Washoe Lake State Park
September 19th – September 30th, 2026 (12 nights)

Washoe Lake State Park lies just over the Carson mountain range east of Lake Tahoe in the scenic Washoe Valley (about 45 minutes drive from Nevada Beach Campground at Lake Tahoe).  Nestled between Carson City and Reno, Washoe Valley State Park offers spectactular expansive views of the Carson and Virgina Mountain ranges and features wild mustangs as well as lenticular cloud formations.  We were initially intrigued to visit primarily for the wild horses, but found so many other interesting and fun things to do that we can easily recommend this place as a top travel destination.  If possible, stop ovenright at one or two locations along the way if travelling form Southern California to break up the trip.

Lone Pine Campground (5,900’ elevation)
Lone Pine is about the halfway point between Carlsbad and Reno (located about 4.5 – 5 hours beween the two cities).  Because it was still warm in the area during our visit in late summer, we chose to stay at Lone Pine Campground, which is a couple thousand feet higher in elevation than Lone Pine and, in turn, cooler. Before heading to the campground (easy drive), we stopped in town and had lunch at the Alabama Hills Cafe.  Their crispy chicken wrap is delicious!

Lone Pine Campground is small with only 44 total campsites (odd number sites are first come, first served, thus not seen on the government reservations website).  It’s only about a 12 minute drive up Whitney Portal Road to the campground from the town of Lone Pine below.  There are bathrooms and water spigots (some with threads).  There is no mobile phone service or RV dump station in the campground (the closest dump station is at the Tuttle Creek Campground closer to town).  A phone signal can be had, though, by walking to the top of the campground and out toward the exit road.  We stayed in site #12 ($34/night), a comfortable campsite shaded by an old oak tree across from the host campsite at the upper part of the campground.  Lone Pine Creek runs through this campground, providing relaxing sounds and a cool place to sit or fish.  Looking out at the panoramic views of the Eastern Sierra and jagged peaks, it may feel like you are in Switzerland.  The sights are so amazing here that they are worth the trip even if you do nothing else but sit back in a relaxing chair and take in the scenery.

Note — we swapped out our incandescent bulb tail lights on our Scamp 13′ with LEDs for this trip because they have a longer life and may be brighter.  However, our 2020 Volvo XC40 could not recognize that our our trailer was attached to the tow vehicle when we replaced the incandescent bulbs with LEDs due to the much lower electronic load with LEDs, so many Volvo safety features (such as automatic tail light checks and safety anti-sway functions) no longer worked!  We read that it’s possible to use the LED tail lights in this manner, but load circuits need to be added to make it work properly.  We decided to switch back to our old reliable incandescent bulbs!

Next stop — June Lake Campground — a two hour drive north on the US Route 395.

June Lake Campground (7,600’ elevation)
Located in the small town of June Lake, this campground is the closest public campground to town (an easy 5 minute walk).  There are 28 campsites here and each has a bear locker (there’s no RV dumpstation here, but there is good Verizon mobile phone coverage).  The campground lacks proper site location signs, so it may take a little while to find your campsite.  We had campsite #18 ($32/night) which sits close to a threaded water spigot and is a nice spacious campsite.  We walked into town and had great homemade, small batch ice cream at Local Scoop (which also has stores in Mammoth Lakes and Bishop).  Note — in retrospect, we preferred staying at nearby Gull Lake Campground right on Gull Lake as it has a nicer feel than this campground, in our opinion).

Our friend Rob told us about an interesting place to eat attached to a Mobile Gas Station, called the Whoa Nelly Deli in Lee Vining (on the way to our next campground, Washoe Lake State Park Campground).  It’s only about a 15 minute drive north from June Lake.  At first we thought he was joking as we typically don’t associate good food with gas stations.  However, it has become a famous restaurant (started in 1996 by the owners of the Tioga Gas Mart) offering a more elevated food experience to travellers.  It’s located at the bottom of the Tioga Pass (intersection of the 395 and Tioga Road).  Make a left on Tioga Road coming from June Lake on the 395 North (in the direction of Tuolumne Meadows) and it’s off to the left about a block up Tioga Road.  There’s plenty of parking, even for  RVs.  We ordered their signature dish “World Famous Fish Tacos” ($20), in addition to crispy fries and carrot cake:  we really enjoyed the meal!  One taco dish was plenty for two people.  They offer indoor and outdoor seating, but their outside park-like setting with picnic tables has a spectacular view of Mono Lake and is a great place to enjoy lunch.

Washoe Lake State Park Campground, Nevada (5,053′ elevation)
The drive from June Lake to Washoe Lake State Park takes about three hours. We used the free dump station at the entrance before setting up at our campsite #17 ($30/night for non Nevada residents) in the A loop.  The A loop has water and electricity hookups at each campsite.  The B loop is dry with water spigots distributed throughout the campground ($20/night for non Nevada residents).  All the campsites are very spacious and have picnic tables with private ramadas.  Site #17 has a direct lake view.  There is good 5G Verizon mobile phone coverage here.

