Maps and a good sense of direction are a must. The best parking is south of the rock, but the easiest route to the top is from the north. With a little help and encouragement, even small kids can make it to the top and look down at how the other half lives in some of the area's lakefront estates. Next stop is Homewood, another cluster of development, with a marina, motels, market and tourist attractions such as seaplane rides and charter fishing. This is the eastern terminus of the famous Rubicon jeep trail that begins on the other side of the Sierra at Wentworth Springs near Loon Lake.
Rustic campsites are available.
If you interested in fishing in the backcountry, it's best to hire a local guide. On Saturday nights in the summer, the locals show free family movies on a big screen at Marie Sluchak Community Park on Pine Street, just off the highway. They also have church services on Sunday mornings. Below Tahoma, the buildings thin out and you enter Sugar Pine Point State Park, where, on the west side of the highway, you can camp beneath giant evergreens and hike, bike or fish along General Creek. More ambitious walkers head for Lost Lake, which is seven miles and a good climb away.