Kit Carson Campground

Not suitable for tow behind trailers larger than about 20 feet or small RVs about 24 feet. A single lane road takes you to two loops. Great access to the river with some road noise from 88. Great spot to use as a base to fish, hike and bike.

Stayed here for a night on a Solo camping trip. I stayed in site #12 which was really nice, a bit small but completely surrounded by Aspen trees! The site has vault toilets but they were surprisingly clean, although the men’s one did not lock, they are single stall so using either is fine. Definitely would recommend this site!

This US Forest Service campground is in a longish (5 miles?) steep valley with tall stone walls on both side.

The West Fork of the Kit Carson River runs down the center of the valley and, alongside it, Highway 88. Numerous campgrounds and rustic resorts and hotels are in the area, especially along Highways 88 and 89.

The Kit Carson Campground is well less than an hour from Carson City and South Lake Tahoe, on a very well traveled road. With basic shopping, WiFi, and a few small restaurants relatively nearby, you aren’t “away from it all.” You definitely are away from the big city with beautiful skies and surrounded by a beautiful forest. But this is a super easy campground for a casual trip where you may want to cook sometimes, eat out others, drive to visit various hiking trails to some incredible views, even use as a base camp to explore towns nearby.

THE CAMPGROUNDS

-Campsites are generally open to the camp loop road, but have some good separation from each other with large trees and many large boulders.

-The camp has a camp host at the first campsite, who can be very helpful. When I visited, they sold firewood. $7 for one bundle or$18 for three bundles. $7/bundle was the same price as nearby rural stores, buy larger gas stations on the highway were $6/bundle. There isn't much wood to collect at the campsite.

-Multiple potable water spouts are available throughout the campground.

-Bathrooms were clean and well maintained.

-The entire campground is only 100-200 feet off highway 88, and the main camp loop is a well paved road - so any vehicle can access it without issue.

-Cell reception(Verizon) was very spotty. One bar, maybe two. Occasional data connection. I doubt calls would work. Texts were going through intermittently. The entire valley has poor reception, but a few miles in either direction and reception was perfect. A cafe/bar across the street has free WiFi.

-Each campsite has a large bear locker, fire ring, picnic table, parking space, and clear area for a tent. They won’t fit a large travel trailer (e.g. 25’), and most aren’t a good position for even a small driven RV or sleeping in your car… the vehicle locations tend to be off to the side. Perfect for tent camping.

-The river runs along side of the campground and there is very easy access. When I visited, the water was high enough to walk around in at knee deep. Not exactly for swimming and I didn’t see any deep swimming holes.

-The campground is at almost 7,000 feet.

THE NEARBY AREA

-There are several hiking trails in the area, but nothing intersects with the campground. If you walk 1/2 mile east on 88 you'll reach a trailhead with a short scenic hike (0.5 mi round trip) and access to other longer trails. Walking down the highway isn't great (driving would be safer), and that 1/2 trail actually comes out to the road about 1/4 mile from the campground…. safer access if you spot that entrance.

-The highway runs along the river which runs beside the campground. During the day, I could hear every vehicle, and when walking around the campground, that seemed to be the case for every campsite. This includes semi trucks, large diesel work trucks, RVs, and large commercial construction trucks who frequently use the route. At night, things quiet down quite a bit, but you’ll always be reminded that you are roadside.

-Numerous other campgrounds are in the area. This includes yurt rentals, rustic resorts, USFS tent campgrounds, RV campgrounds and private campgrounds. This isn’t a bad thing- but just a head’s up that you aren’t in some remote secluded destination.

-Across the 2-lane highway from the campground is a cafe. They have three beers on tap, a bar area, a table seating area, and a small stage for live musical performances. They close at 5pm during the week, so this is likely a bit more happening on the weekend. It is part of a neighboring yurt campground.*They have free WiFi.* I don’t know about their food menu. They have some bakery items(cookies, etc.) and a very basic store with some limited camping supplies. It is a 30 second drive to the cafe, and the walk is very short, but you do have to cross a bridge that doesn’t really have a good sidewalk- I would be very nervous with young kids in tow.

-About 1 mile away is a larger restaurant affiliated, I think, with the same resort. It is west along Highway 88.

-There are several “resort hotels” a few miles further away than that, and the town of Merkleeville is about 5 miles east on 88 and then 6 miles south on 89. The town has a brewery (closes several days a week), full rural general store catering to campers with lots of camping food, wine, beer, alcohol, and a good range of general campground supplies. The town also has a cafe with good coffee and a selection of food.

CAMPSITE 8

-I stayed in campsite 8. The pad for the tent is*super* private, at the very back of the site with three enormous boulders providing lots of separation. The fire pit/ bear locker/ picnic table section has several boulders creating some privacy, but you can see through to the adjacent site and the host site is on the other side… your vehicle will most block that. You can easily peak between the boulders to see the camp look road, but you aren’t right up against it. There was virtually no vehicular or pedestrian traffic on the loop road.

Kit Carson is located about 20-miles from South Lake Tahoe. There 20 or so camping spots that are spread out among the trees. The campground is located along a river that's a nice place to fish or swim. The water temperature during the summer wasn't that bad.  The campground offers the standard fire pit, table and bear locker. It also has pit toilets and no showers.  

Across the street is a small cafe that has internet service. They offer breakfast, coffee/tea and some sandwiches. 

In the town of Markleeville, 10 miles away, there's Grover Hot Springs which is a fun place to visit.  

The only downside is that Highway 89 runs along the campground so traffic can be heard. Don't let this deter you from staying here.  

The camp hosts, Gunny, was very friendly and welcoming. 

Cell Service: Poor - Verizon

Great campground close to South Tahoe if you’re looking to spend time there. Right across the freeway from Hope Valley Cafe which is part of Wylder (used to be Sorensens.)

Camp host is Eric, who hosted at Sorensens for many years. He’s full of knowledge about the local area and will point you in the right direction whatever your preferred activities might be.

Campground is small with 2 loops. The upper loop is further away from the river but also further from the road. Sites are on the smaller side but lots of privacy in most of them.

Backs onto the East Carson and there are some very good small fishing holes nearby.

Firewood available for purchase. $7 a bundle or 3 for $18. It’s kiln dried softwood so expect to go through 2 a night if you’re sitting around the campfire.

$18 a night or $10 with America the Beautiful pass.

Would absolutely stay here again. It’s by far my favourite site in the area.

On a fork of the Carson River, good fishing right there! Close to Markleeville and more fishing holes, with a pool and hot springs pool at the state campground in Markleeville. Quick drive to Gardnerville and Minden NV.