If you enjoy hanging onto a sled being pulled by a team of enthusiastic dogs, then take a trip to one of three special Sno Parks in Eastern Fresno County.
They are ideal for self-guided adventures like throwing snowballs, building snowmen, cross-county skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, playing with your pets or racing with your dogs.
Be sure to bring a plastic bag for something fido might leave in the forest. Naturally, snow conditions determine accessibility and opportunities available at each location and will vary during the winter season. It is a good idea to go early because parking is on a first-come, first-served basis and the lots can fill up fast, particularly on weekends and holidays. Be very aware of children playing as you enter and exit a Sno-Park. Be sure to be a good neighbor by packing out whatever you packed in. No one likes to play around an area littered by someone else’s trash.
Sno-Park use requires a permit from November 1 to May 30. The fee is $15 per car, per day or you can buy an annual $40 pass. All passes can be purchased online or at several stores including China Peak Landing at Huntington Lake and several stores in Shaver Lake.
The Tamarack Sno-Park is the next one along Highway 168. It is on the east side of the road. All winter activities are allowed here including: cross-country skiing, dog sledding, and snowmobiling, There are lots of trails to follow. Take a map with you so you find your way to interesting destinations. Contact: High Sierra Ranger District at (559) 855-5355. GPS: 37º9’45.02”N, 119º12’8.50”W.
Eastwood Sno-Park is off Highway 168 on Kaiser Pass Road. Activities allowed here are cross-county skiing, dog sledding, and snowmobiling. Contact: High Sierra Ranger District at (559) 855-5355. GPS: 37º15’21.04”N, 119º9’39.10”W.
The last Sno-Park is at Huntington Lake on the west side of Huntington Lake Road, three miles from the Eastwood Sno-Park and near Lakeshore Resort. Here you can go cross-country skiing, dog sledding, and snowmobiling. Contact High Sierra Ranger District at (559) 855-5355. GPS: 37º15’5.30”N, 119º10’27.23”W.
Here is a little bit of sledding dog team history regarding Eastern Fresno County. In 1920, Alaskan musher, Jeremiah “Jerry” Dwyer was hired by the folks building the dam system for the Big Creek Hydro project. He packed up everything he owned and set out for Huntington Lake. He was a quiet man who rarely talked about himself, but he always had plenty to say about his beloved dogs.
Babe, the powerful lead dog, his favorite, was three-quarters wolf. Patsy was part Alaskan malamute and Gordon setter; Dooley was a cross between malamute and shepherd; and Riley was half wolf and half St. Bernard. The remaining three - Barney, Whiskey and Trim - were part staghound and Airedale.
The team became the winter lifeline to the workers, making daily trips from the Huntington Lake post office to the marooned workers at the high elevation Edison snow camps.
Dwyer buried Babe on Kaiser Pass and the U.S. Forest Service sign paying tribute to that famous dog and two her teammates, can still be seen today near the summit close to the White Bark turnoff.