Campground by the Lake

Regional guide

South Lake Tahoe's city-run campground is the budget play for the Tahoe basin, and it delivers better than you would expect from a municipal operation. You are a flat bike ride from the beach, walking distance from restaurants and grocery stores, and paying roughly half what the private RV resorts on the north shore charge.

The sites are level and well-maintained, the full hookups (30/50 amp) actually deliver consistent power, and the campground host is responsive. It is not glamorous — there are no mountain vistas from your site, and you will hear traffic from nearby roads — but it is clean, functional, and positioned perfectly for exploring both the California and Nevada sides of the lake.

The season runs April through October, with July and August commanding peak pricing and requiring advance booking. We prefer early June or late September, when the crowds thin out and Tahoe's water is at its bluest. The campground serves as an ideal base for day hikes to Desolation Wilderness, kayaking at Emerald Bay, or crossing into Nevada for a dinner that does not carry California restaurant prices. For more options around the basin, see our full guide to RV parks at Lake Tahoe, covering both the California and Nevada shores.

Field tip: The sites near the lake end of the campground are worth requesting specifically. They are a two-minute walk from the water and noticeably quieter than the sites near the entrance.

Regional guide

Campground by the Lake is a city-operated campground on Rufus Allen Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe, and its primary advantage is location — it sits closer to the lake than any other campground on the South Shore, with lake access a short walk away. The campground is run by the City of South Lake Tahoe, which gives it a public-park feel rather than a commercial resort vibe.

Here is the detail that matters most for RV travelers: Campground by the Lake has no hookups. All sites are standard dry camping — a paved or gravel pad, a picnic table, a fire ring, and access to shared water spigots and a dump station. This is a significant distinction from what some listing sites suggest. If you need electric, water, and sewer at your site, this is not the campground for you. If you are self-contained and comfortable running on your battery bank and generator, the location is excellent.

The campground typically offers around 175 sites across several loops, though availability for the 2026 season is reduced — Loops A and B are closed for construction of a new Recreation and Aquatics Center. What remains is still a solid campground with mature pine tree cover, reasonable spacing between sites, and that hard-to-beat proximity to the lake.

The dump station is free for registered campers and $15 for day-use visitors. Showers are coin-operated. The campground opens May 1 for the 2026 season, and reservations open in early January — book early for summer weekends.