Ed Z'berg - Sugar Pine Point State Park contains one of the finest remaining natural areas on Lake Tahoe. With nearly two miles of lake frontage, the park has dense forests of pine, fir, aspen and juniper.

Another attraction is the Hellman-Ehrman Mansion (also known as Pine Lodge), a summer home built in 1903 in a grove of pine and cedar. From the turn of the century until 1965, the lands of what is now Ed Z'berg - Sugar Pine Point State Park were owned by financier Isaias W. Hellman, and later by his daughter Florence Hellman Ehrman. The mansion provides an interesting view into the lifestyles of the wealthy on Lake Tahoe.

Location/Directions
The park is located on the west shore of Lake Tahoe, ten miles south of Tahoe City on Highway 89.

Seasons/Climate/Recommended clothing
Summer temperatures range from about 75-80 degrees during the day to the low 40s at night, and winter temperatures average from a high of 40 to lows in the teens or 20s. Winter temperatures may drop below 0. High Sierra weather is varied and can change abruptly. It is recommended to bring layered clothing and check weather updates.  The weather forecast is available from NOAA.gov. 
Chains and/ or 4 wheel drive are frequently required during the winter season.  For up to date road conditions, call the Caltrans road hotline at 1800-427-ROAD, or visit the Caltrans website.  

Facilities - Activities
Hiking & Swimming
Many miles of hiking trails within the park and a swimming beach provide visitors with a variety of relaxing summer activities.

Fishing
Ed Z'berg - Sugar Pine Point State Park is comprised of conifer forests in the General Creek drainage. The waters of General Creek are among the clearest waters flowing into Lake Tahoe and the stream is open to fishing from mid July to mid September.A fishing license is required.

Cross-Country Skiing
Winter visitors to the park will find over 20 kilometers of marked cross country ski trails and a heated restroom in the General Creek campground. Interpretive presentations on a variety of winter related subjects are presented most weekends, from January through March.

Nature Center
When you're at Ed Z'berg - Sugar Pine Point State Park, be sure to stop at the Nature Center located in the day use area by the Ehrman Mansion. We now have a bird display, where visitors can view several species of bird life that occur in the Tahoe Basin. In addition to birds, visitors can see most of the mammals and the four major game fish that occur here. Other exhibits include: Biology, Lake Ecology, Wildflowers, Trees, and a "Touchy-feely" table for the kids (adults also!).

About the area...
Lake Tahoe lay at the heart of the Washoe Indian territory, and Ed Z'berg - Sugar Pine Point State Park was the summer home for generations of Washoe Indians who came to these peaceful shores to hunt and fish. Evidence of their occupation can still be seen today in the form of bedrock mortars or grinding rocks just offshore from the Ehrman Mansion.

In 1860, the first permanent settler of record on Lake Tahoe's west shore built a cabin at the mouth of General Creek. This was the trapper and fisherman William "General" Phipps, and his cabin can still be seen today just north of the Ed Z'berg - Sugar Pine Point State Park pier. In 1884, a resort called Bellevue Hotel was constructed just north of what is now the South Boathouse, and remained a popular summer destination for Lake Tahoe visitors for nine years.

General Creek Campground — Ed Z'Berg Sugar Pine Point State Park

This campground is on the West side in California about halfway up Lake Tahoe. You take a very winding and narrow two-lane road. When we reached Sugar Pine Point State Park, we were a little disappointed that it wasn't directly on Lake Tahoe. That meant we had to walk or ride bikes to get to the water.﻿ The campground didn't have any frills but we were willing to give up a few luxuries to be close to the lake. Restrooms with showers, dump station, fire rings & hiking are main amenities. Near the lake is a museum which used to be a mansion. The water was a beautiful shade of deep blue and nothing like our lakes back home in Florida. The water was freezing but that didn't seem to stop anyone from swimming, boating, skiing, etc. The boys went straight to the dock for some jumping and flipping. There were many others there daring to do the same. I rented a kayak and paddled around to get a different view while the boys swam by the shore. Also, they have the biggest pine cones I have ever seen (Sugar Pines). I had to collect a bunch to take back home to friends and family.





Lake Tahoe Camping

Tahoe

our visit was great. we had an event to go to the following day, so we needed to be able to shower. this campground was perfect. far enough below Tahoe City to be quiet, yet close enough to be able to go into town for any necessary supplies (about 15 minutes) 
dogs are allowed, fairly close to the beach, showers, water, fire pits and roomy sites with shrubs or trees separating campsites.

relaxing, convenient, plenty of amenities

We spent a total of 4 nights at the SPP SP/General Creek campground and LOVED it! 

The campground is across the street from the state park day use area where you can access the lake, but it's so easily accessible and you don't have to pay for the day use area once you pay for your campsites, so totally worth it! You can drive and park over there or walk or ride a bike. 

