Sugar Pine Point State Park

Large campground with wide paved roads on the west shore of Lake Tahoe. The campground had dump station, flush toilets, showers, paved pads, bbq pit and standing grill, table and water spigots through out the campground. Lots of trailsheads paved and dirt in the campground and bike trails that seem to run all along the lake. Dogs are allowed in campgrounds and some trails in campground and on paved bike trails.

Though large, the sites felt spacious and offered lots of room to move. There was lots of room in the forest for the kids and dog to play just behind our dining room window without bothering nearby campers. The campground was very clean and felt new. The downside was the showers were a bit of a hike and sometimes there was a wait for bathrooms depending on the time of day. CA is also in a drought so the showers were closed a few days a week. Small inconveniences for a lovely camping experience.

We stayed with a group that had two group sites, which really were groupings of single sites; the other single sites were similar in nature. The site was clean, and well-maintained. There was shared water every five or so sites, but nothing per-site. Our spot was within a half-mile walk on well-maintained trails to the lake. The lake had rentals of boats, jet-skis, paddle boards, and other assorted water fun.

Bears are a real concern, and the park was clearly very strict in enforcing the use of bear boxes for coolers and food. Our campsites were visited every night, so definitely don't slack off or be prepared for damage and/or the $1000 (!) fine for mismanaging food. The sign at the front check-in said they'd issued nine such citations the week we were there.

Traffic getting to Sugar Pine can be tough, so plan accordingly. Otherwise, it's easy to get in and out of.

The positive: it was open. Most campgrounds around Lake Tahoe close during the winter and don’t open until around May. This one has a section of about 15 spots that stay open all year. The restrooms were flush and very clean and there was water available.
The negative: the spots were so close together it was actually confusing what tables belonged to which site and just no privacy.
Overall it’s a nicely maintained campground but way too cramped for our tastes.
FYI price goes up to $35 when the entire campground opens

The first thing we noticed about Sugar Pine is that it is on flat ground, there are plenty of paved bike paths and the sites are spread out. The trees are not as dense as other Tahoe campgrounds, but still enough to provide some shade. We did not bring bikes, which we did regret, but were able to use the paved paths to walk down to the lake shore. There are plenty of trails to walk along, and we found one that crossed a creek that even had a little beach area. The campground was quite busy when we were there in early June, but our site was part of a loop that was a little more quiet with the sites more spread out. It was a bit unusual to see residential dwellings behind the campsites, which took away some of the "camping vacation" feeling, but they weren't too intrusive. Overall, not a bad campground.

We were in the far southern corner of the campground in spot 50. The area was very clean, quite, and we had plenty of space for our 144 Sprinter and pop top.

Be ready to put EVERYTHING in bear lockers, as the bear activity is crazy there. Although we did a lot of trail running and saw 0 bears.

Highlights of spot 50 at this campground:
- Very nice sized parking spaces that were large enough for us to park and workout with barbells.
- Bathrooms and water were close.
- This campground is about a 15 minute walk to the lake.

Downsides of spot 50 at this campground:
- The showers are not close at all to spot 50, and THEY ONLY TAKE TOKINS that you MUST have cash to buy (quarters are of zero use).
- Verizon Wireless has 2 bars of LTE, BUT was completely useless. I couldn't even email. Because of this I said Verizon had no service for the rating. Why can't they just be transparent...
- AT&T had 2 bars and 8mb/down. Worked great!

This state park is located on the west side of Lake Tahoe and is about a 15 minute walk down to the water. The campground was less than half full while I was there and it was incredibly quiet and peaceful. While the sites do seem awfully close to one another, no one was camped near me.

The toilets are well maintained and there are tables and fire pits. I didn't use the showers. Paved sites that are pretty level. There are lots of paths for getting around and hiking. The path down to the water is lovely! There is also a bus stop (Tahoe regional transit) just outside of the park for getting around the lake, if you don't have a towed like me.

The only downside was that the AT&T cell service wasn't great. I had one bar and sometimes no service. So it was spotty. Definitely not dependable enough to work if you really had to. But the town of Tahoma is just up the street a mile or so and I'm sure you could find wifi or better service there if needed.

I really enjoyed my stay and would love to return!

I liked this campground but couldn’t quite love it. Maybe it was the many trees making our site shady and cool. Or it could have been the large sites leading to occupation by big family groups (seemed to have more than the 6 people that regulations allow).

We did enjoy the hot showers, the great bike trails and the beach area. It also wasn’t too far to drive into Tahoe City although the traffic was a little crazy at times.

This review is from the last week of June which we spent camping around Lake Tahoe. Due to some change of plans, we ended up in three different campgrounds - also see reviews for Emerald Bay SP and Nevada Beach. Sugar Pine was my least favorite but still a very nice campground.

I was compelled to finally create an account just so I could review this park. I see so many little rinky-dink campgrounds get 5-star ratings on this site that I was floored to see Sugar Pine Point only get 4!

Okay, admittedly, the first loop (of 3) is only good in off-season when the place is less crowded. In this loop, most of the spots are grouped together like a parking lot in groups of 4... so if you're in an RV you could be right next to your neighbor - although beyond the asphalt, you have your own traditional site in the trees with a picnic table and fire pit. So, yes, if I had to camp in Loop 1 when the park was more than half-full, I would not be thrilled with this park. Typically, this is the only loop they keep open in winter, presumably because it is the easiest to maintain. One the plus side, Loop 1 is closest to the AWESOME day-use area and beach (although it is about a half-mile walk along paved bike trails. If you stay in the back loop, add another 0.9 miles.)

So, that's the downside - Loop 1 when crowded - no good. The middle and back loops are gorgeous - with 3 being the best. The sites are on the large size and there are lots of trees, boulders, and hiking and biking paths. We never go in summer, so your experience may differ, but the sites are large enough than it won't feel as crowded as a lot of parks. In off-season, we've never had a noisy fellow camper. Very peaceful.

There aren't many sites that will accommodate monster rigs, so you might want to keep it at 30' or less. Although the site we just had swallowed our 26' motorhome with tons of room to spare, but it was one of the larger pads. Our neighbors had a little trickier time getting their 30' Airstream around the boulders, but still managed to get the trailer and diagonally-parked F-250 in there.

As I mentioned, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better day-use area (which you can park in for free if you're camping there). It's about a mile from the camp. A half-mile of beach, huge expanses of lawn and trees, a historic mansion, kayak/SUP rentals, trails, visitor center, ranger-led walks, and a long dock to jump into the cold water from! Just no food concessions (although the shop might sell ice cream bars and drinks when it's open.)

If you can go in off-season, I think this will be one of your new favorite parks as well. And there's so much to do in Tahoe. The TART (Tahoe Area Regional Transit) bus even stops at the park if you don't want to drive or unhook your RV. I think it's even free now, but not sure.

As with many CA State parks the bathrooms are very old and in need of upgrades. No further negatives. Nice staff, sites have an asphalt pad and was level. Water is available at various location through out the park. Nice beach and not crowded when we were there during the week. Lots of bird life and the occasional bear.

Nice campground with no hook ups. Lots of bike trails. Was told bears where spotted hourly thru out the park. We were able to see one on our way out early one morning. And one evening woke up to other campers banging pots and pan because of a bear had come thru the campground.