White Chief Mountain Lodge

[cak]

We always wondered about this place (and the other place, near the Fish Camp Post Office - Silver Lake something?). Last winter, we drove up the road past there and it seemed that there was some activity in the White Chief. The last few times we've driven down from the Park at night, the White Chief sign has been lit up.

Are they alive? Is the restaurant open? Will they serve me Irish coffee in the winter?

(And why doesn't Fish Camp have a nice place to sit and drink a beer? The General Store is ... well, it's not a place I'd care to go into again.)

[monkey]

White Chief was sold last winter and has been closed since. I don't know what the plans are for it, so I don't know why the sign would be lit. The General Store has been sold to the LA moneygrubbers who will be putting up the new SilverTip Lodge, which was supposed to break ground this year, but is still in litigatiion. Once that is open, you will have a place for your Irish Coffee. Fish Camp doesn't have a nice place to drink beer in the winter because it isn't busy enough to warrant staying open for a small place, and if it was, you never know when you will lose power, get hit by a huge snowstorm, have issues getting employees to make it to work in bad weather, etc. Every winter we lose power for at least a week. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/sad3.gif

[cak]

Litigation? Litigation? Oh, do tell... this is the only place I get any info from north of Oakhurst :-)

If they're just going to be building a place to compete with Tenaya, I'm not sure we'll like it any better. We come here for places like the NGI that honor the area, not Tenaya that just tries to extract money from the tourons.

But maybe that's just the way things are headed. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/sad3.gif

[monkey]

Basically some LA developers want to put in a huge resort with rooms, cabins, stores and restaurants. Most people in Fish Camp were strongly against it, but the Mariposa Supervisors voted it through thinking only of the taxes they will receive. There are many issues that will have to be dealt with such as water and other environmental issues, staffing, etc. You all know how hard a time I had finding employees this year, I can only imagine how bad it's gonna be when/if the SilverTip opens. And we pay well above minimum wage, so it will be interesting.

[cak]

Ah. Yes, I remember hearing some of that go by. Sounds like Fish Camp needs to incorporate, too!

They must be looking at the usurious rates that Tenaya gets and thinking they can get the same. Sigh.

Are they planning to build where the store/gas station are now, or up the hill where the old Silver Tip is, or both?

[monkey]

Along the creek in the beautiful meadow behind the post office. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/disappointed.gif

[dk2463]

Does anyone know the current status on Silvertip development?

dk2463

[monkey]

From what I understand, it is still in litigation and because it has gone on for so long, they may have to do a whole new Environmental Impact Report. I have heard that White Chief has closed it's doors, but don't know if it is a winter thing or not. Hopefully they will reopen for the summer season. It was nice to have a reasonably priced place nearby to refer to.

[champsboss]

It is my understanding that it was the Silvertip Corp. that bought the White Chief. The family that was running it gave it a good shot this summer, but if it truly does belong to the LA folks, it'll probably be used as a place to put up the contactors that'll build the lodge.

It's too bad. While that property always felt like a ghost town, (parking an decrepid backhoe next to the rooms doesn't add the same sort of ambiance as the NGI's firetruck) I always felt that the location and layout of the motel had great potential.

With all the rooms surrounding the parking lot it seemed like a perfect place for car clubs to use as a weekend destination, kind of like the way the Sierra Sky Ranch caters to dual-use motorcycle clubs.

I hope they keep it somewhat original, I used to play arcade games in the old Silvertip Lodge. Even though in my eight year old mind it felt like the hotel in The Shining, what I remember was a classic sierra lodge.

[dk2463]

wow! White Chief closed already? they were really getting it up and running again. It's only about 300 feet from my cabin and was great for overflow. Those folks also were going to reopen the Broken Bit. Wonder how that is going?

dk2463

[cak]

We see s...l...o...w progress at the Broken Bit when we drive by on our back to Silly Valley, but it's hard to know just how they're doing. They have gathered a bunch of the stuff from Gabby's Gold Gulch and put it behind the Broken Bit.

I'm pretty sure that White Chief closed for the winter last year, too. I hope that they can make a go of it ... and I really do wish that Fish Camp could support some sort of "mountain friendly" alternative to Tenaya on a year-round basis.

Those real estate transfer records must be online somewhere, no? :-)

[only1alphafemale]

Along the creek in the beautiful meadow behind the post office. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/disappointed.gif

Awww...that is sad ~! :(

[Dodgergirl]

yeah. especially for a friend of mine whose deck will overlook the proposed parking area... he's hoping for at least a ban on car alarms...

