Please note:  
Construction Activity Notice

Please be advised that from Spring 2024 - Winter 2026 significant construction will be taking place in the north side of the Campground, previously loops A & B. Before making your reservation, be aware that loud construction noises and other construction related activity may impact your stay. Work is scheduled between the hours of 7:00 am - 6:00 pm, 7 days a week. 

Before making your reservation for 2024, all campers are hereby notified of construction noise and other construction-related impacts you may experience during your stay.  Due to advance notification of the impacts to the camping experience, no refunds will be issued due to construction activity. 

 Campground by the Lake is located in the heart of South Lake Tahoe at 1150 Rufus Allen Blvd. South Lake Tahoe, Ca. 96150. The campground is conveniently located within walking distance to the shores of Lake Tahoe and one of South Lake Tahoe's most popular parks and beaches ~ Lakeview Commons at El Dorado Beach. Located within the campground are coin-operated heated showers and restroom facilities. Located at each campsite and included in campground fees are BBQs, Fire Rings, and Picnic Tables.

For campers who need access to an ADA complaint site, please email us at campgroundbythelake@cityofslt.us.

Campground by the Lake

This large campground (which is run by the city) is right in the middle of South Lake Tahoe and across the highway from The Lake. It's right in the middle of town so if you're wanting to "get away from it all" you better keep looking. We stayed here over Labor Day weekend and it was PACKED. There are 179 spaces at this campground and every one of them was occupied (we made our online reservation months in advance). That being said, we loved it here! We wanted to partake in some Labor Day activities around The Lake and staying here was ideal. For the amount of people that were there, noise was minimal. We stayed in "D-loop" which is a non hook-up spot. We choose this area because it's away from the traffic of the main entrance and somewhat away from Hwy 50\. The spots close to Hwy 50 are NOISY. Also, D/E/F loop spots seem to be larger. Some of the people in the A/B/C loop sites were RIGHT ON TOP OF EACH OTHER. Our spot was quite large, clean, and flat. We easily parked our 29' RV and our SUV with lots of room to spare. We were semi-close to the restrooms/showers, water faucet, and trash receptacles ( a couple of people cut through our site to get to the facilities - NOT COOL). Unlike some other public campgrounds, we were allowed to fill our RV water tank at the campground's public water faucet which was awesome!

Camping here is like staying at a "rustic KOA". They have cabins and tents to rent, a little store (we didn't go in), sites with hook-ups, free RV sewer dump, and crappy wi-fi (lol). The showers and restrooms are far from fancy and could definitely use a remodel but whatever, it's CAMPING and they were good enough! While staying here we coined the phrase "city camping". We loved "city camping" and are looking forward to going back!

Great alternative to an expensive hotel

Great location

Easy and quick check in! Made reservation online. Camping spot close to bathrooms. People working at the office were very helpful and nice!

Right by Lake

I was surprised when I heard of this campground. A city run campground across the street from the lake in the middle of town? Sure! We had a site in one of the two loops that had full hook-ups, and our site backed up to US 50\. I was prepared for a lot of road noise and even strangers wandering through our camp but neither was a nuisance. Sites were spacious. We loved seeing the lake from our campsite and hitting the bike trail right outside the campground. There was also a nice city pool, library, and playground in walking distance.

A campground centrally located in South Lake Tahoe

Customer service was really nice about allowing me to change the day I camped. Each campsite has a lot of room and I was able to rent a paddle board right across the street. 

Super awesome 

Great campground, right in town, awesome hosts, right across from a beach! Dog friendly :)