Best Glamping near Pioneer, CA

Lots of private sites; takes tents to big RVs. No cement or asphalt-all dirt. “Resort” is a bit of a stretch, this is no fancy “glamping.” Silver Lake, hiking, trails (tons!), kayaking, boating, fishing, swimming with ducks and geese, upper lakes to find. 8000 ft elev. some permanent loops with season-long residents. Open Jun-Sep. Has, market, bar and restaurant. There’s a few annual events i.e., BBQs, trail rides. Very kid friendly too. Bring your bike! Adjoins the El Dorado NF Allen Camp trailhead.

We stayed in a Yurt and it was absolutely amazing. We ended up coming in really late but they left our key for us. They were super accommodating. The Llamas were an absolute plus as well. We loved how close it was to the park. The price for the yurt was like $100 a night and when we split that up, it was nothing!

FHU and Electric/water sites. Also has cabins, yurts, covered wagons you can rent. Has pool, playground and petting zoo. Well kept and easy to work with

Great campsite with trails to hike and explore.  Close to Lake Tahoe and also the Taylor Creek Watershed that has a beautiful trail to explore.  Done both tent and yurt camping, both great!

It wasn’t as nice as the photos depicted. Water shortage? The grasses were long and dried up, there appears to have been a wooden bridge as a shortcut to the pool/restroom/laundry room/Deli, but no longer. The restrooms were barely tolerable and the woman’s had a bad odor. There’s a dishwashing station that is no longer serviceable, just a stainless sink set in a covered table with no water or even plumbing to include drains. You have to pay for WiFi and sometimes the signal drops. For the cost of the campground the WiFi should be free! Lesser known campgrounds even have free WiFi. There are Conestoga Wagons, Cabins and Yurts. None were occupied. Reason?

This park is located very close to Sutter’s Mill where good was discovered. It also has a white water rafting business on site.

The terrain is steep with mostly smaller sites. Water pressure is excellent. Our site had 30 amp only and I doubt any of them have 50 amp. The power is not good. I had to bypass the surge suppressor because it kept cutting out due to low voltage. Voltage was generally 104-105.

There are very nice tent and yurt sites along the river.

They have a nice shower and there’s decent AT&T service.

I would be very cautious about coming here with a larger RV. Ours is 30’ bumper to bumper. I think 32 would be ok.

Be aware that Garmin nav might take you the wrong way. Apple Maps had it correct though.

Overall a great place to camp. Good access to the river from many of the sites and in general the river is kid-friendly (during summer). Spots vary in size wildly so larger RV's might not be a good idea. On average I'd say 30' is a max. Pit toilets are serviceable but not the best. The OHV crowd can kind of make a mess of this campground in summer (Loud music after quiet hours, riding ATV's into and out of campground despite rules against it... etc) If I had to pick a best time of year I'd say fall or spring (Open-June 1st)

Best place for groceries near by is Pioneer, CA and if you're looking for someone to cook you breakfast try Cook's Station. Cell reception is ok on AT&T

We got a last minute cancelled site at the Fallen Leaf Campground, and thought we’d truly lucked out. We stayed at site 87 which is nestled among towering native pine trees on the South end of the campground and one of the few sites which doesn’t have neighbors on all sides. The sites have the standard standing BBQ's and fire rings at all sites (but we couldn’t utilize them because of the fire ban), old picnic tables and various amounts of space for RV’s/cars and the tried and true bear box. In this campground you NEED to utilize the bear boxes. They have signs everywhere about the mass amount of bear activity and how there is a mother and her 2 cubs which have been terrorizing the campground for some time this season (2018). Again, you need to keep everything (food, toiletries, etc.) in the bear box at all times. The sites are reservable, and on top of the $35 (nonelectric) per site there is a $7 fee for a second vehicle, Yurts go for $86 which do have power and a nonrefundable $10 service fee…. While the campground allows dogs, they aren’t allowed in the Yurts.

