Our first time at Camp Shelly... it's cool bc you get to select the site! Reasonably priced per…read morenight $60 for non-residents of Livermore. Spaces were pretty large compared to other camps we've been too. Clean bathrooms & free showers! No coins needed. Yes, we encountered a bear almost every day... bc we are in their home... but the rangers were awesome! They made it seem like the bears were "friendly" and shoo'd them away with ease. Make sure to keep your food in the large bear containers. Thank you rangers Katelyn, Gilbert & Drew!

I don't understand why Bob gave two stars to Camp Shelly for the second point "lack of…read moreOregon-ness". :( That's like going to a great Italian restaurant and docking a star because it's not in Rome. I'm not sure what camping fees are in Oregon so I can't compare, but this is California and I think it's pretty fair compared to most other campgrounds. Though I'm fairly certain everything is more expensive in California than other states, so that could induce a breathtaking moment... and not just because you're around 6,000' elevation. ;O) Unless a place is truly awful, say if the bathrooms stunk to the high heaven's which he cited they did not or service is inexcusably horrible, then I would give as low as two stars. I know the Rangers at Camp Shelly are outstanding and though the restrooms are rustic for most, it's clean. I respectfully ask that Bob reconsider that missing third star since it's a great campground and I'm going to tell you why. :) This is a wonderful little campground in beautiful S. Lake Tahoe which is operated by the Livemore Parks Department. It's a clean campground and cozy. It's likely not for hard core campers, but it's also not geared toward RV camping either and I think it's for everyone! It is an institution for many families of Livermore. This is a place many pine for the whole year long (no pun intended as there are Jeffrey Pines all about), I am one of those people. The bathrooms are clean and if you're lucky enough to have indoor plumbing (ladies) the outside of the stalls are painted in a lovely mural which is in the photos section. The Rangers are awesome and each Saturday night there is an old fashioned ice cream making/social and most importantly EATING! Campground kids are encouraged to come over and give the ice cream machine a crank. It's a great time to meet other campers and let the kids burn off energy and get a taste of ice cream made the old fashioned way. On the weekends LARPD Rangers offer interactive programs such as Astronomy walks/talks and Wildflower walks/exploration. One thing I especially love is the lack of poison oak that one might find in lower elevations. There are mosquitoes so do bring protection or, if you're like me, DEET it up and wear three layers of clothes. I try to encase my body in the Fortress of Solitude. There is a horseshoe pit, basketball, ping pong table (that was being refurbed last summer, but I hear it's making a comeback for 2012!) and yes....oh yes, volleyball. If you're lucky and stay during the time when Camp Shelly competes with neighboring Camp Concord in a volleyball tourney for the Golden Toilet Seat... well, good times are had by all. The campground is very chill and small enough to where you can feel comfortable letting your kids wander around, dig in the dirt and build forts on the hillside by your camp. It feels like a mini community and is very family friendly. Oh, when I say "family" I'm also including your four-legged canine family. Camp Shelly is dog-friendly and our dog loves it up there. We go up 2-3 times in the season and sometimes see friends we know from school/community. Other times we find familiar faces we see regularly at the Farmer's Market, but may not know personally. It's a cool thing to go back each year and see some of the same faces and it's fun to see the kids grow from year to year. It's always great meeting folks from outside of our community those that come from other cities or other states. There are some great hikes and wonderful places to visit nearby. One of our family favorites is the hike up to Eagle Lake. Our dog LOVES the climb and the jump into a snow-fed Alpine lake. If you're lucky and go early in the season (and winter has been good) sometimes you can have a snowball fight with what little snow is left. Baldwin Beach is right down the main drive from Camp Shelly and Camp Richardson is a 5 minute drive. There is dog-friendly Kiva Beach just down the road in case your pup is a water hound like ours. Another of our favorites is the Camp Richardson Ice cream shop, but remember to ask for a KIDS scoop because the regular scoop is bigger than a toddler's head. The trip up to Angora Lakes is wonderful and our daughter enjoys kayaking or doing the paddle board. Camp Shelly is a place worth checking out. It's become a place of lasting lifetime memories for many people I know, including our own family. As soon as Labor Day passes and Camp Shelly closes we do a countdown to opening day. Even as I write this I can smell the faint vanilla-bark of the Jeffrey pines, hear the ocean like cadence of the breeze making it's way through millions of pine needles, the crackling of our hyptnotic campfire, the sound of crickets lulling me to sleep, kids playing and campers having real exchanges in a simple world. Camp Shelly is a fantastic place to enjoy "just being". I hope you come take a look for yourself and make some lasting memories of your own. :)

The proximity to Lake Tahoe - right across the street - is the main reason to camp here. The…read morecampsites were decently spaced apart. The restrooms & showers were clean. The camp hosts were friendly. My only complaint is that we didn't receive notice that briquettes aren't allowed to BBQ our food until 6 minutes before check in via email. If we had known before we had driven 5 hours to get there we could have packed our propane grill . We tried pellets in our BBQ but that didn't work so we ended up ordering pizza. I completely understand the fire safety issue; I just wish the website would have posted the information like it did the construction noise notice then we could have planned better & actually cooked the cooler of food that we had packed.

