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DL Bliss State Park
Rating Details »
Highway 89
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
(530) 525-7277
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
(530) 525-7277
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
12 reviews for DL Bliss State Park
Oh Bliss! How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways;
1. A better than perfect private beach!
2. Over-sized campgrounds/spaces!
3. Great proximity to some great hikes (desolation wilderness and vikings home come immediately to mind).
4. Pitch black night skies.
5. Far enough off of the highway so as to not hear traffic.
6. 35 years of good memories : )
The trick to getting a good campsite is to make your summer reservations first thing New Years Day (the first day reservations can be made each year). Good Luck!
Stunning.
Used the group camp site last summer and had an absolutely wonderful time!
The beach was fantastic, the hiking was easy enough for all levels in our group (of 50 people ranging in age from 8-60s) and everyone found something to keep them occupied over the long weekend.
The *only* downside was the hyper paranoia about bears. The ranger made me shake out the mats in my car for about 3 pieces of popcorn-plus we almost got cited for having a cooler on our picnic table in the middle of the afternoon. Are bears really that legit of a problem at this park? If so I understand being cautious, but the "bearanoia" got a little out of control...
Gotta love it clean , and beautiful .
not much more to say has nice amenities !
I was overcome by a profound sense of spiritual satisfaction, happiness and joy while visiting DL Bliss State Park. I think it helped that we visited on a stormy summer day, so Lester Beach wasn't overrun with people.
The satisfaction came from a job well done. My husband builds wood kayaks and canoes, so taking the latest project for a spin on Lake Tahoe has become an annual event. And what a place to paddle.
For me, the two best ways to experience Lake Tahoe (since I'm not going to mention my secret hideaways) are Sand Harbor and Lester Beach at DL Bliss. In both places, you're going to pay $7/8 as a day use fee. And while the parking lot is small, if you are lucky enough to get a spot, it is a short walk to put your boat in the water.
From Lester Beach, you can paddle past Rubicon Point towards Emerald Bay as you glide through the the clear blue-green waters. The kids are entertained by boulder hopping and trying to avoid flocks of geese looking for food. They are aggressive little buggers.
Unfortunately, like many beaches on Lake Tahoe, the sand isn't fine and is really more of a collection of little rocks. Make sure to bring your own picnic, since there are very few amenities. And don't feed the geese!
This place is amazing. I love the clean place. Very peaceful and so close the lake. Every where is very very clean and breathtaking. The people are nice except for the overpriced firewood.
We did encounter a passing by bear which was no threat to us. We are sharing space not with just people.
Ease of Parking: Good. Visitor parking available in park. Campsites allow 2 cars per site.
Amenities: Great - nature and the comforts of home (bathrooms/showers)
Letting me forget I live in Si Valley: Great
So far all campsites I've been to pale in comparison to DL Bliss. Situated west of the amazing Emerald Bay in South Lake Tahoe, it is a must book for all those who enjoy camping. A camping experience at DL Bliss may include:
1. Spectacular views of the pristine waters of south lake tahoe and Emerald Bay
2. One of the most beautiful hiking trails available - the Rubicon Trail. A 4 mile round-trip hike to Vikingsholm Castle (in Emerald Bay) and back, moderate intensity, mind-blowing views of Lake Tahoe.
3. Bear encounters! (make noise to scare them, but they can detect a bag of marshmallows in the dark)
4. Cool dips into the pristine waters of the lake
5. Sun-bathing on the local beach
A must-see for anyone visiting South Lake Tahoe.
for you casual campers, here's a quick pro/con list when considering DL bliss as your next camping destination.
PROS:
. it's a beautiful park, just north of the most beautiful part of lake tahoe - emerald bay.
. the campsites are clean, well spaced, and well kept.
. the bathrooms are clean, the showers are hot, and they don't gouge you for the hot water. $0.50 for 5 minutes.
. "quiet time" isn't really enforced. we were pretty much drunk and rowdy well past 2AM and no one said anything.
. did i mention the relatively simple hikes down to the lake, where you can chill out by the beach and enjoy a nice picnic lunch in the sun?
CONS:
. bears. a lot of campgrounds warn you about bears, but they're very real here. we had one bear scare but fortunately someone was quick to set off their car alarm.
. bees. vicious, stinging, swarming bees. everywhere. it's so bad, when you wake up in the morning you can hear them buzzing around your picnic area. if you pull out any sort of food, they'll swarm you instantly.
so, if you can deal with the bears and the bees, it's hard to go wrong with camping at DL bliss. and note that i said "casual" camper - those of you hardcore, sports basement type outdoor freaks will definitely think this is for sissies. so i'm a city boy, hot showers and hot food are desirable things, in my book.
Unlike every review on Yelp, I did not have a close encounter with a bear. We heard a few, which is always a little bit disconcerting in the middle of the night, but after following the strict rules about food storage, we were able to keep our campsite bear-free.
I'm docking 1 star for their dog policy- on leash 100% of the time, and never on the beach....this is torture for a lab that's mixed with seal and a little otter. The location, just a stones throw north of Emerald Bay is amazing. The Rubicon Trail starts there, and that is one of the most spectacular hikes I've ever been on. If you like to paddle, you can put in on their beach and paddle to Emerald Bay, along one of Tahoe's best stretches of shoreline. We were able to sneak our pooch into the water and have her swim alongside our kayak.
For our next visit, we scoped out the best campsites, which will remain a secret so no one swoops on our spots!