There’s lots of bear proof dumpsters around the campground, lots of potable water in strategic spots and a number of decent restrooms, and it was nice that at some of them they provided hot (pay) showers (at $1 per 3 minutes) and while the ADA has some control the standard one has no control over the heat or pressure its simply on or off. Also, the restrooms have no soap, paper towels, or hand dryers, etc. Which was a little disappointing for the cost.

My biggest disappointment in the setup of the campground has to do with the bears and cleaning your dishes. There is no dish-washing area in the entire ~200 site, ~14 bathroom campground. They specifically ask that you don’t wash your dishes in the sinks or at the water spigots as they don’t want any food particles going down the drains. So, when I asked about disposing of the dish water they said to just toss it at the base of a tree, as it’s dry and the trees would appreciate it. This doesn’t help keep the bears away… While we scrapped and collected every bit of food waste we could and tossed it into the dumpsters, ff you’re just tossing food scrap-soaked water at the base of the trees the bears are going to come for the smell… I’ve stayed at other sites in bear country which have setups for disposing of the waste water and food scraps to detract bears and Fallen Leaf definitely is lacking and this is possibly part of the reason they’re having such an issue with bears.

While, our site (87) would probably normally be a great location with the Fallen Leaf Lake being the only thing behind you and no neighbors on at least 2 of your sides, we happened to somehow book the same weekend that a corporate event was taking over the vast majority of the campground with almost 200 people….

While, not entirely the campgrounds fault it was a little disruptive to have this mass number of people come directly next to us in site 88 for their meals as they’d decided to make that site the meal prep site for breakfast (they started prep at 5:30 am) and dinner (we actually had to ask the drunk group to stop screaming at midnight) these were both well outside the “quiet hours” and definitely surpassed the “6 people per site” rule.

Otherwise this campground is in a great location to see the area as it’s only approximately one-quarter mile north of Fallen Leaf Lake. The trail from the campground was only 3 sites over from us. The Taylor Creek Visitor Center is directly across Highway 89 and is a great location to talk to the Rangers about other potential hikes in the area. They also have interpretive programs, guided walks on the Rainbow Trail and to the Stream Profile Chamber (which was closed because someone decided to break it. Although it should be repaired now… end of September 2018). Also, nearby Baldwin Beaches or Pope Beach, which cost $10, or you can go to the Tallac Historic Site with tours and events at its historic buildings and grounds and the free (dog friendly) Kiva beach which is exactly the same as the other pay access beaches….

There’s also a really nice paved bike trail that runs 3 miles along Highway 89 and can be used to access all of the above. You have access to excellent day hiking and backpacking in Desolation Wilderness via the Glen Alpine or Mt. Tallac trailheads which are also nearby.

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.

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.

Fallen Leaf Campground • South Lake Tahoe

$34.50 - 36.50 • Sites 078, 156

Pulling into Tahoe via Stateline, Nevada is like pulling into a Las Vegas/Up North baby. Casinos and resorts turn into camps and fudge shops. From the East you’ll pass thru all of that, past the Camp Richardson and finally turn away from Lake Tahoe into Fallen Leaf Campground. If you’re going to camp in Tahoe you’ve made the right decision. Fallen Leaf Lake is at the rear of the camp. While smaller and not as well known it is also not overly trafficked, crystal clear and surrounded by hiking paths along the water.

Fallen Leaf Campground is a massive 206+ site compound complete with its own store, shower houses and if you travel past the camp all the way to the other side of the lake (and other campgrounds) an ice cream shop. That said, Fallen Leaf Campground does a great job of keeping an “out in the woods” vibe. It is absolutely that place that families go year after year after year, but if you can get a site on the outer loop you can still have some separation, plenty of trees and with the lake so close, feel like you’re in the heart of nature. One of the better jobs by a large scale campground I’ve experienced.

But be prepared. It’s going to be full of kids and dogs and campers who are not necessarily out there to experience nature but to see family and friends and likely drink a caseload of Bud Light a day. There may also be bears. Bears are everywhere here. Or so we heard. We never saw one, but the camp staff and campers around us all had bear stories that "just happened yesterday! or last week! or in 1950!" Basically, bears. There are bear boxes at each site, and kids everywhere you probably won't be a bears first target. Just be bear aware. Across the main road from the campground is the mighty Lake Tahoe. It was okay. Lots of people, lots of choppy waves. We preferred setting up the hammock by Fallen Leaf Lake.

