lake tahoe from nv side, any camping available

[potteralice]

thinking of going to incline village. great school there for potters has lots of workshops during the year, any advice on camping nearby? is california side better? any idea on housing of any kind? hate realtors. want real info from real people.

[jack maloney]

In our experience, the California side is full of twee tourist traps and state parks with cramped crowded campsites and a user-unfriendly reservation system. We found a wonderful National Forest campground at Nevada Beach, at the south end just beyond the CA/NV state line. Campsite #42 spacious, lovely and non-reservable! And unlike the CA parks, you can stroll to the lakeside without crossing a !@#$%! highway!

Barb and I much preferred the Nevada side of Tahoe - prettier and less crowded. Incline Village is a lovely drive up the shore from Nevada Beach, and the Cal-Neva Hotel is a great place to have lunch!

[Carol Christensen]

I'm assuming you will be there during the summertime, right? There aren't very many campgrounds that close to Incline Village. You will definitely need reservations. The nearest is a NF campground, Mt Rose, on Hwy 431, it's small but beautiful and very high elevation - 9,000'. You've already heard about Nevada Beach. Spooner Lake at the intersection of Hwys 50 and 28 is supposed to be adding a campground, to have been completed this year. I'll call Nevada Parks and let you know about that. Rentals at Lake Tahoe during the summer are very expensive and may all be booked by now.

There are two campgrounds in Washoe Valley, east of Tahoe, but you would have to drive about 30 miles to Incline.

Lake Tahoe NF Recreation & Camping

[Carol Christensen]

I checked on Spooner Lake but there is no campground, apparently that was a rumor. The Mt Rose campground is closest, about 15 minutes from Incline Vlg and has some trailer sites, up to 35'. $13 and takes reservations. Even tho it is at 9,000', we have pulled our Casita over Mt Rose with no problem. Nevada Beach is at lake level, but farther away and more expensive, $22-24, takes reservations.

In Washoe Valley; Davis Creek campground is in Pine forest, costs about $14 but does not take reservations. Washoe Lake campground is in the open, sagebrush by a small desert lake, $12 and takes reservations. These are 35-40 miles from Incline.

I live in the area, so PM or e-mail me if you want more info.

[Time K]

How about Sugar Pine State Park? We stayed there last year and quite enjoyed big sites and did not reserve ahead of time........

[Time K]

Sorry, that may be at the opposite end of where you will be.....

[potteralice]

thanks everyone! it is great to get solid info like this.

carol, you must love living is such a beautiful part of the world!

i need to find out when a workshop will be given by someone i want to learn from. will get back to you and thank you for the trouble you took to answer so completely.

gee, it is so beautiful i wonder if the college will sign up a 65 year old undergraduate so i can live on campus for the school term.

[Carol Christensen]

About reservations, it depends on the month and the number of days you plan to stay. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, it is possible to find a site for a few days at most of the SPs at Tahoe without a reservation, especially if you don't arrive on a Saturday. But if you are planning to stay a week or two without a reservation, there is no quarantee. If fact most likely you will find that your site has been reserved for the weekends. Although you might be able to move temporarily to an overflow area or different site for weekends.

Perhaps staying on the college campus would be possible. It's worth asking. And some Casinos have RV Parks but I don't know if those at Incline or closeby do that.