Getting There

Kinney Reservoir in Alpine County can be reached via Highway 4 at Ebbett's Pass. Ebbett's Pass is a 30 minute drive from Markleeville or a 30 minute drive from Lake Alpine. There is parking at Kinney Reservoir right off of the highway. Kinney Reservoir is a roadside water and is visible from the highway. I usually park on the west side of Highway 4, near the gate at Kinney Reservoir to hike into Lower Kinney Lake.

The Hike

There is no hike to Kinney Reservoir as it is a roadside lake. There is a hike around Kinney Reservoir for the dedicated.

The Fishing

REPORT - May 24th, 2018

The fishing at Kinney Reservoir was red hot this spring during ice out. Upon approach from the road we observed the large ice sheet was covering most of the lake except for a 10-15 foot ring around the edges as most lakes do. We walked across the dam and set up our spot next to the outlet creek where a large section of open water had opened and gave us a place to throw out our casts.

After setting up chairs for my 93 year old grandpa, wife and aunt, I began tossing out crawlers hoping for a nice holdover Rainbow. It didn't take more than a few minutes for our first bite and it didn't slow down after that. I could hardly get two poles out in the water at the same time as we were constantly catching fish. It was one of those amazing trips. DFW hasn't even planted this lake this year yet so all we were catching were colorful holdovers. We only saw 2 other anglers at the lake while we were there for a couple hours on a Thursday but many people stop at the dam to take photos of this high alpine lake. I expect the fishing to be even better in a month when there are more fish and the west side becomes more accessible.


REPORT - July, 2013

The Rainbows were biting at Kinney Reservoir! While fishing this roadside lake I found action casting from the west shore - starting from the dam to around the peninsula. I had luck using powerbait and inflated crawlers around the peninsula. I watched two gentlemen work the western shore with spinners and land no fish. Kinney Reservoir is a great place to take the kids. This picturesque lake gets planted with Rainbows twice a year by DFW and is a great roadside fishery! You can't miss this lake as you come up over Ebbetts Pass in Alpine County.