The late September weather during our stay was incredible — pleasant, mostly sunny, windy days and cool nights.  The park is framed by the Sierra Nevada, Carson, and Virginia mountain ranges.  These ranges provide a spectacular backdrop for the campground which sits in the Washoe Valley along the shores of the natural Washoe Lake.  The scenic beauty of the landscape is perhaps the most impactful part of the experience of staying in the campground.  Brilliant sunrises and sunsets burst with oranges and other warm hues as the sun rises and sets behind the mountain ranges on each side.  The Washoe Zephyr winds are powerful and predictable afternoon winds that sweep through the valley, sometimes lasting into the night and providing a soundtrack with which to fall asleep.  The Washoe Valley is also one of the best places in the world to view lenticular clouds, due to the Sierra Nevada mountains, which create the strong wave-like wind patterns necessary to make smooth saucer like disks that frequently mimic the appearance of flying saucers due to their round cylindrical edges.

One of the main reasons for our week long trip to Washoe Lake State Park Campground (maximum stay is 7 nights) was to see the wild mustangs.  The Virginia Range is famous for its population of free-roaming wild horses.  They often come down from the mountains into the state park to graze in the wetlands and meadows and to drink from the fresh lake.  On our first day here, we saw a heard of seven wild mustangs and one of them ran right up to us and stopped just short to say “hello” and “do you have any treats?”  People must be at times feeding the horses since they seem quite accustomed to people.  There are notices not to feed the mustangs as they can get sick if they eat anything other than their local diet of grass and sage brush.  Also, the windy air here at Washoe Lake State Park is filled with smell of sage, since it seems as if 99% of the vegetation is in the sage family.  We greatly enjoyed observing the mustangs and they didn’t mind our presence or having their photo taken or did they ever behave aggressively toward us.  We were lucky to have seen a heard almost everyday during our visit.

There are a lot of other fun activities at Washoe Lake State Park Campground.  There’s an 18 hold disc golf course along the lake, known as “The Maze” as well as a variety of scenic trails along the scrublands, lake, and hills surrounding the lake.  One popular climb is “Dead Mans Creek Trail” — providing a panoramic view over Washoe Lake.  There is kite surfing on the lake as well as kayaking and fishing.  The lake is stocked with a variety of fish.  And paragliders sometimes fly over Slide Mountain to land near the lake.

If spending a number of days at the campground like we did, it’s also fun to visit the nearby cities of Carson City and Reno.  Carson City is the state capitol of Nevada and it’s only a fifteen minute drive from the campground.  We had nice lunches at Eve’s Eatery (American) and The Basil (Thai) and enjoyed taking a walking city tour on our own.  We walked by the Governor’s Mansion and also enjoyed great ice cream at Scoups Ice Cream.  We were able to get inside the Nevada state capitol and viewed several rooms, including the Nevada Supreme Court, as well as the capitol government museum.  Reno is a much bigger city with lots of restaurants as well as casinos and airport and is about thirty minutes away from the campground.

We had to the opportunity to go to the well-run Carson City Farmers Market on its last Saturday of the season (September 26th).  The market runs seasonally from the end of May until the end of September (check their website for details).  The market is open on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Mills Park, with plenty of parking.  Vendors sell all sorts of fresh produce and farm products, such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, eggs, and honey as well as locally crafted items (e.g. wood cutting boards, owl/bee/bat boxes, etc.).  We purchased a dozen organic pasture-raised eggs ($10) and a pound of local raw honey ($13).  There are also food vendors at the market.  We shared a delicious chicken tikki masala pie ($14) and a slice of fresh apple caramel pie ($6) from Silver State Pie Company.  The longest lines were seen at the bakery/pastry booths, as people waited patiently sipping their hot drinks from the coffee/tea vendor. If you are in town during at the right season, we highly recommend visiting the Carson City Farmers Market: it won’t disappoint!

Lower Twin Lake Campground, Bridgeport (7,000′ elevation)
The drive from Washoe Lake State Park to Lower Twin Lake Campground (outside of Bridgeport, CA) takes about two hours down Highway 395. We used the free dump station at the entrance before departing Washoe Lake State Park Campground.  We made sure to fill up for gas at the last gas stop in Nevada (the Chevron station at Topaz Lake) to receive highly discounted gas prices compared to California.

The route to Lower Twin Lake Campground is a short drive through farm fields filled with cows and up a gentle mountain grade.  The campground is first come first served at this time of year and there are only 14 campsites (with choice sites along the creek, #1-5).  When we arrived early Monday afternoon there were only a couple of campsites available.  Fortunately, one of the choice creek campsites (#5) was open for us (our 2020 Scamp 13′ with Volvo XC 40 just fit into the campsite, as this campsite is a short one!).  Campsites here are currently $34/night or $17/night if you have an America the Beautiful senior pass, since we’re on National Forest land.  There is no mobile phone service or RV dump station, but there are scattered water spigots.  The creek runs directly behind the campsites.  The Lower Twin Lake is a short walk up the road and is a beautiful place to relax, fish, or have a picnic.  We spoke to the host and she said that this campground is extremely difficult to make reservations during the summer season as it is very popular and there are not many campsites.  Fortunately, there’s another campground directly across the street called Crags Campground (split into the Sawtooth Loop and the Matterhorn Loop).  This campground is larger and the sites are spread out over a big open area with dramatic scenic mountain views (sites are $30/night or $15/night with a pass).  There are also 2x (fits 2 trailers / $50/night) and 3x (fits 3 trailers / $65/night) sites for those who want to share a campsite with friends.

