Tahoe State Recreation Area — Attraction in Tahoe City

Me and my friend went for one night, which we hoped would be peaceful and enjoyable. From the map view, it looks like there is water access pretty close but the closest beach is about a 15-20 minute walk at least. When we arrived at the camp site, we found our spot. It hardly had any space for a tent and the parking space was bigger than our camp spot. Upon arrival, we noticed that the site wasn’t cleaned whatsoever. There was trash and plastic left in the fire pit and soda and ice were left on the bear cabinet. After cleaning that up, we had put our stuff in the bear box and setup camp and almost all was well. Later in the night we had left a drink out on the table and our neighbors reminded us that there were frequent bear sitings, so we moved it into the tent. Around 2 or 3 AM that night, we were woken up to the sound of the bear getting into our “bear-proof box” and ripping open the trash that HAD BEEN LEFT BY THE LAST PEOPLE. The bear continued circling our tent to for the next few hours following his snack on the trash. Luckily, we were safe and able to make it home the next day. When I mentioned the state of the campsite to the man at the office before leaving the property, he told me that the people before me were messy and did not offer any other insight or accommodation, not even an apology. If you were to plan a camping trip, I’d suggest going to a site where they put effort into providing you a clean space and less bear activity, especially for...

Tahoe State Recreations Area feels more like a BYObed motel than a campground. That can be good or bad depending on your personal preferences. If you've read my other reviews, you know I like boondocking and only camp in "improved" campgrounds in touristy areas out of necessity.

There are some pros; I imagine this is the cheapest place you can stay anywhere near Lake Tahoe. You're walking distance to the lake and a great bike trail. The restrooms are clean, the showers are cheap and hot, you're close to North Lake Tahoe shopping and dining and a rocks throw away from Safeway.

These are the cons: the campground is small and tightly packed, the adjacent road is loud and trafficked 24/7. The spots are small. I mean small. We have a 19 ft trailer and could not park our trailer and truck in the same spot. The camp host recommended we park at Safeway and walk to the campground. Instead, I asked a neighbor if I could take up one of their parking spots since they had a small car and a tent. Thank you again whoever that anonymous neighbor was.

If you want a cheap place to stay while you visit Tahoe look no further. If you want to go camping, look further. A lot further. As I laid in bed, listening to constant vehicle traffic and foot traffic, nervous my bikes or paddle board would be stolen, I wished I would have camped further away...

Pros: right by the lake, $10 firewood bundles for sale, bear locker for food (mandatory to use)

Cons: really close to the road so there are cars whirring by (but at our campsite by the lakeside it was hardly noticeable) At least two different campsites we checked had the bear lockers full of trash. The locker we had at our campsite had somebody's smashed plate with writing on it for somebody's selfish self healing stuff. The fire pits are kind of nasty, had some broken glass and plenty of cigarette butts in it. Plus some of them have the older fire pits without the air holes in the side for air flow so the fire doesn't get a very clean burn.

Pro and con: extremely close to the town (the CVS is literally a 5 minute or less walk away)

We were able to easily switch our campsite from 11 to 15. The campsite at 11 was right next to the lakeside homes of the residents there, which is pretty unappealing when going camping to say the least. The dock that you can walk down to is very beautiful. Highly recommend this place strictly for the beautiful view of the lake. The campground employee was helpful in coming to clean out the mess from our...