meeting all kinds of nice people at both the resort and on the trail.
09. Seeing a Bald Eagle, Chipmunks, Hawks, Hummingbirds, Mule Deer, Pelicans and Squirrels.
10. The Ultimate Game Hog: A person who was standing next to the planter truck at Little Virginia Lake and casting their lure into the column of fish being planted from a tube on the truck.
The person did not catch any and was soundly criticized by others. Dumb is dumb!

Finally:
If you're interested in spending some quality time in the high country, the Virginia Lakes area and the Virginia Lakes Resort are where to go.
But, you better hurry, they close for the season about the middle of October.
For information or reservations, call the Webbs at the Virginia Lakes Resort at (760-647-6484) or go to www.virginialakesresort.com.

Bet Your Favorite Pigeon
Bet your favorite pigeon that he can't tell you who caught the most fish when Elaine and I fished at Blue Lake.
If he grins and says, "Geez, that's a no-brainer, Elaine always outfishes Don," he could have been watching us from up on the trail.

— Don Quilici is the Outdoor editor for Carson Now. Don's wife, Elaine, is the Outdoor photographer. They live in Carson City and can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com.