Best Glamping near Reno, NV

We just got back from a short 2 night trip to William Kent. It was a lovely little spot. The sites are definitely close together and the pads are tight. We have a 25 ft travel trailer and with my husbands truck it was definitely a tight squeeze. Plus our pad was really not very flat so leveling the trailer was tough. But beyond that, we had a great site. Someone else made the reservations but I think we really lucked out. Yes, we were on the back end, so as far from the lake as you could be, and yes there are cabins that butt up to some of the sites. But we rode our bikes and/or walked to the lake still, and we barely even saw any people in the cabins. Now there were other sites that were much closer to houses than that and I'm not sure I could've handled those but our site was great. The site itself was huge and really nice for my large family. There is a breakfast place right next to the campground so if you want more glamping you can swing over there in the morning. We also didnt care for the William Kent beach area cause there are no dogs allowed, so instead we drove down a few miles to a dog beach that was really nice. I dont know the name but it's to the right out of the campground, a few miles down and you will run into it. All in all, if you want dispersed camping, this isnt the place for you. But if you want a nice place to set up shop and be super close to tahoe and other amenities, this is a great spot. We had site 30.

Our family camped here every summer when I was growing up. The waters of Lake Tahoe were much clearer and far less crowded then (1950s - 1960s), so we often had an entire beach along the northeastern shore to ourselves when we took our boat out for the day.

It was a special place for my mom, too: she grew up in Reno and attended Campfire Girls summer camps there in the 1930s.

Even after all of the development and human impacts, Zephyr Cove and Lake Tahoe are very nice spots for family camping and outings. Try it after Labor Day, when many summer-season tourists leave, if you are ready for chilly weather and the occasional early-season snowfallin exchange for a quieter experience.

Huge disappointment! We were so excited, passing through Reno, we got a “standard” site, so we could get a nice steak at the Charlie Palmer Steakhouse, drop some money at the blackjack tables and get a good night sleep in our trailer.

Instead we arrived at 6:10, so the office was closed. There were tons of “premium” sites that we were told were not available. To access the bathroom/showers we needed a key, so we got to drive to the casino and wait in line for 30 minutes.

The site is not very well maintained and the bathrooms were clean by the premium sites, but not as much in ghetto end of the park.

By the time, all was said and done, we were tired and irritated so we stayed in the trailer and made our own dinner. $65 for for a weed infested parking lot with electric and seweris too much. Maybe OK if you REALLY want to gamble.

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.