Pros: Managed to find a FCFS spot at 8pm on a summer night…read more Cons: -sites are pretty stacked on top of each other. -It was advertised online as $42 but upon arrival learned there was an additional $10 fee (lucky for them was in a pinch). - they advertise showers but these are coin operated and an additional fee (feels like you get nickel and dimed wherever they can) - close proximity to road/main strip leads to residual noise overnight (bring earplugs)

The Tahoe Valley Campground deserves a five-star rating due to the exceptional customer service…read moreprovided by the TVC Team. The campground itself seems to be in a constant state of change upgrading utilities, roads, signage, and general aesthetic improvements. A big shoutout to the grounds person who is constantly planting flowers, cleaning up entry and area flowerbeds etc... it makes a difference and improves the looks of the campground. The campground is walking distance to stores, pubs, music venues and bike/pedestrian trails. They have activities for children, a swimming pool and play area. The coffee vendor (Tahoe Mountain Grind) on site with pastries and delicious drinks is a plus too. They even have neighborhood bears that visit contributing to the camping experience. We enjoy our stays and camping experiences at Tahoe Valley Campground and will be returning. Mike & Donna Botto

Last year we stayed here and it was amazing so much fun great coffee in the am. We've been married…read morenow for quite some time and it was actually our first time camping alone by ourselves with some other family members and it was just so easy. The restrooms were so close the fact that they have a pool there you know just so many things about this campground that I could rave and go on and on about they have everything you would need in that convenience store if you forget something. So many places are close by food department stores anything that you'd want which is kind of different you're not used to going somewhere I'm feeling like you're out of touch with everything but then so close. It's really available to you. We love this place so much that we are going again this year and I actually thought I already had reviewed this place have to come back and review it again, but I just wanted to get on and say when I called the Call center I spoke to a young lady that was absolutely phenomenal. She was just so pleasant to talk to very helpful. Very patient made sure that I was gonna be able to be close to my church family, which is really awesome to me.. Xiomara was a pleasant employee! I would definitely hire her for one of my businesses Tent site is up 6 people a dog or two and they Rv sites cabins etc I added a site and they changed my site with no call no nothing

I'm updating my review from 3 to 5 stars ad Travis with management reached out to me and listened…read moreintently to the details of our experience. He acknowledged our frustration and is clearly committed to using the information to work with staff to improve the guest experience. He reached out within 48 hours of my initial review and on the busy Fourth of July holiday. While I'm updating my review to 5 stars, light sleepers should know that the hotel can be considered noisy given its roadside location (if their room is facing the road) and hotel room doors that are not soft close. It's information I wish I had before staying there.

Our experience in the beginning of March 2026…read more This was our first time coming to Camp Richardson. When I thought of Camp Richardson I've always thought of camping and horseback riding. We were staying in South Lake Tahoe 2 nights which gave us time to explore and have more fun. What I really wanted to do was go horseback riding. I looked up the corral and learned due to it was off season it was closed. I was so disappointed. Another thing that got my attention was the ice cream shop. My girlfriend came in September and had ice cream so I thought we'd be able to replicate her trip and get ice cream too. Unfortunately they were closed too, my guess was for the season. I didn't look at their website so we could have just come too late in the day. We were there around 2:30pm. We did get a chance to visit the beach. We were lucky and got one of the few spaces that was left. It was a pretty big lot, but for on season its not going to be big enough. I'm guessing there is a second lot that we didn't see. Due to it was off season the facilities were closed. Too bad as there were a lot of people on the beach and bike riding. We stayed short amount of time, but if we were camped out all day I don't know what we'd do. There were some people laying out getting burned. We had jeans and a sweater on and it was a little cool in the shade. Two people ran into the lake and there fried was filming the epic event. Others were just having a picnic and brought blankets and beach chairs to settle in for the day. There was also a restaurant on the beach which was tempting. Then you could get to use their facilities, sit at their outdoor patio on the beach, and have a great view. If they had hot fudge sundaes they'd have my business. Sadly we were on a tight schedule and had to get back to Heavenly Village for a show. The show was so worth it. I highly Reccomend this beach. So tranquil.

Aww this place says it's closed but they reopen this year. They've been closed for 4 years…read more Apparently they've been cleaning it up. We tent camp this past weekend July 22-23. The cool thing is we were able to get a last minute reservation as we booked it two days prior. But it's very expensive for a tent site. $140. Yikes. We never pay that much but when you're looking for something on a weekend quickly this worked. This was probably one of the more expensive KOA campgrounds. And the tent sites are right near the river. So you really couldn't hear the road all you can hear was the river. Most of them are kind of small although 161 and 162 are decent size and river access. Ours was 160 but it worked for 2 people 1 car. Definitely couldn't get anymore on our site. They definitely have lots of RV spots but check for what size will fit before booking. The roads around the campground are pretty narrow. There's absolutely no fires right now. El Dorado county has put a strict ban on them since we had Caldor fire that ripped through here 2 years ago. Propane only no charcoal either. This campground was saved. Although they're fixing things up around there. The bathroom next to the office was pretty clean and free hot showers. I think they need to bring in an extra garbage can and recycle bin. It literally was overflowing Sunday morning. Also they need to bring bear bins for each campsite as this is beer country! Now that it's open, they will be back on the hunt. Apparently the lady that checked us in, said they had a couple cubs there just the other night. Also at check in, she said they're going to be bringing in airstreams next season to rent as well. Oh, the swimming pool is in construction so not available right now. This is a really good location too for hiking, biking, boating, rock climbing. If they're open in the winter which I'm not sure, they'll be snowshoeing at the state park across the way from there. Enjoy!

I have used a number of KOA campgrounds across the USA but this one is set up very differently…read more This site has a number of levels/hills in it. It could make navigating a larger rig through it a bit of a challenge, and I was only walking through it. There is a nice but small pool area. We were in one of the spaces closer to the entrance/exit, thankfully. The staff was very pleasant and when I let them know that one of the paper towel dispensers in the women's restroom was empty, it was handled promptly. The staff tried to keep the restrooms/showers clean but these areas really do need to be completely remodeled. The showers appeared to have mold started in them. The road noise is very noticeable all day and night. The price for the campgrounds is considerably higher than most KOAs I have stayed in.