Cool, Colorful, Clean, Centrally Located

Camped there June 29-July 1 2021. The high elevation affords cool nights when all the parks around are beating the 100°F mark in the summer. It’s a small campground, but there were some sites open on the two nights we stayed there. They seem a bit close together, yet we were lucky to get along well with our neighbors.

In early July the grounds are a riot of blue, yellow, purple, red and white wildflowers.

Host Jerry was fantastic, not only accommodating our request to keep in the same site (we could only find reservations for two different spots), but actually managing with the next campers to find them a better spot for their needs (ie a site with a better driveway). For tent camping, though, our site was excellent. Bathrooms were close by but we didn’t smell or hear anything at night, and the lights were kept off. They did have some niceties like a mirror, foam soap, a ledge and hooks, hand dryer, flush toilet (one stall only in the women’s) and hot shower that does not require quarters (ask Jerry for the door code).

Shaded, near nice Tahoe beach

We pitched our tents at 11:30 pm trying hard to not wake up other campers. In the morning I was surprised to see a couple sites vacant right next to us. 

As usual I was not happy with the possibility of meeting a bear, especially after I read about a bear storming a campsite not far from our site (we were on #76). So we were extra careful to put anything scented in the provided bear locker. The park admins are very strict and have a US$2k fine for any food left out. Even bear-proof coolers are required to be chained safely.

We didn’t hiked the Rubicon trail to Lester Beach as we had to keep moving to the next destination in our cross country road trip, but took a short drive to the beach and a quick, but very refreshing dip in Tahoe’s cold waters.