Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

Great location if you want to be near Costco and the capital city.  Great views of the Sierras and the Carson valley.  Sites are narrow, about twice the width of your RV, and separated by chain link fencing.  But all sites are perfectly flat, paved pull-throughs; easy in, easy out parking.  Also electric, water, sewer hookup, cable and strong wifi and cell service.  Sites are gravel, but the campground has nice grassy dog parks, clean bathrooms and laundry, and well-stocked store with propane refill.  Pool and fishing pond were closed but looked great.  We were there in early April 2021; with our binoculars we could see skiers at the top of Heavenly Mountain ski area!

We spend a month here every year and several weekends, too. It’s clean, the host, Julie, is very friendly and the spaces are great. Plenty of space for our 34’ travel trailer. Full hookups - water, electric and sewer and Cable tv, plus decent wifi. No fires are allowed, but you are right on the lake, with two docks and a beach with shade everywhere and amazing views, so who cares? There is a fish cleaning station, a laundromat, bathrooms with toilets and pay showers. There is also a small store and a freezer full of delicious ice cream treats. Pet friendly as long as your pets are leashed. There are two docks and you can dock your boat for a few. We leave our kayaks on the beach. Everyone is really friendly and Chuck, the maintenance man, could not be nicer or more helpful! He is a treat to chat with! A picnic table at every site, trees at every site and the lake has great fishing and boating. Can you tell we love this place?

Besides the beautiful scenic lake spot that offers fun on the lake during the day and star gazing at night it’s a well ran campground with amentities. Has lots of camping style options between RV hook up spaces and non hookup. Also has tent spots. Great restrooms and showers. Moms with babies and toddlers would appreciate the restrooms. Showers are their own private room with space and a changing table. Camping spots are roomy and come with a fire pit. Campfires are allowed. Generators in RVs have to be off at 10 pm. Pets are allowed but need to be on a leash. Grass area for kids playing or throwing the ball or frisbee. Horse shoe game area. Big lake side beach. You can set up badminton or beach volleyball. Cell service is spotty at the campsite but oddly great on the beach and at the Lake.

Lake offers boating, fishing, paddle boarding, kayaking, jet skiing, and swimming. Boat launch and fish cleaning are a good distance from camp sites. Has a cleaning station for watercraft for invasive species.

This campground has a lot to offer. Pack the sun screen and the life jackets and have fun!

The campground is located next to the Middle Fork Cosumnes River. Accessable from Hwy 88 just past Hams Station on Cat Creek Road. The camp has 18 sites that each have tables and fire rings. Sites are accessable by smaller RV’s and travel trailers. There are no    electrical hook-ups, dump station, or water, so plan on being fully self contained. Each site has very nice tent sites and are mosly located very close to the creek and offer good privacy. The camp ground fills up on most weekends but usually has sites open during the week. This has been a “ first come, first serve” campground in the past, but may change now that it will be managed by a recreation management company. Check with recreation.gov to confirm. Fishing, swimming, and hiking are activities. Bear River Reservoir Resort is a close drive away. Highly recommend.

I walked through the seasonally closed Eagle Point Campground while exploring the Emerald Bay section of Lake Tahoe. This campground is a newly renovated area of the peninsula on the South/West side of the Emerald Bay State Park separated into Upper and Lower sections.

Since the campground was closed we had to park on Highway 89 and walk through the campground to get to the Rubicon Trailhead which is located at the divider between the 2 camping sections.

As we hiked through I was really blown away with the layout of the campground. I loved that these sites were almost a multi-leveled. Meaning that your tent site might be 10 feet lower than your picnic table, bear box, etc. or it could have a raised fire pit on a small bluff above the tent pad, table. Each site was unique, and this added to the separation between sites, so you’re not on the same level and directly next to your neighbors, adding to the feeling of being in the wilderness. (At least to me)

Also, it should be pointed out that there were signs everywhere about using your bear boxes and that they’d fine you if you leave anything in your car. I know some people seem to have an issue with this for some reason…but I don’t want a bear roaming through any campground I’m staying at.

There weren’t any sites that I saw which could hold an RV or 5th wheel, unless you have something under 18 feet… So maybe tents only, and there are no hookups. While I know I got a sterile experience since no one was actually camping, the campground was very clean and well maintained and the restrooms looked really nice. They had running water, flush toilets and pay showers ($1 per 3 minutes). The little amphitheater at the trailhead was cool and seemed ideally setup for presentations with incredible views of Lake Tahoe.

While pets are allowed in the campground, they’re not allowed on the Emerald Bay SP trails or beaches. Sites are $35 and all are reservable 6 month out, so

The 13 sites of the first-come first-serve Bayview Campground are part of the well maintained US Forest Service property located in a prime area literally right across the street from the Inspiration Point Overlook of Emerald Bay State Park and is central to several awesome hiking trails in the South Tahoe area. Two of the hiking trails which lead into the incredible (and uncharacteristically names) Desolation Wilderness to Granite Lake and Cascade Falls start literally behind this campsite. Because of these trails and the crowded Vista across the street there are hordes of people coming in an out throughout the day looking for parking, especially during the weekend. Thus, do not expect a quiet/secluded campsite during the day, it does appear to become quieter after 6 pm as less people are walking/hiking around and staring at you while you camp.

The campsites have a decent amount of room between them and are nestled within a grove of beautiful trees, giving you plenty of shade during the day and a great place to put up your hammock. The sites also have all of the basic camping stuff like a fire pit, picnic table, and bear locker provided. Note that these sites are really tent only (No RV will fit in here, maybe a small 5th wheel) and parking spaces are pretty small and can probably only fit one car (or 2 tiny ones) in most spots, about 20 feet total length.

Bathrooms are decently maintained and for the amount of traffic that makes its way through the campground, actually clean! (Might help that the vista across the street also has a few pit toilets as well)

However, there is no running water, so make sure to prepare for your camping and any that you might need if you hike out into the wilderness and the weather conditions because when it’s dry you can’t have a fire and there won’t even be any water flowing in the stream that runs through the campground to even get some water to filter/boil.

The fee is $18/night - 6/people (1 car, $7 for a second) and 2 pets are allowed. Great place to stay if you are looking for a convenient location right off Highway 89 and central to a ton of prime South/East Tahoe hiking trails, but lacking in amenities and extremely busy with day trippers.

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.

The camp hosts are sweet offer wood, clean bathrooms, and fresh water. The beach is about a 5 minute walk from any spot. Only complaints are the beach is not dog friendly so if you have your dog you can’t go onto the beach but, you can drive close to a dog beach. The spots are also kinda small and close together. They offer bear box’s and fire rings. Very busy site get here early.

It sounds like there are multiple Big Meadow camp grounds in California. This review is for Big Meadow Campground, Sequoia NF - FS, CA. The photos are of site 009B. My visit was wonderful. The camp sites are large. We set up two 8 person tents and one 2 person tent and there was plenty of room for more. The firepits are very well made. They block the wind while allowing good airflow. There is a very large picnick table at each site, a bear box, and plenty of shade. There is a vault toilet that is cleaned daily. The sites boarder a stream. The water level is about 3 inches in July with temperatures in the 80's. This is a dog friendly site. There is no potable water at this site.