Sure, slightly pricey with the park fee and the campsite fee combined, but a stunning site. Just make sure to hang out on the river banks for the sunset. Or sunrise.

First come basis, but in October, I had my pick. Probably only 20% full. This trip was the final weekend it was open for the year. October is a perfect time to be here. 

Bathrooms are well lit and have flush toilets. Campground is well kept. Campsites have plenty of room.

First of all, the sites towards the back, by the trails… yeah, get one of those. Trail access directly from those campsites. Also the best views. I had site 16, which was a pull-in site for a trailer, but for this night it was just my, my tent, and my dog. 

Speaking of trails, they're everywhere. And amazing. We had a weather front come in as the sun was setting, and the sky was alive with textures and colors. Morning found fog/ mist completely covering the lake, while cloud remnants stuck around to hug the mountains behind the campsites. Good stuff.

Even for a fairly big campground, there is space and there is quiet. Maybe 'tis the season, but autumn seemed to bring out the best in everyone. And yes, it was cold. It's Colorado. High and cold come with the territory. There is a fire pit at each site, and a covered picnic table.

Despite the view of the marina below, the few boats that were out didn't seem to make enough noise to overwhelm the campgrounds. I can't say I remember hearing any boats. Owls, yes. A coyote or two? Probably. Birds? Absolutely. Boats…? Not that I remember.

The bathrooms were very clean, with showers. Thankfully another review mentioned the crazy shower spray though. I remembered that review just in time, saving my clothes from getting soaked. Water pressure is good and hot, just a little chaotic. Don't put your clothes on the bench.

Sure, it's in kind of a strange location. Sure, it's sort of small. But the sites are big, the sunrises are huge, the lake is silent (at least in early Oct.)…

…And it's free. Only two bathrooms, but they're well  lit, well maintained, with flush toilets, and have showers!

Plenty of room between campsites, although the trees are more like tall shrubs, so you can wave at your neighbor. But they're so far away, you can't quite tell if they're waving back. Most of the sites are on a cliff that has a wonderful view of the lake, and each site has plenty of room, including a covered picnic bench and a fire pit. 

I've paid a fair amount of money for far worse spots. Maybe it gets busy in the summer, but October finds this place not even half full (midweek) and extremely peaceful. 

Also, my dog loved it, as you can probably tell in the pics.

The name is tricky, but it seems to be officially Alpine Meadow… but also Martis Creek. Either way, it's slightly off the beaten path, in a good way. No highway noise, and a quick trek on foot or by car will take you to Martis Creek Lake right behind the campgrounds. 

The sites themselves are large, and the ones on the far end of the park open up to the field between the grounds and the lake, yet every site is in the trees, keeping it a bit cooler in the summer (even a little chilly at night… in late May it got down in the 30s).

The one bathroom building is clean and easy to access, since the grounds are pretty small. No host to be seen while we were there… we could of had our pick of open sites, if we didn't have reservations. 

The campground is right near the Truckee airport, but the trees act like a buffer for whatever noise the small aircraft make. We saw them, but didn't seem to notice any obtrusive noise from them.

Let's be sure about this. If you're a tent camper, then just know you're going to roast between the months of May and October. The day times are brutal and the nights are barely cooler. We hit it in late May and had to find indoor fun between 10am and 7pm, returning to our campsite only when the sun began it's stunning descent behind the mountains. Even though half the sites have covered areas, don't be mistaken that you'll have shade, or that shade will be cool.

But once twilight hits, you'll grok the magic of the desert. Convenient location with very hikable mountains nearby… just attempt them in the early morning. Or anytime not so summer-like. The site itself is a nice slice of desert, beautiful and dry. 

Curses on the RV who pulled in past midnight, tugged by a mega-truck that kept it's engine running for a good 25 minutes trying to fit into their spot. Textbook rude camp etiquette. An easy way to wake everyone up.

