Best Tent Camping near Sun Valley, NV

Nice bear boxes and bathrooms. Tent sites were big

Booked a tent site. The campground was completely full. My fire ring was at the bumper of my vehicle, the picnic table was basically in someone else’s campsite, and I had to walk up a flight of stairs where the tent site was supposed to be. The site on one side of me looked down on top of me from 10 feet away, the RV site next to me was crammed on top of me as well. Their front porch was basically staring right at my site, like I would be there entertainment for the night.

I had planned to camp out of the back of my truck for a quick overnight stay. Lots of better options around.

It is nice that it is walking distance from Zephyr Cove. But Zephyr Cove was packed. Nevada beach was only a four minute drive away and much more spacious and relaxing.

$67, plus taxes and fees, for no services and being packed in like sardines, no thanks.

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.

Had a great time here - terrific proximity to lake & decent sized camping sites. Nearby Portola, & easy drive from the Reno area.

Lots of generators in use during the day (the only reason I can’t give it 5 stars, since we were tent camping) , but all seemed to abide by hours posted for operation.

Already have reservations for this summer!

Camping during a heat wave so RVs had generators going and tent site near us was having a party. But overall this was chill, plenty of spots on a Sunday evening in July, easy to find (don’t use the GPS directions from this app - nav to Fort Churchill and camp is in the park.

Cell service came and went.

I went to Everstoke a week ago. Based on my camping experience here, I would suggest to those who intend to come here to experience some camping styles. Traditional campers can choose from spacious tent sites where they can pitch their own tent, 2 player games and enjoy a rustic camping experience. For those looking for a touch of luxury, there are luxury accommodations, offering comfortable and stylish tents equipped with amenities like cozy beds, private bathrooms and even fire pits.

This campground offered everything I needed and nothing I did not. My tent site was perfect. The lake was absolutely stunning. I rented a kayak and took a lovely paddle enjoying the serenity and beauty of the High Sierras. Around my campfire, I could here birds singing and wind blowing through the trees. The funny thing is that just down the road is the thriving tourism of Truckee, CA. When I wanted to be social, I went there and had an amazing time too.

Words cannot explain this enchanted place. Located just outside of Reno , this is where the locals play. With the most beautiful sunny, and sunsets I've ever seen this week is the only lake in the world you can catch lahontan cutthroat trout. October 1st opening day. About 11 dollars a night to tent camp , or bring an r.v. for your glamping experience. The Paiute Native Americans reside here , and I have a wonderful relationship with them volunteering picking up the area in my spare time . This is Americas best kept secret. If you camp here, make sure you leave it clean when departing . Lots to do here.

There are two loops of areas for RV/Trailer, or tent camping. Multiple handicap accessible slots and pull thru sites. Nice and clean showers and bathrooms along with water spouts for those who are washing dishes. There are camp fire pits at each site with a covered table. Set in scrubland leading up to the lake, you will see plenty of birds, squirrels, and rabbits. I had several deer wander through the scrub behind my campsite and we were visited by one of the local bands of mustangs. In the main day use area, there is a take off/landing site for those who are hang gliding. Across the road and at the top of the hill you can find the launch point for the gliders. In the far side of the camp grounds you have the boat launch and several day use camp sites for picnics. You can watch the fish leap from the water, the birds soaring over the lake, and occasionally have one of the mustang bands hang out in the cool of the lakeside grazing on the lush grass.

The views are stunning in watching the sun set across the lake and over the peaks of Mt. Rose.

This was the first stop on my National park road trip. Not an N.P. but it was the perfect distance for my first leg from Eugene,Or.

I got into camp in early afternoon to find it snowing; in early May. I was hoping that I had waited long enough to avoid too much snow. Luckily it stopped just as I was finishing my tent setup. It didn't stick in the campgrounds, but dusted the mountains nicely.

This campground was on the smaller side, I lucked out it being off season, I was able to score a site. At $33 it was a little steeper than I was expecting for a tent site, but It was well worth it. It was a short walk to the sandy lake beach and awesome mountain views. I can only imagine how busy this place gets in the winter. There were hiking trails nearby, unfortunately I hadn't the time or energy as I had to continue on my journey early in the morn. I imagine they would have breathtaking views.

Each site had tables and firepits. I don't recall water bibs, but I had already planned ahead and brought my own. They had a covered group area where I'm sure many weddings have taken place.

There were nice clean flush restrooms and garbage/recycling areas.

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.

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.