Few people will doubt that Lake County is one of the more beautiful spots in California. Clear Lake is the center piece of the county and at 2 million years old, it is one of the oldest lakes in the world. Few other counties have a mountain such as Mount Konocti and the nearby Mendocino National Forest is a perfect place for camping, hiking and hunting. Despite all these treasures, the county is ranked as the poorest county in the state and is ranked second from the bottom in the health of its residents.
Tourism is a major industry in the county, yet little is done to attract a tourist to come here. In fact, many people outside of the county have never heard of Lake County or Clear Lake. A good example is that earlier this week I met a couple from Michigan who had never been to Lake County and said it was one of the most beautiful places they had ever visited. A few weeks ago, while in the Clear Lake State Park, I met a party from Denmark. They too thought that the lake and mountain were beautiful and they said they only learned about Lake County by accident.
The answer to bring more tourists to the county is to list all the assets of the county. Starting off with Clear Lake. The lake is ranked nationwide as the third best bass fishing. In fact, no other lake in the country has bass as large as Clear Lake. The other gamefish in the lake such as crappie, catfish and bluegill will equal any other lake. For example, the local fishing guides report that a day on the lake will produce anywhere from 30 to 60 bass for their clients. Few other lakes can match that. A lot of local residents aren’t aware that the lake has a wealth of bird life. In fact, bird watchers from around the world come to the lake just to view the many different species of birds that live here.
Clear Lake is one of few major lakes in the country where you don’t pay a launching fee for boats. There are 11 public ramps located around the lake. The Clear Lake State Park was recently voted as the number five best state park in the nation and number one west of the Mississippi.
Mount Konocti overlooks Clear Lake and is a treasure. The mountain is still an active volcano and five years ago the county purchased the summit of the mountain and turned it into a county park. The view from the summit is nothing short of breathtaking.
The nearby Mendocino National Forest is not only beautiful it also offers excellent hiking trails, but off-road motorcycle use and fantastic hunting for deer, wild turkeys, quail and other wildlife. The best part is that it’s all free.
There are also other lakes in the county in addition to Clear Lake. Upper Blue Lake has excellent bass and trout fishing. The same applies to Lake Pillsbury and Indian Valley Reservoir.
The main thing lacking is promotion of the county’s assets. I travel out of the county quite often and when I am out of California and mention that I am from Lake County and Clear Lake, the response I normally get is “where is that.”
The county needs an aggressive marketing program. Years ago I helped the county host an outdoor writer’s day weekend. We had some of the top recreational writers in the West attend. Writers such as Tom Stienstra of the San Francisco Chronicle and Bob Simms of KFBK Radio in Sacramento attended. There were at least 20 other outdoor, wine and travel writers in attendance. The media coverage of the lake and county was unbelievable. The problem is that it hasn’t been repeated.
There are also things that could be done locally to improve the image of the county. For example, recently I have been seeing more vagrants in Library park in Lakeport. This a beautiful park and well maintained but when a tourist visits the park and is asked for money from a vagrant they won’t be back. Another nice park is the Lakeside County Park. The park employees do an excellent job keeping the park clean but there have been instances of vandalism of the vehicles of fishermen. Surveillance cameras could be installed to monitor the parks. Years ago there were buses that would transport visitors to the summit of Mount Konocti. The bus trips were so popular that there was a waiting list to book on them. The buses no longer run. Many of the tourists are either too old or are not physically capable to hike to the summit. The bus trips should be started up again to accommodate the tourists.
Lake County has something for everyone, we just need to let the public know what a treasure we have.
