Bass Lake ready for summer visitors
Donald A. Promnitz/The Madera Tribune A woman and man ride on a watercraft across Bass Lake. The lake, which has seen its water levels replenished with heavy rains, will be kicking off its summer on Memorial Day Weekend.
With summer approaching, the businesses, restaurants, resorts and people of Bass Lake are now ready to greet people for summer activities.
According to Pines Resort owner and operator Mark Choe, activities will occurr all year, but the summer festivities will officially begin May 26, with the revival of a popular event.
“Officially, Memorial Day Weekend kicks off our summer and with that, we have Jazz on the Lake,” Choe said. “We got a lot of wicked bands coming up and it’s a very unique, live music experience on the lake.”
Jazz on the Lake, an event brought back in by the Pines, will be an opportunity for visitors to enjoy live jazz at the resort. The concert, Choe stated, will be a paid event, but is free for those who come to listen on their boats nearby. This event, however, is just one of dozens throughout the summer, along with such activities as camping, hiking, fishing, boating and biking available to those at Bass Lake.
“We’ve been working for a year on what we call ‘Play Like a Local,’” said Visit Yosemite Madera County CEO Rhonda Salisbury, “and it’s at each season, so we’re rolling that out kind of with the opening of Bass Lake.”
According to Visit Yosemite Madera County director of public relations and sales Therese Williams, promotion for Bass Lake has been fervent and thanks to this, business and revenue have increased. The end of the drought has also meant a rise in water levels, bringing with it more people and more boats.
“We were still making incremental gains in business,” Choe said, “but then as soon as the lake got full, a couple years ago, then it is a whole different ballgame.”
The next major event will be the Bass Lake Block Party, which will take place throughout the Bass Lake area this Saturday.
