Alpine Lake, reservoir in Marin County, California

Alpine Lake is a reservoir in Marin County, California, held back by Alpine Dam, a gravity dam 524 feet long and 143 feet high with 8 feet of freeboard. The Marin Municipal Water District draws its drinking water from it, and Kent Lake lies below the dam while Bon Tempe Lake sits to the east. Fishing is allowed; boats and wading are not.

In 1912 the Marin Municipal Water District became California's first municipal water district, serving San Rafael, the Ross Valley and southern Marin. Building Alpine Dam for drinking water began in summer 1917, but World War I caused labour and material shortages, so the district took over construction in January 1918 and finished it in 1919. The dam was raised in 1924 and again in 1941, taking the reservoir from just over a billion gallons to nearly 3 billion.

Alpine Lake is a drinking-water reservoir of the Marin Municipal Water District, the first municipal water district created in California, in 1912. Fishing is allowed for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and trout, but boats and wading are not permitted. The Kent Trail runs along the shore through redwood forest up to a manzanita-covered ridge.

Boats and wading are not allowed on the reservoir, so access is on foot; fishing is permitted for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and trout. The Kent Trail runs along the shore, a 5.2-mile lollipop loop through redwood forest onto a manzanita-covered ridge, rated moderate, with dogs allowed on leash. Alpine Dam lies below the lake, with Kent Lake beneath the dam and Bon Tempe Lake to the east.

Alpine Dam carries national ID number CA00204 and was designed with advice from Michael O'Shaughnessy, then a board member of the Marin Municipal Water District. The district took over construction in January 1918 after World War I caused labour and material shortages for the contractor, and finished the dam a year later.