Arrived around 5pm on a Tuesday the last day of April and even though the weather is crappy (low 40’s with intermittent rain/snow and a freeze warning), there were only a few spots left. Surprised to see several tent campers. As other reviews have pointed out, only the B Loop is open; the A loop is going to have electric (and water?) installed but no completion date was indicated. Would have been nice to have electric on these cold nights so we could plug in our portable heater. I think when Loop A is completed, it will be the nicer of the two - farther from the road and with aforementioned amenities. First Nevada State Park we’ve been to with flush toilets (but no soap and they could use a little maintenance work - some faucets missing and one toilet took extreme muscle to flush. I also felt like Goldilocks - one toilet was so low, I was squatting and another was so high, I had to hoist myself up!) Sites all looked level and most were back-in (even the handicapped ones) but ours (33) was a “pull-through”. All sites have a picnic table and fire ring but only some have shelters over the tables (a must on hot summer days). Very quiet in Site 33. I didn’t hear road noise some mentioned but those closer to the road might hear more. I can only imagine it would be a completely different scenario in the summer when people come to enjoy the lake. I would definitely recommend walking to the lake in the morning for nice reflection shots.
If you like Bird Watching (or wildlife in general), Boating, Fishing, Hang Gliding, Paragliding, Equestrian Activities, Camping or BBQ's, or even history, then this is a place you might enjoy.
The lake and the surrounding area takes on a different appearance depending on the season you visit, and whether it's been a wet year or a dry one. Sometimes when it has been extremely dry, the larger of the 2 lakes dries up either partially or entirely, leaving the smaller one as a valuable water source for Wild Mustangs who live in the area. (which is a great opportunity for photographers).
When the larger lake bed dries up a little, it extends the hang gliding / paragliding landing zone. (take off point is up on the hill on Eastlake Blvd, which is also a good view point of the lakes).
During the wetter years, the larger lake fills up, allowing water activities such as boating to take place on both lakes, and provides you with the opportunity to bird watch at any of the wildlife viewing areas provided. The smaller lake also provides bird watching opportunities (Osprey and other birds of prey like to fish there) You can also fish at the smaller lake, just don't eat them, the area was once used for the processing mills during the mining boom.
Also if you are into wildlife, there is the occasional coyote hunting the area, owls, hawks, bald eagles, and if you want to see deer, take a little drive up Eastlake Blvd towards little Washoe Lake, and one of the fields on the right often has huge herds of Mule Deer, and the occasional wild horse. Talking of Wild horses, you are requested not to feed or harass the wild Mustangs anywhere in Nevada (Washoe lake park included). Horses can be defensive, especially when they have young foals. Also feeding them anything other than what they naturally eat in the wild, not only causes a high number of deaths in the herds, it also creates dangerous situations on the roadways when horses come to retrieve the food. (it can also cost you thousands of dollars in fines) There are people who regularly monitor the interaction visitors have with the horses. But if you want to interact with a horse, why not bring your own for a ride around too, people often bring their horses down for a trot around the grounds.
There are restrooms available throughout the park, and facilities for camping. It is a good place for dogs, though it is requested that you clean up after them. There are doggie clean up stations available, and containers for waste.
The land the park sits on was once owned by one of Nevada's wealthiest men Theodore Winters, who was a prominent businessman and politician in early Nevada history. He once owned some of the most famous racehorses in the world, and his cheese was world renown. His Ranch is still around, and you can find it located just on the other side of the lake (Old Route 395), not far from the Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory (which is great if you get a hankering for something sweet), and Old Washoe City.
The lake's history goes back even further than that, the area was once inhabited by the local tribes people, and before the early pioneer's came and settled here, they used hunt ducks on the lake, and fished here. There is probably still the odd chance you might come across old Native tools and arrowheads, but the State of Nevada does ask you to leave artifacts where they are found. Check the local and federal laws before attempting to remove anything.
It has some lovely sunsets here, the view can be spectacular at times and changes according to season and weather, and the wildlife seem to enjoy it. Nice place to go and hang out with family and friends, and if you happen to forget to bring anything, you are only a little drive from Carson City :)
The fields and trails that are near this campground are phenomenal. It's a short (but steep) hike down to the Giant Sequoia Grove. The bathrooms are not maintains outside of the season and watch out for black widows in the corners of the bathrooms.
There are yurts and information stations about the fields and local flora and fauna! The rangers are incredibly helpful and sweet!
Rv park was clean clean clean very nice staff. The only negative part was my children and I could not enjoy the amenities Kids must be 18 to enjoy the spa even if accompanied by adults, had a great club house with a pool table but kids must be 14 to play.
We take our Kayaks and spend the day on the lake. It gets choppy in the afternoon so be aware. The campgrounds are set among huge boulders and can be very private. There are bears but they seem to keep to themselves but don’t temp with unstored food. Tables, bear lockers,fire rings are at all campsites. Trailers and RV are mostly kept to the boat launch. Closed from October till May
Rolled in with no reservations and not a clue as to camp for the night in my van. All campgrounds were closed but I found a little spot to park for the night right on the lake. Set up camp, did some fishing and cooked up dinner. My best friend and I fished this lake 30 years ago…Good memories
This campground was one of the nicest I've come across. It's right on the California-nevada state line near Lake Tahoe. In my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful places in the US. A lot of the campsites have a view of the lake. They have sites for tents and RVs. The bathrooms are nice and there's fresh drinking water. There are some public grills to use. Really nice amenities at this place.