But the rest of the camp was friendly and courteous. We had site 41. No cover, but it wouldn't have mattered in that heat. Bathrooms were decent and well placed, although quite a few were not open. One garbage bin at the entrance of the camp.

Small campground with massive campsites. This campground could easily squeeze double, if not triple, the sites out of these woods, but someone decided to let everyone breath a little here, and we should thank that someone. Granted, it's a small crawl to one of the only two bathroom huts (each with two clean pit toilet bathrooms), but with so few campers, even when the site is full, you don't feel like anyone's fighting for their potty time.

Quiet? Absolutely. Stars? All over the place. When summer heat was beginning to knock everywhere else in late May, it was serious blanket weather up here. The hiking must be amazing, although we didn't have time to find out. 

Friday night, late May, and we barely got the last spot. No reservations makes this gem a tricky quest when you're running a bit late, but if you're lucky enough to snag a spot, you'll celebrate your success. There ain't a bad spot in the lot, if you're lucky enough to get one.

There was a small complication about my reservation, which was entirely my mistake and the wonderful camp hosts fixed (thanks, Shane and Vicky!), but I ended up doing a first-come-first-serve campsite search. Midweek in May, I had my pick, and found a wonderful site with tons of room, right at the base of a colorful mountain to climb. My only neighbors quickly became my new best friends, and even the camp hosts joined us in a spontaneous campsite gathering.

And then, quiet. The trees keep the wind out, and once the sun goes down, the birds are silent. Plenty of good sleep to be had, which allowed me and my dog to wake early and explore the mountain tops… which was the secret place to find cell service, by the way. I had site #56, and a fun, but steep, hike to the top of the mountain behind me gave a glorious spot to catch up on a few emails. But don't tell anyone. Otherwise, you're miles from using your phone for much else other than pictures.

The lake is more of a big pond. They stock it for fishing, but I'm more of a swimmer, and I wasn't about to swim in there. Pretty, but not user-friendly for a plunger like myself. 

The bathrooms are pit toilets, but clean and treated well so they actually had a pleasant scent. 

The road to the park is full of amazing places to park and take in the view. Quite a drive. I'll be back. And yes, I documented the place with pictures of my dog, Ko'olau.

I'm not sure you can pick a bad spot here, but there are a few standout sites. I had 49, which had multiple places to put a tent, and some amazing views (see the sunrise pic from right outside my tent). Every site has a covered picnic table. And there's a fair bit of shade from trees as well. 

The hiking! Go any direction and make a path. You'll eventually come across an existing one, and just follow it. There's actual paths with names, but I never bothered to learn them. My dog and I picked a direction and went for it. Valley below, mountains behind you, and a ton of exploration options in between. Deer and quail criss-crossed our paths many times.

The pit toilets are ok, but bring bug spray, because flies love the bathrooms. 

I'd love to see this place in other seasons as well. Midweek in May, we had our pick of spots. No immediate neighbors, but the sites are big enough to not feel cramped even if there were more folks.

Stayed in early May. Warm days, cool night. First of all. tons of decent hiking, especially if you're the explore-off-the-trail type. Apparently there is a wonderful, full-service lodge, which I saw from above (on a trail) but didn't visit. So if camp food is getting old, mosey over to their restaurant. 

As for the camping, most sites have decent shade… except mine. Mine was also one of the smaller sites. So any site that is NOT #89 may offer better coverage and space, but even my spot was pretty groovy. Midweek in May, you have a lot of choices.

Internet? Not a thing. Maybe at the lodge, but I wasn't getting any signal on my phone of any kind. More impetus to go hike. 

The bathrooms are decent, but spread out a bit. The staff is quite friendly. There are a ton of birds, who serenade you in the morning. The night was pleasantly full of animal sounds. What I thought might be the call of young coyotes really close by might have been the small, wild pigs that are the ugliest/cutest things ever. 

State Route 118 is a fascinating, beautiful, and very empty stretch of road. watch out for aforementioned pigs. They cross regularly.