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Emerald Bay State Park
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
14 reviews for Emerald Bay State Park
An especially wonderful place to day beach if you have access to a boat. Gets you away from the masses even on the busiest weekends. If you have well behaved dogs, this is the only way to go. Just watch out for Ranger Rick and his buddies since they like to sit on their fat as*es in their state funded boat and announce over the loudspeaker "GET YOUR DOGS ON THE LEASH" then followed by "GET YOUR DOGS BACK IN THE VESSEL". The loudspeaker in my mind was saying BITE ME Sheriff Benell.
Otherwise a great weekend and this is a beautiful place.
We went on quite the hiker's adventure at Emerald Bay. A friend told me to look for the trailhead right around the look-out point. We saw the sign and headed towards it. We reached a fork in the path for Cascade Falls or Desolation. Hmmm which should we choose? Cascade Falls, here we come!
We didn't find what you would say "falls" but we did find a nice trickling stream coming down the rocky mountain side. We were hauling ass so it only took about 15-20 minutes to get to the stream. Unsatisfied, we kept going and started wandering up the steep rocks. As dumb as it seemed at the time, we kept going up and up and up, scaling some pretty major rocks. The views were amazing and well worth the scrapes and potential slips into a deep abyss. We were worried about not making it back down safely but thankfully we all had shoes with decent treads and our feet stuck well to the rocks. We made it down and all-in-all, had an incredible 3-hour hike up some mountain! Highly recommended!
We had a great weekend here at Emerald Bay State Park. The campsite was clean, has a bear locker, table and benches, fire pit and and bbq grill was also provide. There were bathrooms-thank goodness, I brought my Lysol. Between the 5 of us the toilet was sparkling but the floors and the rest of the bathroom was on their own. I didn't shower for 3 days but the campsite has a few that you can shower in. -1 star for bad bathrooms
I was really looking forward to the beach. It was a 20 minute hike down to the beach. When you get there, it was quite nice and serene, the view was spectacular, amazing. Now the rest is a little bit less fun. It was rocky as heck, I went in and the wave was fighting me, it was windy, it was as if I was wearing high heels in the water. The waves made me wobble and fall and the current was so strong it dragged my butt through all sorts of sharp stones, ow! It was so hard to get up and get my footing back. It took me like forever to get back to shore. So, this whole beach experience took another star away. So if you are looking for a nice camping experience, this is a great place. Anything else, I don't know.
This is a pretty amazing campground. Most of the sites have level areas for tents, firepits, bear lockers, etc.. The campground is nicely maintained and it's right next to Emerald Bay with amazing views of Lake Tahoe .however it can get a bit noisy during the day with all the boat traffic. There are two bathroom facilities that have hot showers. My only complaint is that the bathrooms need to be cleaned more often. The park staff have signs posted on the bathrooms and showers apologizing for not being able to clean them as often due to cutbacks, but seems like they should be able to get the camp hosts to at least check on them a couple times a day and clean them if necessary.
Did someone say "bears?" Yeah, there are bears. Kind of makes one uneasy even in the beautiful Lake Tahoe woods. And the hassle: put anything with a scent into the bear-proof lockers before going to bed or even going out for the day. Fun. Especially when the bear-proof locker sits in the hot sun all day turning your cooler into a heater.
We also had the problem of finding out our first campsite's bear-proof locker wasn't big enough for our cooler. So, we had to drive back up the hill to change sites. The guy was nice enough about it but then we found ourselves in the middle of a GROUP camp, and we weren't part of the group. Noisy kids running around and through our site day and night. Peaceful nature, NOT.
Wife also complained that the showers weren't too clean but with the state budget in such a mess, it was understandable.
But, hey, the area is gorgeous. The beach at this campsite is nothing to write home about, but staying here allows you to access DL BLISS beach which is awesome. Nice rocks for jumping off. Hard to find parking though we lucked out there.
The campground is also nice in that it goes down a hill, so it's not flat and boring, and gives a little more privacy. Some sites have views and others (like ours) don't. I think if you got a view, you'd be hard-pressed not to give this a 5-star rating.
(Word to the wise, stay away from the nearby Camp Richardson, unless you're into large noisy groups of people.)
what a wonderful trip to Emerald Bay state park!
I've driven right by it for years on my way to Tahoe and the mountains, but finally took the hike down to the bay.
It was beautiful. We also took the tour of the Viking home, which was really interesting.
Parking is a PIA and its $7 (!!!) for parking, but worth it to get up early and enjoy this Sierra jewel.
Amazing.
Beautiful.
Fantastic Drive.
Crowded.