I personally just love lake Tahoe. Amazing hiking around the lake. Mount Tallac is a killer but gorgeous hike. Go stand on the line between Nevada and California like I did! In the winter this place is awesome too, because the ski resort has some great runs.
Very pleased with the accommodation and everything availableo
I was surprised when I heard of this campground. A city run campground across the street from the lake in the middle of town? Sure! We had a site in one of the two loops that had full hook-ups, and our site backed up to US 50. I was prepared for a lot of road noise and even strangers wandering through our camp but neither was a nuisance. Sites were spacious. We loved seeing the lake from our campsite and hitting the bike trail right outside the campground. There was also a nice city pool, library, and playground in walking distance.
No running water but the campground has great views of the lake! There are 2 site that are tucked away further down the road that are really secluded if that is your thing. Took a day trip to Alpine lake to swim. Beware of the elevation - didn't realize how far up we were!
Lake tahoe is one of the most beautiful place in California. There are plenty of state parks and campsites around the lake, but D.L. Bliss is one of my favorite. Its nestled right on the lake, but some of the campsites are a little further back away from it. My favorite part about this campground is that it was pretty quite when I went. Not a whole lot of people there. The sites are a little small, but very nice. The beaches are great too and secluded.
The campground has all the amenities you could need. Hot showers, clean drinking water, nice bathrooms, firewood for sale, picnic tables. There are hiking trails right near the campground and, of course, the beach. There's also tons to do right around the lake. Scuba diving, biking trails, hiking trails, kayaking, whatever you can think of really.
My favorite hike in near Lake Tahoe is defiantly Mount Tallac. If you decide do to this hike, be prepared. Its about 10ish miles, pretty strenuous, and some of the trail can be covered with snow depending on the time of year.
Also, make sure to always store your food in bear safe containers. The bears can get pretty active around here depending on the time of year.
One of the largest and nicest campground for RVers and Tent campers combined. Helpful staff, and park rangers on site. Activities planned each day. Close walk to Lake Tahoe and restaurants
Lots of space to spread out under the trees, easy lake access from all campgrounds, great for boating if that’s what you’re into, could be a drawback if you’re a long distance swimmer as there are lots of boats.
Awesome spot! Great campground right on a creek, access to high Sierra hiking trails that put you right up at high lakes, and friendly park rangers/station.
Easy to access, even for larger rigs. We stayed in 39 foot 5th wheel. Plenty of pull thru spots, full hookups, regularly spaced bathroom/showers. Nice store for basic needs, nice laundry room.
Rudimentary campsites, no fire rings or tables at any of the campsites. The cement pullouts are still there. I’ve been up in that area a lot in the past three years and the gate that is at the opening is open sometimes and closed and locked at other times. Not really sure what’s going on with the site. On a brighter note the snowflowers were going off earlier this season!
There are plenty of sites to choose from on this loop. Two bathrooms and some running water although I believe it is only there for dousing your fire. There is a nice little aspen grove that bisects the campground and every site has a picnic table and a fire ring. You’ll want four wheels drive to get up there, but I’ve seen passenger vehicles make it just drive slow. Clean campsites, Let’s help keep them that way.
You are up on a summit so the only thing to cut down the wind if it gets windy is the stand of trees that the campground is situated in. There are pit toilets and water hydrants. I think that there are 14 campsites in all. I went on a Monday durning Peak season. There were at least five sites to choose from. Picnic tables and fire rings were at every site along with a large flat area for your tent. There are a few hikes nearby so it’s nice to be so close to so many trailheads.
Ok - Pretty great spot. Breezed in, set up on the tent only loop, and enjoyed the rest of the night. Twenty five buckeroo seems to be the going rate and I've certainly spent more on less.
Flushie toilets, bear lockers, easy access to Reno/Tahoe.
Freeway noise noticeable, but not objectionable if you're a city baby like me.
The staff is amazing. Incredibly clean, well run, efficient and the coffee was great!
The site was roomy and quiet.
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.
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
Right on the lake and excellent camp hosts (Michelle and her husband)
Great camp spot near Lake Tahoe.It is refreshing to be surrounded by trees and a short walk to a creek and a lake.
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.
This campground earns 4 stars because of its amazing privacy. First, it's quite an adventurous (read: bumpy) drive to get to it from the nearest paved road. Once you arrive, you'll be amazed at how much space there is between the sites. From most sites, you can scarcely see that there are other campsites around! Yet there are still vault toilets.
Lookout is oddly named; it's tucked deeply enough into the forest that it doesn't have much in the way of a view (though in fall, the numerous aspen are undoubtedly stunning).
This campground is dog friendly, with no one to enforce leash rules (if there are any). Since the separation between sites is so large, this doesn't seem to be much of an issue. Down off the mountain, both human and pooch alike can splash around in the Truckee River to cool off. There's excellent swimming right by the bridge.
This is a lovely campground with several sites that have better than average privacy. There are also a number that are quite on top of one another -- but the place is first-come-first-served only, so you can remedy this by showing up earlier.
When the weather is nice, those that arrive on Thursday will be treated to a reasonable selection, while Saturday arrivals may be completely out of luck.
Dogs are allowed on-leash only, and the camp host doesn't miss opportunities to reiterate the fact (albeit in a friendly fashion). Very nearby, you'll find Caples Lake, where you'll find plenty of opportunities for you and your hound to swim and fish.