Lake Hodges

Lake Hodges has officially been a lake since 1918 when the lake Hodges dam was completed. This lake is slightly northwest of Rancho Bernardo. It is southwest of Escondido and southeast of Rancho Santa Fe. The dam was financed by the Santa Fe railroad. It was originally going to be called Carroll Lake after the owners of the property but was changed to honor W. E. Hodges who was the vice president of the Santa Fe railroad.
Lake Hodges covers 1234 acres, is 6.5 miles long and has 19 miles of shoreline. The lake has a 14.8 mile bicycle trail called the north Hodges trail and a 3.8 mile bird watching trail called the Piedras Pintadas trail. Lake Hodges contains catfish, crappie, and large bluegill. The lake has a marina and a small general store with a snack bar where you can buy bait and a few groceries and is open Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. There is windsurfing from May to October. There is a small daily fishing fee, and boat launching fee. The speed limit on the lake is 20 mph.

The coastline

The coastline has coastal sagebrush, chaparral, and riparian oak. The area is part of the San Dieguito watershed and is part of a bird and wildlife sanctuary that stretches all the way to Sutherland reservoir just south of Santa Isabel. Over 200 species of birds visit or call lake Hodges home. Lake Hodges is designated as a global bird sanctuary. This prestigious designation is the highest level a wildlife preserve can obtain. If you are interested in seeing pictures of all the birds that visit Lake Hodges go to www.sdrp.org/resources/birdsoflakehodges.htm and look under birds of lake Hodges photo album.

Lake Hodge projects

Currently there are several ongoing projects. The powerline and substation have been completed as well as the 10 ft diameter pipe and tunnel linking lake Hodges to the Olivenhain reservoir. Under construction is the 40 megawatt pump and turbine station and the bicycle and pedestrian bridge that is just west of Interstate 15. The coast to crest trail is closed until 2009 during construction.

Legends

When the dam was built in 1918, the local Indians were afraid the monster that lived in the river would be angry if the river was turned into a lake. During dam construction various equipment and supplies were damaged and destroyed and it was blamed on the monster who became known as Hodgee. Between 1918 and the early 1950’s there were numerous sightings although no one was able to take a picture of the monster. Even Scripps institute tried to capture the monster but were not successful. In 1956 tons of poison were dumped into the lake to supposedly kill off the carp that had taken over the lake. There were no more sightings after that so if there was a creature in the lake it was probably killed off with the carp.

System tie in

Now that Lake Hodges is tied into the rest of the San Diego reservoir system, the level should stay fairly constant. Before Lake Hodges spilled over the dam 28 times since 1918. The latest spillover was in 2005. At other times the lake would contract to pond size during periods of multiyear drought.

Fires

The fire of 2007 scorched most of the area around the lake but it is already staging a remarkable come back.

I spent several hours wandering around the lake. On weekends it gets rather crowded and a favorite hangout is Hernando’s Hideaway. If you live in San Diego county Lake Hodges is a quick short trip for inexpensive weekend fun.