Meeks Bay Campground
Meeks Bay Campground is located on the California side of South Lake Tahoe. Conveniently, the campsite is just minutes from the lake and super close to hiking trails leading to amazing alpine lakes. I know i sound like a broken record, but this is honestly one of my favorite campsites. Just please - for the love of god - plan your trip between may and september.. october was too cold!
MY TRIP IN A NUTSHELL:
TRAVEL MONTH. October, Friday-Sunday
# OF NIGHTS. 2
PERMIT REQUIRED. Yes, see below for details.
WHERE/HOW TO PURCHASE THE PERMIT:
GO TO RECREATION.GOV > meeks bay > SCROLL THROUGH AVAILABILITY. PICK THE DATES YOU WANT (YOU PROBABLY WON'T HAVE MUCH OF A CHOICE) AND PURCHASE YOUR PERMIT.
JUST FYI- meeks bay is open from may 15th until october 17th. PERMITS ARE AVAILABLE 6 MONTHS IN ADVANCE, BUT COMPLETELY SELLS OUT WITHIN HOURs OF A DATE BEING RELEASE ESPECIALLY IF ITS A FRIDAY/SATURDAY. WORD OF ADVICE, LOG ONTO THE WEBSITE AND BE READY TO PURCHASE A PERMIT AT 7:00AM ON THE DOT. i was able to get a date in october because it is colder and less people were hanging around and willing to freeze.
We stayed at campsite #27!
CAMPSITE INFO:
Meeks Bay campground address. 96158 Meeks Bay Ave, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
WHEN YOU ENTER THE CAMPSITE, YOU will be greeted by the campsite host who will give you a parking permit and list of the campsite rules. btw- This is a highly trafficked campsite because of the proximity to the lake and the amenities. the crowd dies down around september/october.
FYI:
PERMIT REQUIRED. Yes.
SHOWER. NO.
TOILETS. Yes, several around the site.
DOGS ALLOWED. YES! but they aren’t allowed on the beach.
DRONES ALLOWED. No.
CELLULAR SERVICE. VERIZON= YES ; AT&T= NO :(
SITE HOST. YES
SHOWER. No
PARTY SIZE. MAX 8, IT'S $10 FOR EACH PERSON AFTER 6
RV Campers. YEs! There are campsites that are big enough for Rvs and sprinter vans.
PARKING. it varies depending on campsite. some have just enough room for 2 CARS but at others you may only be able to fit 1 car. each additional car after the first is $7. There is additional free parking across the street.
My Trip!
I arrived around 5:00pm and was able to set up camp fairly quickly. The sites themselves were very spacious and each site had it’s own picnic table, fire pit, and bear box.
I knew ahead of time that it was going to be around ~30 degrees at night so i packed a ton of blankets in additions to my sleeping bag. Also, i was able to try out my new 2-person tent! overall i really liked it- I’m obsessed with the color and style, buttttt the width was slightly too small for me. i’ll probably exchange it for the 3-person version:
My favorite part of this campsite was the lake!!! apparently it gets fairly crowded during the summer months, but it was ESSENTIALLY empty when we went. The only downside is that dogs aren’t allowed on the beach, and i think its because of the geese that reside there:
I also got to try out some awesome instant cocktail mixes, which i’ll be bringing with my on next summer’s backpackn adventures:
There’s also a couple trails nearby which i really wanted to check out, but we didn’t have time. If you’re able to visit, then check out the meeks bay trail to lake genevieve and craig lake. it’s a 9 mile hike roundtrip and you’ll see two amazing alpine lakes. we ended up going on a different nearby trail that was about a 15 minute drive (hiking details coming soon).
OVERALL, I highly recommend camping at Meeks Bay Campground, especially when it’s less touristy, but when it’s warmer (i.e., september).
Leave comments and questions in the comment section below!