Good solid campground. Lots of trees, and boulders from which you can admire the beauty that is Lake Tahoe. The ride up is quite precarious, but that's what you expect when you're making your way to Tahoe.
It's located up past Emerald Bay and Alpine Meadows. The only thing you have to beware of are the bears. Seriously. The rangers make you sign this thing that says you're aware of the bears and will do your best to keep the food in the bear box. We made the mistake once of leaving an EMPTY cooler outside of the box and when we got back to camp, it was gone. We thought the bears got it, but the rangers had picked it up and wanted to charge us $1000.
The best thing to do there is the river float. Everyone gets beer and boats and float down the Truckee river. A good time is always had by all.
Of the parks we've camped at, this is truly one of the prettiest. You can pull over at lookouts and just swoon at Emerald Bay. We've camped here twice. The first time was not enough to scare us away when a 300-500 lb bear literally walked up to our plastic garbage bag around 9-10PM (I was in my tent and missed the ruckus) after dinner when the group of kids and one or two parents were with them. The dad told us he was running the thought thru his head, "What do I do now"? when they noticed the bear. It had walked up to camp so quietly that no one heard it until it was sighted.
They banged on pans and shouted & the bear ambled down the hill. But, the next AM, we heard about other campers at different sites running into a bear near the bathroom, where the latched metal garbage dumpsters were.
On the 2nd visit, we camped in the same general area but didn't encounter any bears (thank goodness) but at a nearby campsite, the owner had food in his camper & the bear tore the top off his car in the middle of the night. He told everyone that the bear was easily 500 lbs.
They have deep and large bearproof lockers at each campsite and any smart camper knows to put ALL your food in there, even toothpaste as bears have an acute sense of smell. This same bear (or bears?) broke into a car to look for food when it spotted an ice chest which was clearly visible in the car & left huge paw prints all over the interior of the car. They are so used to people in their territory and mother bears have trained their cubs to seek out food where humans are. They are no longer afraid to help themselves to what ever they see, smell or think is food. Again, chipmunks are proliferative.
You can drive down from the campsites to the beach where you can swim in Lake Tahoe or hang on the beach. Such a beautiful place, but we decided it wasn't worth risking another camping trip there because of the bears. If you ask any Alaskan, their greatest fear is to be mauled to death by a bear.
Situated near the South West corner of Lake Tahoe just north of picturesque Emerald Bay, this state park provides a great setting for casual camping and a nice escape from the touristy buzz that characterizes the rest of the region. Within the park you'll find nicely maintained hiking trails and amazing views of the lake from every vantage point. Just watch out for bees.
The sites are large enough where you don't feel as if you're on top of other campers and the showers provide hot water at reasonable prices. The showers and bathrooms are cleaned once a day and didn't seem to deteriorate too much by the early morning hours.
Amazingly enough, we were allowed to make a campfire weeks after the recent blaze nearby and the rangers seemed fairly nice. Yes there are bears but all you have to do is be smart about it (unlike our the campers across the 'street' who left everything out at 1am to see the northern lights). Lock your food, make lots of noise.
All in all, I'm glad we decided to camp as it was a nice inexpensive alternative to staying at an overcrowded resort.
I would give 4 stars because it's a beautiful place with lots of amenities for the family car camper -
but the whole bear thing makes me drop it down to 2 stars -
I've had plenty of experience with bears - in the back country, on the Lost Coast, in Tahoe, in Yosemite, on my parent's porch - I'm usually pretty nonplussed. We always keep a clean site - everything that might be scenty kept in the bear box -
Maybe it was the recent fire, but the bears that we encountered at DL Bliss in mid-July scared the daylights out of me (AND Sposo- luckily the babies slept through it). These bears are FEARLESS.
I'm talking a mama bear with three cubs - at dinner time - lamps lit, fires lit, everyone in the campground up, kids still running around - this mama bear CAME RIGHT UP TO OUR TABLE - we chased her off, she went and broke in someone's windshield, then got in a fight w/ someone's dog, then ran back to our site and up the tree above our tent - where my baby had just been sleeping before I yanked him out by his little arms fast as lightning! Then she dropped out of the tree, just as we'd got in the truck. We watched her sniff around our campsite, everything still lit by the lamps, and headlights, and fires. This was all in the space of a half hour.
She came back a few hours later to find her cubs.
We all stayed in our cars (no one really slept since she'd already broken in to a car). Alot of people packed up and took off. I know we're in "Nature" (if "Nature" has multiple casinos, bars, restaurants, and supermarkets), and I know they're just doing what bears do when they're looking to put on weight for the winter, but when do bears become problem bears? With all the little kids running around that campground, I would expect more than the "Well we get bears up here" shrug off from the Park Ranger.
Aside from the bears, it's a great campground - just beautiful, and the facilities (flush toilets and coin-op showers) are super clean, and the beach is great, and all the hiking trails are convenient -
So I'd go back - but I won't camp there for awhile until the bears go back into the back country, or unless we were child-free (of course if we were child-free we would be backpacking, not carcamping)- in fact we were supposed to go back last weekend with another group, but with so many little kids we cancelled our reservation and headed to Lake Mendocino's Kyen campground instead.
On a positive note, DL Bliss/Emerald Bay is without a doubt the most gorgeous place I've been in a while - and driving along that narrow ridge between Emerald Bay & Fallen Leaf Lake was wonderfully thrilling!
