Looking for the best tent campgrounds near Echo Lake? Finding a place to camp in California with your tent has never been easier. Each spot offers quick access to one or more of Echo Lake, California's most popular destinations.
Recreation Opportunity Guides (ROG) - These guides contains information, maps, and directions to assist you in enjoying your trip to the Eldorado National Forest.Lovers Leap__CampgroundFees
$5 / night
Donner Memorial State Park offers the summer vacationer opportunities for Donner Lake camping, picnicking, boating, fishing, water-skiing, and hiking. In winter, visitors can cross-country ski and snowshoe on trails and enjoy the season's beauty. Visitors are welcome year-round at the Donner Memorial State Park Visitor Center and at the Pioneer Monument, built to commemorate those who emigrated to California from the east in the mid-1800's. The Visitor Center features compelling new exhibits that tell the stories of the Emigrant Experience, the Donner Party, the Land of the Washoe, Chinese construction of the railroad, and early motoring adventures over Donner Pass.
$35 / night
North Grove (sites 27-59)
$25 - $70 / night
Recreation Opportunity Guides (ROG) - These guides contains information, maps, and directions to assist you in enjoying your trip to the Eldorado National Forest.Kirkwood CampgroundPicnickingFees and PassesNon-motorized Trails Mokelumne Wilderness
Union Valley Bike__Trail & Campground__Recreation Opportunity Guide (ROG) - This guide contains information, maps, and directions to assist you in enjoying your trip to the Eldorado National Forest.This is a walk-in, bike-in or boat-in campground.
Temporarily Closed The Markleeville Campground on the Carson Ranger District near Markleeville, CA is temporally closed, while area is being assessed for flood damage.
Check Status here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/htnf/alerts-notices/?aid=74769
Located on Markleeville Creek, in the shade of Jeffrey pines and cottonwood trees. Generally open late April through early September.
$18 / night
Due to heavy snow loads, the campground will be closed for the 2023 season.
Guide
awesome trip. we just did 20+ miles, from echo lake in, around, and out to Aloha before heading back over 2.5 days. Aloha is kinda surreal. and in places there are rock path in the middle where a person can walk in a few inches of water and appear to the viewer to be "walking on water"
it was hot in July...
Scout
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.
Guide
This is a well maintained RV and tent camping resort. It’s great for kids that want to ride bikes around the sites- but be careful of the river, it’s swift. The RV and tent sites are in two separate areas, with more updated amenities available for RVs like hot showers. Shared pool site. Lots of great trails to weave through the campground on a mountain bike.
One downside- it can be hot. Not a lot of tree cover for the RV sites- make sure you bring shade with you. Luckily, there’s a nice cool river to swim in!
Fires are restricted sometimes in the summer. Some sites require a membership.
Local grocery and pizza, frozen yogurt available within walking distance.
Lots of great fishing, floating, and kayak accessibly. Bring tubes and life vests. Poles and bait.
Scout
Clean and best play to stay with beach access, cabins, tents sites and rv sites. Tent site can fit 2 or more tents with fire pit and picnic table. Restroom with shower and warm water.
Guide
I’ve camped here 4 times- 2 times tent camping and 2 times trailer camping. The lake has a beautiful, and easy to walk to from the campground, especially from the sites in the 40s and 50s. The vault toilets can be a bummer if you are tent camping, and there are no hookups for rvs. But the campground has beautiful trees, and there is a restaurant and camp store for your convenience. Also, across the highway at the Silver Lake East campground is an awesome hidden secret called “Potholes.” Shhhhh!
Traveler
Nice bear boxes and bathrooms. Tent sites were big
Traveler
Nice campground - close to river. .5 mile walk to town for shopping/eating. All sites have fire pit and picnic table. Bathrooms clean and private showers. A little pricey for a tent site - 45.00 and 5.00 for the dog but it’s California.
Scout
Went here a few years ago. Perfect for tent camping. Right along the river. Very quiet and gorgeous. Good spot for families.
Guide
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.
Guide
This is a beautiful campground. At the end of the road. Parking is along a ridge, and tent camping is down the hill. RV camping has no hookups, but plenty of space.
ScoutMostly used by the river rafters and rafting companies that use this stop on the river for their shuttles. Many sites are in direct sun. All 5 sites are tent camping only.
Scout
Great camp ground with spacious spaces. Accomadates large groups and tent camping. Friendly host and very clean. Stones throw from the boat ramp and Stampede Lake. Only down is the place is a little noisey.
Legend
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.
Traveler
Nice campsite. They are a little close to other campers but still nice. Lake was right down the hill. Bathrooms are close if you are tent camping. Very limited cell service. Camp host wad very nice and accessible. Would camp there again 😊
Guide
much busier overall than the majority of the eastern sierras, still a nice get away. not too close to the lake but access is far from difficult. book ahead of time and request 9 for a tent site.
