T - I found this campground in "California Camping" by Tom Stienstra, and I RV camped there in July 2004.
Campground Review
This is a state park, and it's a great one. The sites are pretty level, easy to back into with an RV or car, and well spaced out. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring, and comes with a troop of resident squirrels. The bathrooms are cleaned daily and in good shape. The doors actually latch! The shower house has individual shower rooms with their own door and are very roomy, which is essential if you're camping with small children you'll need to bathe with you. They also are clean. They are pay, but they are generous with the water, and I believe it's 2.5 minutes per quarter. The camping loop roads are paved, so the kids can ride their bikes or scooters. There is also a bike trail that picks up right at the front of the campground. We've stayed at a private park nearby for W/E hookup, and it was terrible compared to
Sugar Pine. In my opinion, this is the best campground to stay at near the lake, including the resorts.
4 out of 5
Don't feed the bears!July 16, 2009By toolametoname
"Nice campground, we stayed for two nights 7/12 & 7/13/09 and would have liked to stay longer. I believe it's the camp hosts who drive around selling firewood - they are very nice and friendly. The park map is a little disproportionate, we thought we'd have a trek to the restrooms but they were literally behind our camp site. The showers are a short walk or drive away. If you pick the right time you get plenty of hot water and the water pressure is so high it hurts. 12.5 minutes for $1.25 is plenty. The WiFi advertised on the state park's home page was not available - apparently it's only in the day-use area up front but the password has been lost and no one knows how to get it. 89 & Pine up the road does have free WiFi, though. They are *NOT* joking about the bear lockers! We realized this after the first night when a bear broke into one of the vehicles to get into a cooler that wouldn't fit in the locker. That same day a neighbor left their locker ajar while visiting another campsite and came back to a bear rummaging through their food. This is bear country and you're advised to take it very seriously. Our party was able to laugh and joke about what happened but we all know that things could have been worse. During our short stay we rafted down the Truckee River which is nearby. We got in at Tahoe City and out at Alpine Meadows. We chose not to pay one of the raft companies because of the cost of 4 adults and 5 kids, and our cheap storebought rafts held their own on the river though it got pretty hairy at the end. We'll definitely be back but will be more prepared to fit all of the coolers and tubs of food in the locker!"
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