When this story was first posted in 2015, it was called “Return to Narrow Hills: Gem Lakes.” It wasn’t so much a story as it was a photo dump with tourist information, and an awkward reminder of a time I wanted to be a travel kiosk. The 2025 Shoe wildfire put an end to any lingering relevance that article might have had, so I decided to take it down.
The photos are special though, so I’m leaving them up in memoriam. These shots were from our first trip in 2015 to Diamond Lake—one of the five Gem lakes that burned: Diamond, Jade, Opal, Sapphire and Pearl.
May you come back peacefully.