RE: So. Lake Tahoe - Sugar Pine Point SP

[Camping Coxes]

 
We just spent six wonderful days in South Lake Tahoe at Sugar Pine Point State Park.  This is in the ReserveAmerica system.
 
 The park was very accessible and the sites were easy to pull into and almost perfectly level.  There are two main camping loops and one group camping loop.  The sites were very roomy and spaced a nice distance apart.  There are no hookups, but water spigots were placed about every six sites or so.
 
 Each loop has two bathroom houses.  They were cleaned and restocked every morning.
 
 There is a shower house with about a dozen showers in the middle of the campground.  They were very clean and cost 25 cents for 2 1/2 minutes.  There is a separate dressing area within the shower.  The showers were individual rooms instead of one big room with several curtained areas.  The showers do not have closed hours (other than cleaning), so you can shower very early or very late to beat the crowds.
 
 The campground was full of various trees, including Sequoias, so there was a lot of shade.  The paved roads throughout the campground provided fantastic biking trails for the kids and adults, and there are also off road biking trails in the area.  There were lots of families camping and their kids were all on bikes it seems.  There were squirrels all around the campground.  We didn t see any bears personally, but there are bears in the area, so large bear boxes are required to be used.  We kept some food in our fridge, as well.
 
 The lake access at Sugar Pine is not very convenient.  You have to cross the main highway to the other part of the park and hike about a mile downhill.  What goes down must come up, so that can be quite a hike.  What we did was go to either DL Bliss SP, a very short drive away, and get in free since you re a guest of the SP system, or go to Meeks Bay National Campground (Not the Meeks Bay Resort and Marina, which is more expensive and crowded) beach, which was beautiful and even closer than Bliss, had a lot of parking and lots of room to swim.  It was well worth the $5 parking fee.    
 
 There is a bike trail that starts at Sugar Pine and runs alongside the lake and highway area.  It is paved and divided.  At points you have to cross the highway, but there are accomodations for the bikes to do it safely.  The highway is two lanes and is not a big deal to cross.  If you can t fit your bikes in your TV, there are bike rental places all over the area.
 
 The biggest town is about 20 minutes away and has stores for anything you could need.  The smaller towns nearby the park itself also have small grocery stores and hardware stores, etc., for anything you may need or have forgotten.
 
 We had a fantastic time at this campground.
 
 On another note, when we went into DL Bliss to access their beach, we were glad we were staying at Sugar Pine.  The roads within Bliss were not wide enough to bike on and were very hilly.  The campsites seemed extremely packed together.  And on a more important note, you have to bring in all your water or boil theirs, as it s not potable.  One more reason to stay at Sugar Pine.
 
 Sugar Pine Point State Park got four thumbs up from our family!  We definitely had a vacation to remember.[]

[Red neff Barchetta]

 Camping Coxes
Trina -
 Thanks for the thorough review!
 We will definitely take a drive through Sugar Pine when we are camping in South Lake Tahoe in September.
 Sounds like a cg for a future trip.
 Glad you had a great time!
 
 Doh!  I just checked and Sugar Pine closes for the season (on 9/15/03) 3 days before we arrive (on 9/18/03) in the area.  Maybe we will still be able to drive through the cg though.

[Camping Coxes]

 Red neff Barchetta

Doh! I just checked and Sugar Pine closes for the season (on 9/15/03) 3 days before we arrive (on 9/18/03) in the area. Maybe we will still be able to drive through the cg though.

 If you bring your bikes, take a ride through.  It s all paved and a  gradual grade, but nothing my 9YO couldn t handle (or more telling, nothing I couldn t handle!!!).

[SactoCampers]

 Camping Coxes
For those of you vacationing in the Tahoe area, there is a paved bike trail throughout north shore and I think extends pretty far down the west side. The best section is probably from the Squaw Valley turnoff to Tahoe City along the Truckee River down the west side to about Homewood. My in-laws live in North Shore so we enjoy riding the bike trail. There are plenty of places to stop and rest, get your feet wet, etc. Once you get into Tahoe city you can either go along the west shore or continue along the north shore. Both of these routes follow the road more closely so you have to deal with a lot more road noise, but it s still worth it.
 
