Searching for the perfect place to pitch your tent near Olympic Valley? Find the best tent camping sites near Olympic Valley. You're sure to find the perfect tent campsite for your California camping adventure.
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
Kaspian Campground is located in a mature forest of pine trees overlooking the beautiful Lake Tahoe. Campers will be nestled in a sparse forest of pine trees and evergreen shrubs, just minutes from the bright blue water of Tahoe. The lake and its sandy beaches provides ample recreation opportunities.
Kaspian Campground is ideal for visitors planning a full day of biking around Lake Tahoe. Bike trails that traverse the western shores of the lake begin near the campground. Visitors enjoy water sports on the lake and relaxing on its sandy beaches.
The campground is situated in a former picnic area, across the street from the lake. Campsites are spaced for privacy and surrounded by tall ponderosa pine and white fir trees. Some sites offer spectacular views of Lake Tahoe through the trees.
Kaspian Campground is less than 10 miles from the popular Meeks Bay.
This location has limited staffing. Please call (530) 541-1537 for general information.
$30 - $32 / night
$5 / night
Imagine waking up and having an alpaca right outside your door!! That's what you might have on this 130 Acre ranch on the Eastern Slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. At this serene ranch you will find alpacas, llamas, the mini-pot-bellied pig and our old sweet donkey wandering in the grassy fields were you will park, as well as the 30 acre pasture next to it. Visit with the Angora goats, Wensleydale sheep and a random assortment of other livestock in the various paddocks. If a longer walk is what you're looking for, head out into our 90 acre pasture where you might run into the male alpacas sipping from the year-long creek. You can find your complimentary bucket of pellet treats under the porch near the ranch store to hand feed the animals. WARNING!!! You will be swamped with the eager alpacas looking for a treat! Our ranch store is small but stocked with local jellies, honey, farm fresh eggs from our hens and a wide assortment of beautiful alpaca fiber products. We offer walking tours with an alpaca, educational sessions with the alpacas and goats, and custom beanies, scarves, and headbands. Visit our website to pre-order or book an experience. We are excited to share this wonderful ranch and animals with you.
NOTE:: PLEASE refer to your messages as I send details on how to arrive, where to park, the store etc..........There are also signs posted around the ranch.
$25 - $50 / night
Bowman Lake Campground is a very remote campground with limited services. There are 7 campsites with tables, fire rings and bear proof food lockers. There is no trash service. Bowman Lake is a large lake surrounded by rocky cliffs and scattered pines that are great for fishing and swimming. A few islands are found within the lake. Car top boat launch only. The road to access the campground is very rough, rocky, and narrow. A high clearance vehicle is needed, and towing boats or trailers is very difficult and dangerous. There are several stretches of the road where it is impossible for two vehicles to pass around each other and so if traffic is coming from both directions, someone will need to back up. Despite the difficult access, Bowman Lake is a popular, heavily used area.
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
Lake of the Woods is a nice small lake. It can be quite popular especially on weekends. There are approximately 15 camping spots with fire pits and picnic tables situated along the shoreline. There is no piped water available. This lake generally opens later in the spring as it sits at a high elevation and takes longer for winter snows to melt to gain access. Camping is free and on a first come - first served basis. The lake has both public and private property. Fire restrictions may be different depending on where you locate your camp.
Woodchuck Campground is located on Rattlesnake Creek in a remote location. Campground is surrounded by a mixed conifer forest.
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.
Scout
Says right on the web home page, no tent camping ( no car camping either).
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
Scout
They advertise as having sites for tent camping as well as dispersed camping. This is inaccurate and should be changed.
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.
Traveler
Absolutely delightful campground with flush toilets and potable water. Super close access to the water. Would be a perfect spot for tent camping if there weren’t so many trailers everywhere.
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.
Guide
This is a small hidden little gem of a campground. They have flush toilets and bear boxes which makes it nice for those of us that tent camp. Close to the water and sites have plenty of space.
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 😊
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.
Scout
This campground has it all. It’s clean, has great amenities (pool, showers, kitchen, bathrooms), and it’s a nice walk away from town. It has a spot for everyone - RVs, glamping tents, and the standard tent sites (my style).
Highly recommend!
Traveler
Campground was full but very quiet. Stayed at a great site for tent camping with my motorcycle. Bathrooms were clean, weather good, and bugs weren’t too bad. Also a trailhead for hiking to a few secluded lakes. And the best..no cell phone coverage!!
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.
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
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.
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.
TravelerWe spent two nights doing a family and friends reunion. We loved our rv spot, the rest of the group had great tent site and glamping tents. Facilities were super clean and nice. Pool was small but the pool area was really nice. Great location for swimming in the Yuba river!
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Tent camping near Olympic Valley, California, offers a fantastic opportunity to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying the stunning Sierra Nevada landscape. With a variety of campgrounds featuring essential amenities and access to outdoor activities, you'll find the perfect spot for your next adventure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Olympic Valley, CA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Olympic Valley, CA is Donner Memorial State Park Campground with a 4.7-star rating from 18 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Olympic Valley, CA?
TheDyrt.com has all 91 tent camping locations near Olympic Valley, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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