Lewis Campground

My 3 friends and I, camped at Lewis Campground (Sept 4–7, site 23) and loved it. Bathrooms were spotless, sites are private and well-spaced, and our camp host Mike was awesome. Site 23 was very spacious, but be careful—some sites are small (site 37 won’t fit more than 2 people comfortably). Tip: call ahead, since the Reserve.com map doesn’t show true site sizes. Fire ring fires are allowed—we cook... My 3 friends and I, camped at Lewis Campground (Sept 4–7, site 23) and loved it. Bathrooms were spotless, sites are private and well-spaced, and our camp host Mike was awesome. Site 23 was very spacious, but be careful—some sites are small (site 37 won’t fit more than 2 people comfortably). Tip: call ahead, since the Reserve.com map doesn’t show true site sizes. Fire ring fires are allowed—we cooked over the fire daily. The reservoir is just down the road with a boat launch and a hidden sandy beach area (perfect for 4–8 people), though it can get windy. Bear boxes are provided (about 3ft x 3ft) but a large cooler won’t fit, so plan to consolidate. Nights got much colder than forecast (down to mid-40s), so bring warm layers. Minimal bugs, plenty of shade, quiet overall, and the camp hosts were helpful without being overbearing. No showers, but clean stalls/urinals and a peaceful setting make this a great spot. Highly recommend Lewis if you want a clean, quiet, and well-run campground near French Meadows.

My 3 friends and I, camped at Lewis Campground (Sept 4–7, site 23) and loved it. Bathrooms were spotless, sites are private and well-spaced, and our camp host Mike was awesome. Site 23 was very spacious, but be careful—some sites are small (site 37 won’t fit more than 2 people comfortably). Tip: call ahead, since the Reserve.com map doesn’t show true site sizes. Fire ring fires are allowed—we cook... My 3 friends and I, camped at Lewis Campground (Sept 4–7, site 23) and loved it. Bathrooms were spotless, sites are private and well-spaced, and our camp host Mike was awesome. Site 23 was very spacious, but be careful—some sites are small (site 37 won’t fit more than 2 people comfortably). Tip: call ahead, since the Reserve.com map doesn’t show true site sizes. Fire ring fires are allowed—we cooked over the fire daily. The reservoir is just down the road with a boat launch and a hidden sandy beach area (perfect for 4–8 people), though it can get windy. Bear boxes are provided (about 3ft x 3ft) but a large cooler won’t fit, so plan to consolidate. Nights got much colder than forecast (down to mid-40s), so bring warm layers. Minimal bugs, plenty of shade, quiet overall, and the camp hosts were helpful without being overbearing. No showers, but clean stalls/urinals and a peaceful setting make this a great spot. Highly recommend Lewis if you want a clean, quiet, and well-run campground near French Meadows.

Nice campground, and it definitely helped that we stayed there when no one else was in the campground, not even the camp host! Arrived on a Tuesday, left on Thursday. We were told via email and on the website not to bring firewood but to purchase there. Makes sense, support the forest service, etc. I'd love to, but the firewood was locked up and the camp host was unavailable during our stay. We sc... Nice campground, and it definitely helped that we stayed there when no one else was in the campground, not even the camp host! Arrived on a Tuesday, left on Thursday. We were told via email and on the website not to bring firewood but to purchase there. Makes sense, support the forest service, etc. I'd love to, but the firewood was locked up and the camp host was unavailable during our stay. We scoured our campground and others nearby in the area for leftover wood we could burn, and luckily found some. If the host isn't going to be there, but they know one campsite will be used, at least leave some wood! I brought cash to pay for it but didn't have any option to buy. Anyway, the site itself is nice. We came from Sacramento so the way in was through Foresthill, and after a while that road turns into a pretty rough dirt road. Glad we brought the Tacoma as even a Subaru would have trouble at points along the road. This was the only way into the entire French Meadows campground area so far as I know. Be prepared for steep and rough roads on the way in/out. The campground is near the water, the air smells great, and it was just what we wanted. Being the only ones in the campground was a really nice bonus. Good facilities for camping, exactly what we expected. Plenty of potable water spigots. No showers. We did a hike into the Granite Chief Wilderness that started at nearby Talbot campground. Came upon a large brown bear using a tree as a scratching post. Thankfully it ran away when it became aware of us (we began to go back the way we came once we saw the bear), so we cautiously continued our hike periodically yelling out for any other potential bears to hear us. A great midweek camping adventure.