 Jeff, there s also another state park in Tahoe City. The name is Tahoe Recreation Area. It s directly adjacent to the strip mall that has the Safeway and McDonald s and it seemed like a nice enough place, though some sites are too close to the road. But it is right on the lake. They close October 1. Here is the link:
 
 http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=504
 
 Trina, how was the drive? Which route did you end up taking?

[Camping Coxes]

 SactoCampers

Trina, how was the drive? Which route did you end up taking?

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 Brian --
 
 We took the 99 to the 80 to the 89.  We had a great drive.  No problems at all.  Thanks for all your help.  The diesel turbo performed great.  Thanks for your advice.

[Steve-o-bud]

 Camping Coxes
This is great info. Our family has Lake Tahoe on our list of future camping destinations. THANKS!

[tahoecampers]

 Camping Coxes
Red Neff, Where did you read that Sugar Pine closes in Sept.? Usually that park is open all year round. It is one of the few that is available for winter camping up here. The cross country ski trails are wonderful, the 1960 (?) Olympics were held there. Is it possible that they may not take reservations after the 15th? We have camped there into Oct in past years. It is a great park, there is biking both on bike trails and off road, and hiking during the fall is spectacular. We were planning a weekend there towards the end of Sept., so I would like to know where you got that info. I would be very disappointed if they were closing this year for whatever reasons.

[Camping Coxes]

 tahoecampers
Man, I m jealous.  Tahoecampers get to enjoy that scenery year round!  It was gorgeous.

[Red neff Barchetta]

 Camping Coxes
tahoecampers -
 I got the date from here;
 http://www.reserveamerica.com/jsp/commonpage.jsp?goto=/usa/ca/sugp/newindex.html
 but this one doesn t say anything about a camping season;
 http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=510
 
 Since this is your area, I m sure you know what you re talking about.
 
 Btw, I grew up in Grass Valley/Nevada City and we used to follow the Tour de Pont/Trump (cycling) all around Tahoe while staying at many of the campgrounds with nothing more than a sleeping bag and my Dad s credit card.

[SactoCampers]

 Red neff Barchetta

 

and my Dad s credit card.
 

 Jeff,
 
 While you set yourself up for some prime rabble rousing with that one, I ll leave it alone. []
 

[Red neff Barchetta]

 Camping Coxes

Jeff,
 
 While you set yourself up for some prime rabble rousing with that one, I ll leave it alone.

 LOL Brian!
 
 Yes, I agree that if I had been riding and spending with a friend that would be a pretty good silver spoon story, but alas, that was not my childhood.
 
 I rode with my Dad and the only thing we spent money on for those week-long rides were cg fee s and food.  The last ride in fact was probably about the last time he was still paying for stuff for me as I was soon out on my own.

[Camping Coxes]

 Red neff Barchetta

I got the date from here;
 http://www.reserveamerica.com/jsp/commonpage.jsp?goto=/usa/ca/sugp/newindex.html
 but this one doesn t say anything about a camping season;
 http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=510

 When I was looking into what CG we wanted to stay in, the ReserveAmerica info said Donner SP and museum would be closed through summer.  When we went, it was very open and being used.  I d call to make sure the online info is up to date.

[Camping Coxes]

 Red neff Barchetta

Doh! I just checked and Sugar Pine closes for the season (on 9/15/03) 3 days before we arrive (on 9/18/03) in the area. Maybe we will still be able to drive through the cg though

 Jeff --
 
 By now you have made plans, but I ve just recently checked into Camp Richardson, down at the bottom end of the lake.  It s open year-round and they re offering a two-for-one special right now.  It has hook-ups and reasonable fees.  DH wants hook-ups next time.  Filling the water tank was a drag and we ran out of battery after six days!  I was literally rinsing the last dish on the day we were leaving when the water pump just quit for lack of juice!  Anyway, while you re there, take a drive-through for the rest of us and post your impressions.