Lake Tahoe/California trip

[Ozgood]

We are relatively new at RVing and I'm learning the lesson of how booking sites isn't like going to hotels.com at the last minute the hard way. I waited too late for our upcoming trip and had to scramble to get ressies. So, now that I just about have our March trip planned, I'm looking at the end of summer.

We are heading west to California from Wisconsin in August and want to stop in Lake Tahoe for a few days. We have a Jayco Eagle HT 29.5 BHOK. Any recommendations on places to stay in Tahoe? Originally, we had planned to spit the time between Tahoe and then go down to Yosemite. It seems really hard to get reservations for Yosemite. We are waiting for the national parks to open up those dates in April. Anyone have any recommendations for alternate campgrounds in that area? I also read that they leave half unreserved, has anyone had any luck getting one of those sites?

We are heading to Santa Cruz/Monterey area for a few days after that. We have reservations at the KOA there. It seems to be centrally located--head north to SF or south to Big Sur, so a reasonable midway point to park it. Any better ideas out there? I'm definitely open to suggestions!

We will finish it out in Anaheim for a week. We plan to do Disney and other "stuff" in the area. Right now I have ressies for Anaheim RV park for that week and plan to use the ART to get around. Anybody had any problems with either?

We are planning to do all of this in 3 weeks...is that crazy?

Thanks for helping a Rookie out!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Nukeneck]

I live just outside of Tahoe and I can help you with this. If you are camping on the Nevada side (East) these are the campgrounds:

Zephyr Cove Campground - Full hook ups and is located on the other side of highway 50 from Zephyr Cove. the sites are paved but IMO are too close to each other. View of the lake

Nevada Beach Campground - Located on the beach south of Zephyr Cove, water only access but the sites are spread out amongst the trees. It sits right on the shore of Lake Tahoe. One of the best campgrounds if you can get in.

South Lake Tahoe:

Tahoe Valley Campground (1000 trails) - Full hook ups and other amenities. My issue with this place is its huge and again the sites are one on top of the other. I refer to this type of camping as "City Camping." It's usually pretty easy to book a site there. I would request a site on the outskirts for a little more room and privacy. No view of the lake from this campground.

Campground by the Lake - Full/partial hookups with views of the lake. Again, sites are close together. Another City Camping campground. View of the lake.

KOA in Meyers - Never stayed here but its several miles from the lake and has all of the amenities of a KOA

West Side:

Camp Richardson - Very popular with the tourists and usually very crowded. Some cool amenities there and a short walk to Pope Beach and the Beacon bar and grill on the water. (Rum runners!). I've never stayed there but people seem to like it.

Fallen leaf Lake Campground - My personal favorite. This campground is large but the sites are spread out in the trees. There are no hookups but there is water available to fill your tanks. It has brand new showers and bathrooms (very clean and well kept). If you're into bears, you will almost be guaranteed to see one walk through the campground even in the middle of the day. Fallen Leaf lake sits just above Lake Tahoe and feeds into it. There are some cool hikes and site seeing near this place.

These are some others but I've never stayed at any of them

DL Bliss State Park CG
Sugar Pine Point CG
General Creek CG
Kaspian CG
William Kent CG

These are on the west shore of Tahoe which doesn't have much beach. Access to some of these may be difficult with a large trailer set up.

Keep in mind Tahoe is a huge tourist destination and reservations can be difficult to get. I would suggest getting online ASAP and do what you can. I hope this helps you. Safe travels!

[clubhouse]

We like Campground by the lake in South Lake Tahoe.

I would rethink your Santa Cruz choice, maybe look at Smithwoods in Felton unless you can secure a reservation at New Brighton Beach SP or even better Seacliff Beach SP.

Yosemite is huge, no matter where you stay you will be driving quite a bit to see the sites. The valley floor campgrounds in my opinion are a nightmare. Way to crowded and don't accommodate much larger than 24' to easily. We typically stay Wawona CG on the south end of the park. Easy trip to there from Santa Cruz, and much easier to get reservations, although you do still need to book the day the reservations open.

Plus staying at Wawona means you get to drive through Tunnel View in route to lots of destinations in the park. Tunnel View never gets old.

If you can't get in the park there are several spots outside. Bass Lake, again on the south side, is an amazing place with lots of forest service CG available.

It sounds like an awesome trip.

[oldmanAZ]

We used ART to get around with no problems, but didn't stay Anaheim RV park.

[wags999]

For me, driving anywhere near LA is a nightmare...2am traffic is like most other places in rush hour.. I do everything possible to avoid southern California, for many reasons, traffic and horrible road conditions being among the top. Good Luck. Looks like you'll have a fast paced three weeks. Enjoy

[Doug]

Lake Tahoe KOA was very nice. Well maintained and good owners. Close drive to lake and points of interest.
Bass Lake near Yosemite is a much better choice than KOA there. The KOA was real sandy and dirty.
We stayed at the KOA I think outside Santa Cruz. Windy location, but nice. Hwy 1 has been closed for awhile due to landslides. Check vailability to go along that road to Big Sur etc. That drive was the highlight of our trip.
Very nice RV resort in Buellton Ca. Don't stay right on coast, sea fog until 10-11am.

[Flyrotor]

You do realize that route is approximately 2600 miles one way? And best case straight back is 2000 miles?

Pushing that with 500 miles a day (very difficult when you factor California traffic) that is roughly 10 days just driving.

Just some things to consider