Nice campground, and it definitely helped that we stayed there when no one else was in the campground, not even the camp host! Arrived on a Tuesday, left on Thursday. We were told via email and on the website not to bring firewood but to purchase there. Makes sense, support the forest service, etc. I'd love to, but the firewood was locked up and the camp host was unavailable during our stay. We sc... Nice campground, and it definitely helped that we stayed there when no one else was in the campground, not even the camp host! Arrived on a Tuesday, left on Thursday. We were told via email and on the website not to bring firewood but to purchase there. Makes sense, support the forest service, etc. I'd love to, but the firewood was locked up and the camp host was unavailable during our stay. We scoured our campground and others nearby in the area for leftover wood we could burn, and luckily found some. If the host isn't going to be there, but they know one campsite will be used, at least leave some wood! I brought cash to pay for it but didn't have any option to buy. Anyway, the site itself is nice. We came from Sacramento so the way in was through Foresthill, and after a while that road turns into a pretty rough dirt road. Glad we brought the Tacoma as even a Subaru would have trouble at points along the road. This was the only way into the entire French Meadows campground area so far as I know. Be prepared for steep and rough roads on the way in/out. The campground is near the water, the air smells great, and it was just what we wanted. Being the only ones in the campground was a really nice bonus. Good facilities for camping, exactly what we expected. Plenty of potable water spigots. No showers. We did a hike into the Granite Chief Wilderness that started at nearby Talbot campground. Came upon a large brown bear using a tree as a scratching post. Thankfully it ran away when it became aware of us (we began to go back the way we came once we saw the bear), so we cautiously continued our hike periodically yelling out for any other potential bears to hear us. A great midweek camping adventure.

Such an amazing place to camp with friends and family in middle of Tahoe national forest. The reservoir next to it had amazing clear water. The night sky was good too. Campsites have dedicated fireplaces at each camp site. They have flushable toilets, so it was a huge relief. This place does not get cell service, which was exactly what I was looking for. However, you do get cell service at Chip Mu... Such an amazing place to camp with friends and family in middle of Tahoe national forest. The reservoir next to it had amazing clear water. The night sky was good too. Campsites have dedicated fireplaces at each camp site. They have flushable toilets, so it was a huge relief. This place does not get cell service, which was exactly what I was looking for. However, you do get cell service at Chip Munk Ridge which is a vista point overlooking the reservoir at a 20 minutes drive distance.

Such an amazing place to camp with friends and family in middle of Tahoe national forest. The reservoir next to it had amazing clear water. The night sky was good too. Campsites have dedicated fireplaces at each camp site. They have flushable toilets, so it was a huge relief. This place does not get cell service, which was exactly what I was looking for. However, you do get cell service at Chip Mu... Such an amazing place to camp with friends and family in middle of Tahoe national forest. The reservoir next to it had amazing clear water. The night sky was good too. Campsites have dedicated fireplaces at each camp site. They have flushable toilets, so it was a huge relief. This place does not get cell service, which was exactly what I was looking for. However, you do get cell service at Chip Munk Ridge which is a vista point overlooking the reservoir at a 20 minutes drive distance.

I’ll start by saying this campground had one of the cleanest flush bathrooms I’ve ever seen at a campground - that should say a lot! Camp host was very nice, although they were out of firewood unfortunately. Plenty of wood around to be picked up anyway, I was able to gather enough to keep hours of fire for both nights I was there. There is access to the lake right outside the campground, and a bo... I’ll start by saying this campground had one of the cleanest flush bathrooms I’ve ever seen at a campground - that should say a lot! Camp host was very nice, although they were out of firewood unfortunately. Plenty of wood around to be picked up anyway, I was able to gather enough to keep hours of fire for both nights I was there. There is access to the lake right outside the campground, and a boat ramp at the end of the road. The campground was really quiet after 9pm which I really appreciate. No loud speakers, kids screaming or anything like that. And on a holiday weekend nonetheless! Finally, I saw a previous review about only driving high clearance cars to this campground, which almost made me panic cancel the trip so I felt obligated to come here and clarify. If you, like me, drive a tiny sedan, take Mosquito Ridge Road. It’s asphalt and pretty close to brand new. If you have a high clearance vehicle and are feeling adventurous, you can take Foresthill Divide Road instead. Drive safe!

I’ll start by saying this campground had one of the cleanest flush bathrooms I’ve ever seen at a campground - that should say a lot! Camp host was very nice, although they were out of firewood unfortunately. Plenty of wood around to be picked up anyway, I was able to gather enough to keep hours of fire for both nights I was there. There is access to the lake right outside the campground, and a bo... I’ll start by saying this campground had one of the cleanest flush bathrooms I’ve ever seen at a campground - that should say a lot! Camp host was very nice, although they were out of firewood unfortunately. Plenty of wood around to be picked up anyway, I was able to gather enough to keep hours of fire for both nights I was there. There is access to the lake right outside the campground, and a boat ramp at the end of the road. The campground was really quiet after 9pm which I really appreciate. No loud speakers, kids screaming or anything like that. And on a holiday weekend nonetheless! Finally, I saw a previous review about only driving high clearance cars to this campground, which almost made me panic cancel the trip so I felt obligated to come here and clarify. If you, like me, drive a tiny sedan, take Mosquito Ridge Road. It’s asphalt and pretty close to brand new. If you have a high clearance vehicle and are feeling adventurous, you can take Foresthill Divide Road instead. Drive safe!