The campground bathrooms and showers were so clean, the camp hosts were AWESOME and our site was huge! We actually came here earlier than expected after leaving our South Lake Tahoe "campground" early due to overcrowding and congestion. This campground is close to all the greats, across the street from the Lake and with your camping fees you get access to all of the State Parks in the area, which meant we got to go to DL Bliss for multiple days for free and hang out in the Sugar Pine Day Use area. We also got to check out Meeks Bay, Tahoe City and Kings Beach because of this great central location. Make sure you stop at Obexer's market for some camp goodies and West Shore Sports to rent some bikes or kayaks. While Lake Tahoe was super busy, especially on the North Shore, it never felt too crowded or chaotic at Sugar Pine or any of the areas we were in on the west shore. Highly recommend this area and this park and campground! Active bears, so be cautious! Nice bear boxes provided. Great cell service on AT&amp;T as well.

On the beautiful West Shore of Lake Tahoe 

Bathrooms were nice. A very clean campground. Showers only located in a few spots- coin operated. Maybe it was bc of Covid but there wasn’t a spot to wash dishes. Each site had a table, water spigot, and bear box. A bear came through the campsite which was interesting. The ranger warned us this would happen so everyone knew to make loud noises to scare the bear away. Sites were pretty far apart which was nice. We had cell reception on Verizon. 

Nice campsite but beware of Bears!

I gave this place 2 stars instead of 1 because the staff was super nice and the sugar pines are cool. Oh and the bathrooms were decent.

  

However, the sites are CRAMMED together. Our neighbors were right next to us. We might as well have been sharing a site. They cluster like 4-6 sites together with a little parking lot for all the sites and absolutely nothing between the actual sites. It looks like that doesn't bother other people, but I do not like that. It was super uncomfortable.

  

Not that it's the park's fault, but the bears in Tahoe are ridiculously addicted to junk food and will rip open your car doors so you have to take EVERYTHING out of your car and stuff it in a bear box (we were on a 3 week tent camping road trip, so we have lots of smelly stuff). The dumpsters were scratched and dented to oblivion. I mean, I LOVE Hank the Tank, but these highly populated areas have created some major problems for the bears. To top it off, I found a bunch of food trash and even a pork rib as I was setting up my tent. Glad I found that before sleeping on it and meeting Hank before he got famous.

  

We did not like the vibe in Tahoe. It's pretty. But it seems like it's mostly for rich people who want to be in luxury with some nature around them. That's not really what we're into and we did not felt like we belonged and the nature felt really spoiled.

  

In one photo you'll see a big cloud above the Tahoe National Forest. That was the fire when we were driving in. The next morning we were in it. I know it's natural, just beware when you're planning your trip dates when wildfires are likely. I was wheezing and my nose was bleeding and we basically beelined home and ended our trip early. This was early August 2021. 

  

Also, of course, the lake is very cold if you plan on swimming. But beautiful where you don't see a ton of boats.

Not for us

I camped here in early March after a blizzard. Most of the campsites were snowed out but there were a few plowed out for people to park in! Bear proof containers were buried under snow though. 

Great winter spot

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.

Best price

I had the opportunity to stay in this campground when it was nearly empty. I originally made reservations in June and the state park canceled them due to high snow year and the campground wouldn’t be ready. I ended up still coming to the area to find that they were in fact open for first come first served, but not advertised online. 

I loved the sites here because they were large, had enough parking and were clean. There is a trail that was originally part of the Winter Olympics that you can hike from the campground. You can also follow another trailer to across the highway and enter the Sugar Pine Point State Park. If you’re looking for sites close to the lake, then this isn’t for you. This campground is surrounded by sweet smelling sugar pines. There is also a creek flowing nearby. I can’t tell you how the campground is when it’s in full swing summer mode and full of people, but I really enjoyed the quiet serene reprieve during a by chance encounter. 

A campground with a sweet pine scent 

After October 2, it is first come, first available and only sites 26-72 were open so my review is limited to a small portion of the campground. When I researched ahead of time, it was the ONLY open campground I could find in the Lake Tahoe area. At least the per night rate was decreased to $25 ($23 for seniors). I don’t know about the rest of the loops but most of the sites in the open loop appeared to be “doubles” or even “triples”; the camper pads were paved but appeared to be side-by-side parking spaces. Fortunately, there were not many campers so this was not a problem, however, if the park were more crowded, this layout would only make sense if the camper pads were used to park vehicles and people tent camped. All sites appeared to be level. No hookups. Each site had a large picnic table, fire ring, and bear box. 

  

We had been warned multiple times that we were camping in an active bear area and although we did not encounter any, one of the other campers told us they had seen a mama and bear cub, along with a coyote. 

  

The showers and dump station were closed for the season. There was no host on-site. The restrooms were very basic: toilet and sink but no soap, paper towels, or air dryers. 

  

My rating might have been higher if we could have seen other parts of the campground, but our experience was limited to one night and we did not visit the day-use area.