[only1alphafemale]

yeah. especially for a friend of mine whose deck will overlook the proposed parking area... he's hoping for at least a ban on car alarms...

They actually have such a thing as that? A ban on car alarms? I havent heard that before...:eek: Would like to know more about that one.....! ;)

[Dodgergirl]

sorry, it's not real, just a dream. the lodge will be so close to my friends cabin that he is considering moving.

[only1alphafemale]

sorry, it's not real, just a dream. the lodge will be so close to my friends cabin that he is considering moving.

:rofl: TEASE ME !!! lol.... :p Its a good concept......ha!

[monkey]

I heard today that the developers have run out of $$$ due to all the litigation. (keeping my fingers crossed that it isn't a rumor)

[concerned1]

In October PacificUS applied for and was granted a permit for their Waste Water Treatment Plant by the Regional Water Quality Control Board. They had President, Vice president, Bob Pickard, the Kellers and several others there to lend support. They had the money to get the folks to Sacramento from Los Angeles area and Mariposa County.

[cak]

OK ... so who is PacificUS ... and where is their Waste Treatment Plant going?

[sasquatch1]

now thats a name i haven't heard in a long time, my parents owned the silvertip lodge in the 70's, and the small town charm of fish camp was great. mom and pop businesses and a general delivery post office and store. it was like going back in time, and experiencing the way life was, when simple was the rule. and that experience is what people loved about our little town, we were that special place to go, to get away from it all, i know my opinion doesn't matter, but I'm going to share it anyway...when the silvertip was lost and the gas station closed it was the beginning of the end for my beloved fish camp, and then the tenaya came, don't get me wrong it serves a purpose (tourism) (the life blood of the mountains). but it adds nothing to the the way it was, i would never stay there, and now I'm reading about this proposed silvertip project, I'm new to the forum, i just saw it on google. but fish camp really needs to hang on to its roots, and stay a small mom and pop town. if the silvertip is resurrected it needs to be as close to the way it was as possible, not a tourist trap, not a corporation, but a place that demonstrates the small town charm, a mom and pop place, with three huge fireplaces, and apple cobbler, and a beautiful setting. thats the silvertip i will always remember, people from all over the world came and sat in the dining room, with its huge picture windows, and never wanted to leave. it was great. if i could do it i would bring it back "just the way it was" the objective shouldn't be to get rich(lord knows we didn't). but looking back what we had was truly priceless, and that was the payoff. can it be brought back to life? without the being all about money?

[only1alphafemale]

now thats a name i haven't heard in a long time, my parents owned the silvertip lodge in the 70's, and the small town charm of fish camp was great.<SNIP>
> I'm new to the forum, i just saw it on google. <SNIP>

Welcome to the forums ~! :yes:

You have some wonderful memories, thank you for sharing them ~ :grin: I also can remember back to when the Chevron was open in FishCamp ~ Seems like its been a life time ago ~ *sigh* ...Anyway, once again welcome to the forums, Where do you live now?

[CatdaBrat]

Unless something has changed, I saw the plans and went on a media/public tour of the site, and we're talking mega-resort. Pretty intense...nothing at all that would fit in with the surroundings. I think I still have 100 pounds of paperwork on the project, gathering cobwebs somewhere.

It's funny, a private landowner can't do diddly-squat on his or her land if there's a mud puddle (oops, I mean "vernal pool"). Such concerns even adversely affected the development of the UC Merced campus. And here you have an entire meadow with a creek running through it, and the vegetation suggests most of it would qualify as "wetland" or at the very least an "ecosystem" and an entire resort can be built smack-dab in the middle of it? Or.....maybe not, if the litigation is still going on.

Also don't know if it's been resolved, but a lot of neighboring property owners' water supplies had something to do with one or more wells in that meadow.

I remember the old SilverTip Lodge (before it got torched) and it was a long-held family tradition to stop there for a biscuits and gravy breakfast before camping at Big or Little Sandy. I was furious when it was destroyed. I've never gotten over it. Fish Camp is being ruined.

[concerned1]

PacificUS Real Estate Group out of Pasadena is the developer of the Silvertip property. The Kellers sold the land to them. DSomehow the wetlands disappeared over the years. The developer managed to get the height restriction modified, so now there will be a BIGGER facility than Tenaya. This is being promoted as a "destination resort" with 40 cabins across the west end for smaller group functions and gatherings. The Waste Water Treatment facility is planned for across Big Creek from the folks in Block D, along 41. The leach fields, to be used in wintertime ???, will be along the southwestern edge UPHILL from the cabins and those wells you mentioned. At least that is what the paperwork shows and what I have heard. You are right - the almighty TOT speaks again to the County.

