Best Tent Camping near Bear Valley, CA

This was our first time at a KOA and we throughly enjoyed ourselves. We stayed for one night. (Tent Camping) The staff was friendly and helpful and all of the sites and communal areas were clean. The tent sites were a tad smaller than what we imagined, but was able to situate our 10x10 canopy and connecting tent between the hook ups and picnic table. The views are beautiful and it is mostly quiet but you can hear the road at times.

We tent camped on the river here and really enjoyed our stay. We floated on the river in tubes, visited Nearby Rainbow Pools, went into Yosemite Valley a couple of days, the park is about 5-10 mins from the entrance to Yosemite but we didn’t mind we enjoyed the drive into the valley and used it as an opportunity to spot wildlife. We had two young kids (6 &8) and the campground restrooms and showers were perfect after a long day hiking, they were well maintained, good water pressure. These restrooms were located at the ponderosa tent sites, we had some family also camping in RVS along the river and I can’t speak for those restrooms. No cell service & WiFi is unlikely to work so prepare to be unplugged..they do give you printed directions to the closest area to get a signal depending on your carrier. The staff was very friendly and helpful! We will definitely be back one day. Side note: we came during COVID so reservations to Yosemite National park were required, therefore the park and surrounding campgrounds were not as packed as they normally would be. (This was heavenly).

Our group stayed in a tent campsite for one night in August 2016. This was our first campsite for a 2 week national parks road trip.

My biggest gripe with this campground is that it is not stated anywhere on their site that you cannot park your car in your campsite. At least for us, we had to park down a hill and walk up to our site. We spent our entire evening and the next morning walking back and forth, back and forth, back and forth anytime we needed something from the car. Having the car in the site is so so much better and all the other campgrounds we stayed at were set up that way.

Additionally, the entire campground was incredibly dusty, more so than any other campground we stayed at during our trip. The bathrooms/showers were not very well maintained (quite dirty and dusty) although the stalls did all have toilet paper. It was also quite a walk from our tent site which was located in the back part of the campgrounds.

Staff were generally helpful and they have everything you'd need in their office/general store (ice, firewood, snacks, etc).

Overall, we were happy to have found a campground nearish Yosemite at the last min since most things book up really quickly inside the park, but I'm happy we didn't stay here more than one night.

Nice bear boxes and bathrooms. Tent sites were big

Got one of the furthest sites tent camping. Could see all the stars. They also provide bear boxes for each site.

Only $35 dollars, which is the cheapest you'll find north of South Lake Tahoe. Perfect for tent camping. Not busy at all during the non reserve season. Would go again for sure.

Beautiful tent camping above the Yosemite valley. Close enough to drive into the valley but far enough to not be surrounded by people at all times. Make sure to bring hammocks! Great trees to lounge in!

Nice campground with numerous RV and tent sites. Bathroom with flush toilets and showers. Big trees provide ample shade. Quiet area close to the amenities of the Carson Valley.

Great option if your looking for full rv hookups. If you’re tent camping, this might not be the best place. Bathrooms were very unclean but the park gets the job done as a place to sleep while visiting Yosemite. No Verizon or T-Mobile coverage. Wifi available for purchase.

Campground is setup in a loop. Pay at the post upon entry - fill out the reservation envelope and put your nightly fee into the envelope.

There are spots for tent camping and even or truck spots with a larger parking space.

This is a seasonal campground and will be closed during the winter months.

Turtle Rock is a hidden jewel. It is well kept and maintained. Showers are provided for a small fee so make sure you have quarters. Toilets are dispersed throughout the campground. There’s a section for tent camping as well as RV camping. No reservations required as I always drive in whenever I go. One of my favorite spot around Markleeville area.

Booked a tent site. The campground was completely full. My fire ring was at the bumper of my vehicle, the picnic table was basically in someone else’s campsite, and I had to walk up a flight of stairs where the tent site was supposed to be. The site on one side of me looked down on top of me from 10 feet away, the RV site next to me was crammed on top of me as well. Their front porch was basically staring right at my site, like I would be there entertainment for the night.

I had planned to camp out of the back of my truck for a quick overnight stay. Lots of better options around.

It is nice that it is walking distance from Zephyr Cove. But Zephyr Cove was packed. Nevada beach was only a four minute drive away and much more spacious and relaxing.

$67, plus taxes and fees, for no services and being packed in like sardines, no thanks.

Great little spot for tent camping or vehicle camping. You'll be fine if you have a smaller RV or Camper trailer but would not recommend for large units. Camp host Scott was really cool and down to earth. The campsite is clean and well maintained. Pit toilets were the best I have ever seen/smelled. The site can be pretty windy so bring tent stakes and cordage to tie out your walls.