All things you will mutter when going to Emerald Bay. Its always worth the short trip from South Lake and there is plenty to do. If you know your way around you can manage to avoid the crowds but even on a weekday their will be loads of people.
Lots of great hiking to be done in this area. If you want to hike I recommend the hike to Maggies peak and Granite Lake. it will take a lot of time to complete so start early. Also if you are the adventurous type like myself you can head out to Fallen Leaf Lake and enjoy complete isolation and beauty.
This is a 5 star location but loses a half star solely based on the amount of people that come here. On some weekend it can become a complete nightmare to visit.
Pretty decent place to camp. I went here with my family last week (5 kids) and the one thing on my mind before getting here: BEARS. My friends had been out in the area recently and actually ran into some bears; so I was a bit concerned for my nephews and niece. However, one thing I did notice when we got to our site was that all the sites were really close to each other. I mean we could see what ppl were doing in 5 other sites. While this is good, because I don't think any bears would walk up to our site, it might not be good for privacy.
Besides that the site was gorgeous. Great view of the lake and a nice log that my nephews liked to play on. Having easy access to the beach and the Rubicon Trail are great; however I didn't realize that there were no kayak rentals allowed on Emerald Bay. We actually would have to drive out to do any kayaking.
Overall good solid site with beautiful views and recommended for a camping trip with friends were you want to just hike and chill by the beach.
My boyfriend and I went here for the first time this past weekend. I like the showers and the restrooms, but the sites are small and are too close together. We got there late at night. When I got out of the tent the following morning, I saw people from the other site right away.
Our site was near the water, but it was near the rocks. It has a nice view though. It would have been nice to lay out near our campsite. However, the beach wasn't too far from the site - just a short drive away.
They allow 8 people to one site, but I wouldn't recommend more than 5 people.
Emerald Bay has a lot to offer. If you can get past the swarms of tourists, it's easy to find incredible beauty here.
I do not usually go down to Emerald Bay, but rather hike up into the wilderness the public rarely sees. Trails lead to a waterfall and a series of spectacular lakes, but most tourists call it quits before reaching the first lake. The lakes are wonderful for swimming, and after a long hike, nothing is more refreshing.
The next time you're at Emerald Bay, check out more of the hidden beauty the park has to offer. It's always worth it!
View: 5 stars
Service: 1 stars
The view overlooking the Emerald Bay and the Fennette Island at South Lake Tahoe was awesome. The lake was blue and beautiful. However, I don't think it worth hiking down one mile to the bottom. The road was pretty steep in the last 0.3 mile and it will be even harder to hike back up, especially for senior people.
One thing I want to complain about this area is the restroom. There is no restroom in the parking area up at the top. You have to hike down to the bottom. I think this is ridicously unreasonable for visitors. That's why I deducted the rating. After paying $6 for parking, we found out we had to hike down to the bottom to get to the restroom. What about the seniors, handicapped people, or those who cannot or don't want to hike that far? They absolutely should build a restroom in the parking lot or the parking should not be charged.
Fun place to visit, great fun to hike but MOTHER OF GOD get here early if you want to get a parking space!
This is without a doubt my absolute favorite place to hike. After enjoying the view of the emerald bay, take a hike at Cascade Falls Trail on the other side of the street. The hike is approximately 45 mins long back and forth. I've been there in a snowy winter and also in the middle of a melting hot summer. I had different experiences... it was less crowded during summer months, surprisingly. I personally prefer going there in winter. Make sure your shoes are anti-slip because the trail is very rocky and i've slipped a few times... and nothing to hang on to. May not be suitable for elderly people, little kids, and dogs (not sure if they even allow dogs). You can see huge granite mountains on one side of the trail, and a deep blue lake on the other side. Somewhere in the middle are the trees. Go there and see for yourself cus words can't describe how beautiful it is.
Emerald Bay was an awesome campsite! Each campsite had a bbq grill, a bookcase, bond-fire area, and a bear cage to protect the food. In addition, I love how there are bathrooms, showers, and faucets in the area. Be sure to bring quarter for the showers! Fifty cents will be a 5 minute shower. In addition, bring a bee repellent or some gadget to deter the bees. We had a HUGE bee problem in our camping area. The bees would follow us when we cooked, and it was sooo annoying. I had to eat in the car in order to avoid them.
Anyway, My friends and I had a fun time in the state park. We went hiking and saw the waterfalls, beach, and enjoyed the scenery. Wear comfortable hiking shoes! Walking on the trails made me ralize how out of shape I am. I was practically dying when walking uphill.
I love how clear the sky is at night. I never realized how many stars are in the sky!
Highly recommended place!
Highly recommended place to camp. According to my friends, the campsite had a lot of people.
