Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Sun Valley, NV

Great location if you want to be near Costco and the capital city.  Great views of the Sierras and the Carson valley.  Sites are narrow, about twice the width of your RV, and separated by chain link fencing.  But all sites are perfectly flat, paved pull-throughs; easy in, easy out parking.  Also electric, water, sewer hookup, cable and strong wifi and cell service.  Sites are gravel, but the campground has nice grassy dog parks, clean bathrooms and laundry, and well-stocked store with propane refill.  Pool and fishing pond were closed but looked great.  We were there in early April 2021; with our binoculars we could see skiers at the top of Heavenly Mountain ski area!

The RV park was easy to find and enter. Check in was smooth with a very friendly staff, and we were escorted to pull through site 150 with FHUs for our three day stay. The utilities are nicely placed on the middle of the pad. Site 150 is a premium pull through. The only thing that makes this site premium is the concrete pad, small grass front yard, and shade trees; as there is no picnic table, patio, or fire pit. Sites are near each other throughout the park. We really didn’t see where any sites were better spaced than others. We received a Good Sam discount for the nightly rate, which basically paid for the lodging tax. Then there’s a $2 resort fee and $3 per pet fee ($6 for our two pets) with other charges if you bring additional people and vehicles with you. The WiFi was average for a park this size. Cable did not work, but they were trying to get the cable company to come fix it. However, we got a fair amount of OTA channels, with two prime channels. We got 2 bars on Verizon. There’s an interesting mix of full timers, seasonal, and short termers. I state interesting as many of the permanent party live along the South to West perimeter. Most take pride in their sites but as good as the park sites look towards the front it degrades in too many sites looking like, well, a “trailer park”. There’s a very clean and well maintained facility with a Rec Room, showers and nice big laundry. We like the rule where a site can only use two machines at a time. Unless you want to trek out into the desert where the Quads and ATVs go, there are no trails here to walk your dog, but there is a small fenced, off-leash dog area, which was nice. We thought this park would be more of a destination park and for us, it was not. This park had the worse road noise we've experienced after two years on the road. Our sound machine could not drown out the internal park muffler rumbles of locals going to work that started about 4:00 AM, the highway noise all day plus most of the night, and the 5:30ish AM train. We stayed here three nights based on reviews from other websites. Our opinion overall, this place is nothing special. However, it is a good overnighter and could be an option to explore the Reno area.

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

Campground right on Nevada Beach shore of Lake Tahoe. Very quiet where we were with little to no traffic noise. We were right near Dog Beach where your pooch can play on the beach unleashed. We camped the first weekend the campground opened. Things were still a bit wet (standing water that we had to use a board to cross to get to the bathrooms) but the beautiful weather and quiet campground made up for it. I wish it opened earlier in the season before Tahoe becomes packed. It was easy to just stay at the camp and avoid the crowds. No showers.

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.

The lake is an iconic alpine lake nestled in the Sierra Nevada’s. Sugar pine and Lodgepole pines dot the campgrounds and birds are plentiful. There are giant pine cones scattered everywhere and woodpeckers can be heard throughout the morning. This is a great spot for families or folks looking for something right on the lake. There is a somewhat wind sheltered creek with picnic spots available that is great for kids or beginner paddleboarders who need to get started out of the wind. Along the lakeshore there are beautiful old wood stoves for cooking. It gets crowded and the dog friendliness is marginal. The lake is slightly chilly but a great swim on a hot day. The campground has bathrooms and there is a visitor center with a museum and gift shop. Reservations fill up in the summer, for weekends especially.

The camp hosts are sweet offer wood, clean bathrooms, and fresh water. The beach is about a 5 minute walk from any spot. Only complaints are the beach is not dog friendly so if you have your dog you can’t go onto the beach but, you can drive close to a dog beach. The spots are also kinda small and close together. They offer bear box’s and fire rings. Very busy site get here early.

Shuttle to casino. Clean, plenty of space. Store. Close to gas station. Dog areas.

Great campground, right in town, awesome hosts, right across from a beach! Dog friendly :)

Beautiful location, great Camp Host, very busy (not in a good way). Too many uncontrolled dogs and camp sites are a little tight.

Super sweet spot and atmosphere. Great amenities and scenery. Only down side is no dogs allowed.