Traveler
At the top of the Sierras, El Dorado national forest, tucked in away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Stunning views, and blue skies, campground is well maintained and accessible. Rvs and tent camping. Shallow lake that warms up a little for kayaking and swimming. Great family lake.
Guide
Most site are for tent camping. The sites for trailers are not level do be prepared. There is drinking water throughout the park. Trailers longer than 26, it is a tight squeeze. No cell service at all, no where. Very quiet and not far from the lake. Bathrooms are clean.
Traveler
Great place to stay. 1 hours drive from Reno. Lake with in 5 minutes of the campground. Spots for RVs, travel trailers and/or just tent camping. Restrooms spread around the area with access to fresh water. Good size creek flowing through the campground from the lake above.
Guide
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.
Scout
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.
Guide
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.
Legend
Love this campground because of it’s close proximity to the Stanislaus River. There are 28 first come first serve RV and Tent sites. There are interesting granite rock formations in and around the campground. Potable water, fire rings, picnic tables and garbage receptacles round out the amenities.
Scout
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.
GuideThis review is for tent camping, not RVs.
Nearly all of the tent sites are tiny and crowded very closely together with no privacy breaks at all between them. To make it even more claustrophobic, many of the near-river sites are terraced into the hillside so you stand at the bottom and look up into a wall of tents stacked 3 high on top of each other. We arrived on a Saturday afternoon and most of the sites were full so the effect was like looking up into a packed stadium from the bottom row of bleacher seats. That first night was like a giant tailgate frat party. Multiple groups were blasting music & even though that’s against the rules nobody seemed to make them stop. Thank goodness we were able to move a few sites away, and then everybody cleared out the next day. The best site is #31. If you’re going on a weekend or any time during the summer, don’t make any reservation at all if you can’t get #31. I’m not putting that in my google review btw, that’s only for folks on Dyrt.
The facilities have a lot of maintenance issues that just aren’t being taken care of. For example: there are two bathroom buildings, an old one built out of rail cars (?) near the river and a newer-construction one uphill by the RV sites. Both bathrooms have multiple sinks and toilets that are out of order. In the downhill ladies room there was a toilet that ran water constantly and another that wouldn’t flush at all. I actually took that 2nd one apart and fixed it myself. That same ladies’ room had a sink removed completely from the wall leaving hanging pipes sticking out, a 2nd sink that wouldn’t turn on, a 3rd sink with wobbly handles, and a 4th sink that was fully functional. Next to that restroom on one side was what was supposed to be a shower facility but it was completely out of order and locked. On the other side of the restroom there was what was supposed to be a dishwashing station but it was disconnected with pipes dangling and dirt & leaves filling the sink. Why install nice things and then let them fall apart? I don’t understand.
They do seem to keep the toilets stocked with soap and TP and paper towels, and there are lots of garbage cans that do get emptied when needed. However, sometimes campers are naughty and leave behind trash outside the bins. This ranges from micro-trash (bottle caps, wrapper ends) to big pieces (foil pans, beer bottles). We stayed there for 2 days after the giant party moved on, but we never saw camp staff coming around to deal with the loose litter. We were pulling wads of fishing line out of the rocks and throwing away other people’s bottles. Blech.
There is an on-site rafting company. We took a full-day rafting trip that launched right from the campground & we had a great time.
There is a little general store that sells ice, firewood, souvenirs, Tshirts, etc.
It is a gated facility so hopefully secure?
Scout
Very nice campground with tent sites and walk-ins. Water, bathrooms, fire pits, picnic tables, and food lockers. Walk-ins have beautiful views of Mount Rose and downtown Reno. Hiking trails, mountain biking, snowboarding, etc. Nearby Relay Peak and Mt Rose summit are great hikes. First come first serve.
TravelerWe were trying to stay up on Luther pass but the snow and forest service has the road to camp closed still in early May. We found this place just driving down into town looking for a new camp. $65 to tent camp which seemed pricey but it was last minute so we took it. Very clean bathroom great staff dog friendly and large sites.
Traveler
Tent camped in spot 72. No shade what so ever, and it was a hot day! However loved the spacing of the campsites. Neighbors were close, though not so close to be crowded. Spot was very close to the restroom, advantage and disadvantage when a strong ordor would breeze on through. Short walk to the lake which was beautiful, spent the day floating and drinking. Have visited before, and will visit again!
Tent camping near Echo Lake, California, offers a fantastic opportunity to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying stunning views and a variety of outdoor activities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Echo Lake, CA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Echo Lake, CA is Luther Pass with a 4.7-star rating from 6 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Echo Lake, CA?
TheDyrt.com has all 83 tent camping locations near Echo Lake, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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