There is plenty to do at the campground, including fishing, boating, swimming, and hiking.  And, if you want some variety, it’s a short 10 minute drive down into the cute old-fashioned town of Bridgeport where there’s unique shopping as well as eateries.  We enjoyed a great hamburger at the Burger Barn and had a delicious piece of cherry pie a la mode at the historic Bridgeport Inn dining  room.  The Brideport Inn, established in 1877, is reportedly haunted by the White Lady Ghost, in room 16.  We did not see her during our visit, nor had our restaurant server who has worked at the inn for the past ten years ever seen her.  We toured the town on foot and walked through the old 1800’s jail and viewed the court house.  Make sure to check out the High Sierra Bakery when in town, famous for their apple fritters (Note: their hours fluctuate and they close earlier on Mondays, when we had stopped by).

Tuttle Creek Campground, Lone Pine (5,000′ elevation)
The drive from Lower Twin Lake Campground to Tuttle Creek Campground takes about three hours down Highway 395.  The weather turned cooler toward the end of our trip in late September and as we drove toward Lone Pine we could see there were recent snow storms at higher elevations with mountain peaks now blanketed in snow.  We checked the report on our way down from Bridgeport and were happy to hear it was only around 80 degrees in Lone Pine.  This meant we could try out Tuttle Creek Campground which is lower in elevation than the campgrounds in which we usually stay around Lone Pine.

Tuttle Creek Campground is first come first served, and is a very large, sprawling area with 83 RV and tent sites.  So, we weren’t too concerned about being able to get a spot.  As it turned out, we were successfull at getting one of our top picks, campsite #8, which backs up against the creek.  There’s not much shade at Tuttle Creek and it can get very windy (as it was during our visit) — but, if the weather isn’t too hot, then it’s reallly nice to open up the front door and all the windows and allow the breezes to blow through the camper!  There’s a newly installed electronic payment machine at the entrance to the campground (which is only a short drive up Whitney Portal Road from town).  Select your campsite and park first, then come down to the kiosk and enter the campsite number and pay.  The machine prints out a parking pass to display in your car window.  Campsites here are $12/night or $6/night with an America the Beautiful Senior Pass, as this area in on BLM land.  There is an RV dumpstation (currently $12) as well as water spigots (both closed during the winter, but the campground stays open).

Some nice things about this campground are stunning panoramic views of Mt. Whitney and the surrounding Sierra Nevada mountains, close proximity to town for shopping and eating, and good Verizon mobile phone coverage.  Hiking and rock climbing are close by in the Alabama Hills.  Or, if you don’t want to leave your campsite, take in the dramatic mountain views and stargaze at night as the sky is very dark.

Final Thoughts
We generally spend only a few nights or less at each of our campsground stops.  We usually feel like we get a good impression of each area after a couple days and, since there’s so much to see, we like to keep moving.  However, on this trip, we made it a point to spend 7 nights (the maximum stay allowed) at Washoe Lake State Park Campground in northern Nevada to ensure we could fully appreciate the environment.  This strategy really paid off on this trip as each day brought new wonders and surprises that we wouldn’t have experienced in a two night stay.

We saw a stormy bright red cloudy sunset sky on our first night.  We encountered the famous wild Virginia range mustangs on multiple days at different times of day and in different locations.  And, on one early morning at sunrise, two exceptional lenticular cloud formations appeared above our Scamp 13′ — a meteor hurtling straight down on us and a UFO hovering above (see report images).  [We learned that the Washoe Valley is one of the best places on Earth to witness lenticular cloud formations!]  And, since we had a number of days to explore, we were able to visit both Reno (30 minutes drive from the campground) and Carson City (15 minutes drive).  Some highlights were attending the last Carson City farmer’s market of the season, touring old Carson City on foot (and even viewing inside the Nevada State Capitol building) and walking in front of the Governor’s Mansion.

On the last days of our trip, the feeling of summer was over.  Fall had settled in and the colors of changing leaves were on full display.  And driving through the freshly snow capped mountains felt like fall may be short lived making way for some early big winter storms in the Eastern Sierra.  It was time for us to go home.

We highly recommend a visit to Washoe Lake State Park campground and also taking time for interesting stops along the way.  And, as we learned, sometimes it’s ok to stay for a while and appreciate the beauty of the present moment.  As legendary golfer Walter Hagen once said, “You’re only here for a short visit.  Don’t hurry.  Don’t worry.  And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”

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