Upper Lake Clementine Beach

🏊Swimming at Upper Lake Clementine Beach

Water near the parking area is described as shallow and warm, suitable for young children, with deeper areas farther out suited to swimming and kayaking; the water is notably clear ('clear to the bottom') and the current is calm in summer. State park messaging cautions that in spring, runoff can make the river running through/into the lake fast and cold, and swimming is discouraged at that time.

📍How to get to this swimming hole

From the Auburn area, take Foresthill Road toward Foresthill, then follow a roughly 1.5-mile unpaved access road with steep switchbacks down to the Upper Lake Clementine parking area and beach.

Parking: On-site lot holds about 150 vehicles and regularly fills before 11am (sources vary between 8am and 11am) on summer weekends; $10 vehicle day-use fee; weekend and holiday parking reservations are required in peak season (Memorial Day through September 30, expanded to 7 days/week reservations as of July 2026) via the LAZ Parking system, weekdays are first-come, first-served.

🥾The walk in

No real hike here. The water is a short walk from where you park. This is a drive-up beach: park in the on-site lot and walk a short distance to the rocky shoreline. No formal hike is needed to reach this specific swim spot (a separate Lake Clementine Trail exists elsewhere in the park as a hiking approach from the Confluence area, but it is not required to reach Upper Lake Clementine Beach).

💬What regulars say

No dedicated kayak/paddleboard/canoe rental business was found serving Lake Clementine itself. Two independent first-hand visitor accounts both explicitly state there are no on-site water-sports rentals and that visitors must bring their own watercraft. A regional outfitter, Current Adventures Kayak School (Lotus, CA), offers kayak sales/rentals and guided trips, but on the South Fork American River and other reservoirs (e.g., Lake Natoma, Jenkinson Lake) well away from Lake Clementine. It does not serve this specific reservoir, so it is not listed as a rental option here. Candid tips from those first-hand visitor accounts: expect the lot to fill very early on summer weekends, bring your own shade/water/food since none is sold nearby, wear water shoes for the rocky/pebbly bottom, and expect a slow, rough high-clearance access road down to the beach.