Best Campgrounds near South Lake Tahoe, CA

This is a construction zone and I raised a lot of eyebrows by rolling through it. Couldn't find a campsite because the road was blocked by construction vehicles.

Some friends of ours love North Fork Campground just off I-80 at Emigrant Gap, so we were going to try it on the way back from the California coast to Reno.  North Fork Campground was nice, and would have been a good place to spend the night, but felt a bit dark and tight with dense foliage along the beginnings of the North Fork of the American River.  We saw that Onion Valley Campground was just a bit further.  Nobody there, so we took a spot at the far end of the campground next to the meadow.  Very peaceful for a short afternoon stop and a morning departure.

Right off the main road with minimal traffic noise. So beautiful, open, and feels safe. Late March is hot in the day and a little cool at night. Family friendly.

The housing development is right off the campsite and I think they’re starting to push it into where you would camp. Construction vehicles everywhere. People called the fire department on are campfire and a fire truck showed up. They said it wasn’t their jurisdiction if we could camp there so we stayed and got woken up at 8:00 am by a very angry man saying we had 15 minutes to get out or he’d call the cops. Don’t camp here unless you’re looking for a crazy night.

The road up to Iowa Hill is terrifying- especially in the dark. We camped in our 4runner as we got there when it was dark and there was so much glass and shell casings everywhere from what seems to be a local shooting area. the town nearby is a bit eerie but fun to explore. it worked for one night! No amenities, but a bathroom and paid campsite down the rugged road so come with everything you need. Hike nearby with waterfall is beautiful

We came for an overnight after a run of wet weather and it was a little bit muddy. We were prepared for it and the host and helped us pick a good spot so ended up not making any difference. The alpacas were plentiful, the views were good and it made for a good night.

Newer showers and bathrooms than any other rv park in Reno. Very little foliage but that is the desert. Large and expensive laundry facility $4.50 for a load. Paid $59 for a back-in 30 amp site full service. Lots to do in the hotel other than gamble and as a camper you can use the hotel amenities - curling, pool, hot tubs, etc. We had fun in the Escape Room and Sensology games. Great views of the mtn range.

Found this on iOverland. The toad leading up, cuts through a nice neighborhood, has many inverse speed bumps, so take it slow. Once you get to the area you’re navigation tells you you have to walk from there, keep driving through, in between the water tanks and it’ll start to get a little rough, but manageable, even for a small fwd vehicle (saw one in the morning). The sign says closed during the winter, but there were people still coming to hike and explore. Very quiet night, just the water from for the fenced off collection pool system going all the time. Just stayed one night. Arrived at dusk and left after breakfast.

Just off of 80 @ the Mustang exit, east bound side. Industrial area, so trucks going by, mostly during the day, but occasionally throughout the night. Good, clean spot to rest for a night. Adjacent to the river

I am a 12 year old and I had tons of fun. Me and my friends were up there and there was conveniently a campground available in there same campsite. We went in the summer and the water was perfect! We went fishing and caught crawfish in a trap underneath the bridge near the front. Overall the staff were really nice and it was a great trip. I recommend it!

Came on a Saturday around 4pm, there were 2 other campers other than me so it wasn’t busy at all. No service for at&t. Overall had a good stay here with my 2 dogs

Camped here for what we thought would be a couple of nights for an event. However, event was canceled due to massive wild fire (air quality index was horrible, so stayed 1 night and left ASAP next morning). Campground is right on the main drag through town and just across the street and a short walk to the lake, although the lake does not permit dogs in this area. Nice walking/biking paths, but heavily commercial district means lots of traffic going by. Site (#E06) is huge with enough space for several RVs, but we parked sideways adjacent to the picnic table and had spot near to bathrooms/showers which are clean but a bit ragged around the edges. 

Food aside: Dinner of Curly's pork with cheese and Hatch green chile tortillas. Good to come back here at some point when not high season and can stay more in camping zone, this is a pretty commercial district.

The two closest roads coming in from the West are blocked off and labeled no unauthorized vehicles. This is due to the construction of the new neighborhoods and they probably annexed the area. You could probably access it from the East but I have no idea how many miles it would be in from where you would come in.