[CatdaBrat]

I remember, on that tour, we were shown where the spray field was going to be for the wastewater treatment plant. A member of the tour said he had done research on that area and the soil only went just so far down before the geology changed to solid, slab-like formations of granite. The area was a downhill slope, toward the meadow. The man who'd done the research said,, "When that wastewater effluent soaks down to the bedrock, it's going to travel along the granite all the way down to the meadow where the wells are." He got no response from the tour leaders about that.

I am trying to remember (without having to search all over for the paperwork) if a tertiary treatment plant was planned, but even at that, there are several levels of tertiary treatment. It's a very expensive process.

Well, I guess this isn't about the White Chief...but Fish Camp is a small community and I am sure the SilverTip resort complex will very definitely affect everyone and everything there.

[cak]

Sigh. It all sounds horrible. I grumble about there not being anything in Fish Camp when we drive to/from the Park, but this isn't at all what I was after.

(Oh yes ... can anyone confirm/deny that Erna of the Elderberry House used to cook at the Silver Tip?)

[CatdaBrat]

I think she came to the Yosemite area in the late '70s and leased an inn next to the Wawona Hotel, and opened a restaurant called the Old Redwood Inn Restaurant. When that lease expired in the early '80s, she bought the property where her current estate is. I never heard that she ever worked for the Silver Tip, but perhaps at one time that could have happened.

[sasquatch1]

Well I wish somebody could stop this madness, couldn't the property be saved and declared a county historical site? (the courthouse is) many places have been saved by this, the history of Fish Camp, aka Summerdale, aka Happy Camp, goes way back before Mariposa was even a county and there have been at least 3-4 lodges maybe 5 at that site. I'm not in a position to do so, but someone should contact Mariposa County and find out about it. there are also many historical and Indian artifacts in and around the meadow,and over the hill where the water tank is to the north, and all the way down big creek toward the park entrance ie: cabins, rail line, logging equipment, and arrow heads. bottom line.... i would rather see a museum than another corporate resort.

[sasquatch1]

I'm currently in Orange County, but here are some more memories...(fish camp) the general store and post office in the same building, the chevron station (lester and ernie) the pack station, mile high frostie/water wheel, mile high chalets...aka apple tree inn, swiss melody inn...aka narrow gauge inn, (oakhurst)the cedar valley general store, the snowline,the forks bar...aka..mountain house, Bigfoot burger pit, happy days snack shop, b of a/ post office plaza, midway market, holiday village restaurant, the sawmill, oakhurst market, rods little wheel pizza..aka..el cid, duceys, and the pines theater. (coarsegold) Gabby's corner (when gabby was there) the broken bit, the 22 mile house. anyway I'm rambling, and I'm sure i forgot a few, but I wish I could put that time in a bottle and save it forever. oh ya..party lines and 3 tv stations...lol

[cak]

Wait, wait ... the Cedar Valley General Store? Where was that?

[only1alphafemale]

Wait, wait ... the Cedar Valley General Store? Where was that?

Its the old building that sits boarded up, (now ) on the west side of hwy 41~ just below the Cedar Valley turn out on the right hand side of the road, if your heading towards Oakhurst, in front of the old rv storage place just right before you get to Alan Rd~ ( the CV store I remember anway - ) When Bob's daughter used to own the land there....
There was even a Restraurant ( that burned down maybe 7 or 8? years ago?) that sat there too Cak ! ....ah....fond memories indeed ! :-)

[sasquatch1]

dont know if it will work or not...

452

[sasquatch1]

not working

or is it

ok...i guess i have to have 10 posts before i can add a pic.

[CatdaBrat]

I remember that restaurant. They had certain specials for certain days of the week. Good old-time family-style meals. I also remember my parents renting camping trailers from a nice couple in CV, before they bought their own. When he was little, my oldest son used to call those trailers, "Fish Camps."

[only1alphafemale]

not working

or is it

ok...i guess i have to have 10 posts before i can add a pic.

It working just fine ~ picture came through very good ! :-) both times.

[only1alphafemale]

I remember that restaurant. They had certain specials for certain days of the week. Good old-time family-style meals. I also remember my parents renting camping trailers from a nice couple in CV, before they bought their own. When he was little, my oldest son used to call those trailers, "Fish Camps."


cute.."fish camps"..from the mouths of babes ~ :-)

I had many a Mother day brunch at the restraunt ~ sad it burned down and was never rebuilt, but they were trying to sell the property at that time.