The showers were nice but pricey. Four U.S. Quarters for 3 minutes. You can get done what you want but no more. There are about four per loop (give or take 25 sites) but we never had a problem finding one open. There are no outlets for charging or bathroom appliances though. The older bathrooms along the inner loop are dated and worn but have accessible outlets if you need some juice. The toilets everywhere are flush and each loop has at least one camp host staying on it. The staffers were friendly, helpful and accessible.

The outer loop is where you want to be if you are looking for any privacy or traveling alone. The inner loop, with its lack of privacy, was the spot for large groups. On our second night we stayed in the inner loop and our neighbors had booked 19 sites for incoming family and friends. It’s tough being in the middle of that when you weren’t planning on joining a new family. The outer loop sites are mostly well shaded and have a lot more privacy, as well as lake accessibility if you are in the back row which I’d recommend. At $34.50 you want the best spots. It also forced me to ask myself, “How much is too much for a campsite?”

Fallen Leaf Lake Campground gets 3 Tent Stakes of Awesomeness. In Tahoe, you’ll never escape the crowds or tourists, but Fallen Leaf Lake Campground does a good job of insulating you somewhat from that while maintaining a nice campground on the edge of a lovely lake. No blasphemy intended but I’d spend the day at Fallen Leaf Lake over Lake Tahoe any day.

Pro-Tip #1: Site 078-079 are massive pull-thru sites but great if you’re tent camping. More private, well shaded and closest to the lake and free downed firewood.

Pro-Tip #2: Site 156 sucks. Unless you want to look at stars. No shade or privacy. A long way from any shower/bath house and electric wires running above you.

_Pro-Tip #3: Firewood is readily available downed by the lake or on trails if you’re willing to put in five minutes of effort. _

Pro-Tip #4: The Baldwin ruins aren’t worth it, but the walk around the lake or along the Morraine Trail is.

Pro-Tip #5: There is a decent wind that starts early to mid-afternoon coming in against the shore over the lake. It is blocked to the camp, but mornings are the best time for lake time. Mornings are glassy on the lake for paddle boarding and kayaking as well, but choppier in the afternoon.

There is no cell reception and the Navi will not work so be prepared and have printed directions/map. The signs to get there are limited so keep an eye out and follow the paper plates with the arrows on them. You will eventually arrive to this little oasis. Once you cross the bridge you will hear the sound of the water as it flows over the multi colored stones that shape this gorgeous river. The water is crystal clear....but it’s cold! We stayed at campsite #48 which was very roomy and had plenty of space to accommodate 2-3 tents. The site was close to the water but you could not see the stream from the campsite. At night we could hear the water as it flowed over the boulders. Very peaceful! All the other campers were all so friendly and nice. There is a walking path that follows the river through the campground which makes for a easy stroll along the river with some great lookout decks. We saw a lot of small trout swimming in the river. To small to catch. We even spotted a bob cat as it was crossing the river at sunset. Only downside to our stay was the yellow jackets. We got swarmed by them anytime tried to cook. No Exaggeration easily 100+ jackets swarming our bbq while tried to cook our dinner. We got relief from them down by the water so following night made sandwhiches and had picnic by the river. Come to find out there was a hive located in a stump in our campsite. Had we have know before setting up all of camp we would have moved to different site. Only suggestion is to scout out your site first before setting up and bring some yellow jacket traps just to be on safe side. Would like to go back again and next time get site #50 as it was closest to the water. TIP: Visit Cooks Station before getting to campground. Great food and best deal on wood. $25 for six bundles. It is located off main road 88 and is not to far from the turn off to get to pipi which is omo ranch road. Once turn onto omo ranch road it is another 5miles to the campground.

Very peaceful location with amenities for all needs. Far enough from the road to be quiet.