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RECREATION & RESTORATION

Member Area

The campground / campsites are equipped with restroom facilities, running water, BBQ's and fire pits. Whether you sleep in the open with just a sleeping bag, in a tent, or the luxury of an RV, you'll enjoy the quiet at night, the beauty of the daylight, and the location. Half the adventure is getting here. For directions please see the "Map and Links" page.

Pitch your tent for a day, week or longer and enjoy rowing the boat, a round of disc golf, and going after that large mouth bass.

A Visitor to the lake           Wintertime at the old lake     Campground clean-up     Fishing anyone?               How about disc golf?       Lunch at Rock Creek Cafe

Dam reconstruction / replacement began in June 2011 and was officially final January 4, 2012. Although the dam is complete there is still plenty that has to be done. The lake needs to be refilled, fish restocked, brush cleared, a possible boat ramp, the list goes on. For additional information on the reconstruction project please view the Finnon Restoration page and its sub pages.

This website hosts photos and videos of the reconstruction process, and as information is provided, we shall inform our readers of the tasks to be addressed. There’s still much work to be done, so keep coming back to check for updates on the next phases of the projects at hand. (Click a photo to enlarge)

 ДОБРО ПОЖАЛОВАТЬ   WILLKOMEN  歡迎   BENVENUTI  BIENVENUE  Välkommen  BIENVENIDO  ようこそ  WELKOM

PLEASE ENJOY ALL THE PAGES AND INFORMATION PROVIDED.  A BIT OF HISTORY FOR THE LAKE AND DAM, RESTORATION INFORMATION, LINKS TO WEBSITES FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON ACTIVITIES IN THE AREA, SOME LOCAL HISTORY , AND PLENTY OF PHOTOS AND VIDEOS REGARDING THE RESTORATION AND CAMPGROUNDS.  

PLEASE CHECK BACK FREQUENTLY FOR INFORMATIONAL UPDATES AS THE PROJECT CONTINUES WITH WORK TO BE DONE TO THE CAMPGROUNDS, CAMPSITES, DAY USE AREAS, AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE GROUNDS.  IF YOU’RE ONLY LOOKING FOR CAMPING INFORMATION THEN CLICK HERE.

This website is hosted to bring you information for the Finnon Lake and Finnon Dam restoration projects.

WHILE WAITING FOR THE LAKE TO REFILL -

There are an additional array of activities which are nearby as well. The Eldorado National Forest; the Marshall gold discovery site / Sutter's Mill in Coloma; ATV trails in Georgetown; White water rafting on the South Fork of the American River; the Rubicon Trail for you Jeep fans; and the town of Placerville also known as "Old Hangtown." The oldest suspension bridge in California is nearby. The oldest, still operating, hardware store west of the Mississippi and oldest, still operating, newspaper west of the Mississippi are in Placerville as well. Come visit us and our neighbors, you'll enjoy the peace and quiet, as well as the activities. Click on the Maps and Links page to see some additional things you may do while visiting the area.

Once here stop by the Rock Creek Cafe' and enjoy the views, see the new dam, and have a great meal.

A Brief History of Finnon-

The land upon which Finnon Lake now lies was at one time a meadow area. Depending on what research resource is used the land was either owned by brothers, last name of Finnon who were Scottish immigrants, or one Christopher Finnan, an Irishman. The original property was used for farming/ranching and a saw mill was located there as well. Whether Finnon or Finnan the land was eventually sold to a famous pair of California brothers, and their company.

THE TOPO MAP COMES FROM THE HISTORICAL  ARCHIVES OF THE US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, DATED 1893. THE AREA WITH THE RED X IS THE FUTURE LOCATION OF FINNON LAKE. CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE.

Those brothers were Mortimer and Herbert Fleishhacker. Born to a paper box manufacturer in San Francisco in the latter half of the 19th century these two brothers would become financially and politically important. If you’re old enough you may recall, or may have visited, the world famous Fleishhacker pool in San Francisco. It was 1000 feet long, 150 feet wide and held 6 million gallons of sea water which was heated. Supposedly the largest pool ever built and visible from space. Life guards used row boats in their patrols.

In 1903 the Fleishhackers formed the American River Electric Company. As their company grew and additional sources of hydroelectric power were needed the two brothers' company purchased, in 1905, the property the Finnon/Finnan clan owned. Soon thereafter the construction of the earthen dam began.

The water the dam held back was used to “power start” the powerhouse generator which was located at the confluence of Rock Creek and the South Fork of the American River. Rock Creek was so named by Kit Carson as he explored the area in 1845. An earlier powerhouse was located at the same site in 1893, the Fleishhacker’s newer powerhouse went into operation in 1907 after completion of the dam and lake.

Water from the lake would flow into Jaybird Creek and into a penstock that would carry the water the nearly 1.75 miles to the powerhouse.

Shortly after this the American River Electric Company was bought by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E). PG&E owned the Finnon Dam and Reservoir until 1956 at which time they sold it to the State of California. California’s Wildlife Conservation Board had the Finnon Lake area rejuvenated and in cooperation with El Dorado County a concession business began. Fishing, boating and camping came into being.

Prior to 1997 the dam was considered, by the State, to be unsafe in the event of a substantial earthquake. As the State did not wish to expend the necessary funds to replace the dam they sold the property to the Mosquito Volunteer Fire Association (MVFA) for $1.00.

For several years the MVFA attempted to secure funding to have the dam replaced. Fortunately for the MVFA they met one Mark Egbert. Mr. Egbert is the District Manager for the El Dorado County and Georgetown Divide Resource Conservation Districts. His perseverance, commitment , and knowledge, helped the MVFA obtain a grant from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy to replace the dam. More detailed information can be found on the page RCD PROJECT INFO.

Early 2011 photos of the drained lake and

lake bottom discoveries.  

The website also hosts pages for additional area history, activities, and information. Once the campgrounds are reopened (tentatively late May, 2012) why not plan your next camping adventure at Finnon Lake. For additional area history please click here.  

FOR A SLIDE SHOW OF PHOTOS PRIOR TO THE RECONSTRUCTION PLEASE CLICK HERE.  

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FINNONLAKE.COM

REMEMBER —

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Left - August 2011 satellite (©BING) view. Blue outline shows future size of lake.  Center - (Photo © RockCreek Cafe.com) Aerial view April 2012 with runoff water refilling the lake. Right - what the lake will be as soon as it is near capacity. Click any photo to enlarge.

FinnonLake.com would like to say thank you to all the visitors to this website.  To date we have had folks from 78 different countries view our information, photos and videos.  Click HERE to view a list of the countries our visitors come from.  Again, thanks to all for your visit.  Please note that right clicking on an object to copy it has been disabled.  If you want a copy of a photo, or information please contact the webmaster of this site.