[sasquatch1]

lets see....the first Sunday champagne brunch in the area, prime rib on Friday, BBQ ribs on sat, weds, spaghetti, i cant remember the rest.

but the best biscuits and gravy anywhere

[sasquatch1]

am I barking up a tree, or is it feasible to try to save fish camp from the corporate world. my ability is very limited, but i can offer my full support. if they are allowed to build another resort they will ruin the town, why cant a mom and pop business survive anymore. its really sad...

[monkey]

Unfortunately, it is in Mariposa County yet it is so far removed from the town of Mariposa. The the only things the supervisors (in their greed) saw was the tax revenue, so it was approved. Believe me, there have been many battles fought and tears shed over this issue.

[CatdaBrat]

Well I wish somebody could stop this madness, couldn't the property be saved and declared a county historical site? (the courthouse is) many places have been saved by this, the history of Fish Camp, aka Summerdale, aka Happy Camp, goes way back before Mariposa was even a county and there have been at least 3-4 lodges maybe 5 at that site. I'm not in a position to do so, but someone should contact Mariposa County and find out about it. there are also many historical and Indian artifacts in and around the meadow,and over the hill where the water tank is to the north, and all the way down big creek toward the park entrance ie: cabins, rail line, logging equipment, and arrow heads. bottom line.... i would rather see a museum than another corporate resort.

I love the idea of saving sites with historical significance, but I think this area's vast richness of history almost works against it in a case like this. What I mean is that you can hardly go anywhere up here without finding some sort of artifact or site of historical use. A friend of mine who grew up in Ahwahnee said that arrowheads were in such abundance when she was a kid that they didn't even bother picking them up anymore.

I doubt there is any chance to preserve what's left of Fish Camp based on its history ... even if they found a Native American burial site in the area to be developed, a big corporation like PacificUS would probably just mitigate the find by paying to have the remains transported to a university or given to a local tribe for reburial.

[cak]

Its the old building that sits boarded up, (now ) on the west side of hwy 41~ just below the Cedar Valley turn out


Ah, we've often wondered about that place and the other buildings there ... the only thing that seems to happen around there these days (other than the occasional chain control) is when the peacocks come down from the hills and wander around the sinkhole.

Nice to know that there was once something "there" at Cedar Valley!

[Dodgergirl]

Sandman has told me of the restaurant there, (Cedar Valley) I think he knows the family. If I remember correctly he said they had the best breakfasts around... I would love somewhere to stop between Mtn House and Fish Camp, those summer drives to work sometimes need a stop for refreshment.. ;)
Seriously, I have talked to a friend who lives in Fish Camp about opening a pizza shop, with winter snowmobile delivery, but with a population of 65 or so... I don't think it would be profitable...

[only1alphafemale]

Ah, we've often wondered about that place and the other buildings there ... the only thing that seems to happen around there these days (other than the occasional chain control) is when the peacocks come down from the hills and wander around the sinkhole.

Nice to know that there was once something "there" at Cedar Valley!

Even those peacocks, have been wanderrng a round for years.....lol. I loved in there in CV~ and still go and play in the creeck ! :)

The food was great !!! at the restraunt, and Bob whow owned ran the little store was a very nice man. Missed him and his store when he had to close it due to his heart. It was sad. :( the store was very handy for those of us living in CV. :)

[sasquatch1]

found another one

455

[cak]

We drove up to Goat Meadow today (more snow than expected!) and noticed that the White Chief sign has indications on it that they're open again ... didn't get a chance to stop in, though.

[monkey]

I'll have to check it out. I'll let y'all know once I know.

[champsboss]

That open sign has been up all winter. No one bothered to change it lst year.

[monkey]

Oh, guess I don't have to go by now. I'll try to remember to stop at the Broken Bit and get the real 411.

[cak]

That open sign has been up all winter. No one bothered to change it lst year.

Oops. Oh well ... yes, please, monkey, let us know!

[dk2463]

I stopped by White Chief Lodge the other day and got a little detail from the owner. It looks like the couple that had been working for him is gone. If I remember from speaking with them last year, they were in a deal with him to slowly buy the place from him.

I didn't get detail on why they are gone but the place is now back in his hands so we'll see. It went downhill the last few years until that couple took over and I'm hoping he'll get some new help.

So if anyone askss, it is OPEN (for now).

dk2463