Hope Valley
MVP
None
Camp Review:
The camp was almost all the way full around the edges, but if people had to cram, there was space for another 50 cars.
There were two vault style bathrooms and two portable toilets. The portable toilets were the cleanest units I have ever used, with lots of toilet paper and hand sanitizer.
Everyone was respectful and the camp was quiet before 10pm.
The views were prettier than most paid camping sites.
What I Learned:
Even though I arrived past 8pm, I was able to find a fine spot on a Saturday night. I had two other locations marked on my map, and I spotted at least three other road-side camping spots on the way to this page. I need not have stressed myself about possibly not finding a spot.
I wasn’t sure how fast I could pack in the morning, but here’s how fast I got out of that site. It took me 15 minutes to slowly wake up from my alarm and put my clothes on (it was 45 degrees out, so it was a bit chilly). It took another 15 minutes for me to brush my teeth and pack up the tent. In 30 minutes, I was on the road.
It took less than 30 minutes to get to South Lake Tahoe. I don’t think I’ll ever pay for a room in Tahoe again, given how close this is to Tahoe and how cheap this is (free).
What Happened?
I needed to get to the Bayview Trailhead at Lake Tahoe early in the morning, so instead of driving at 2am from San Jose, I decided to sleep over at Hope Valley the night before. I left San Jose at 4pm and arrived at Hope Valley at 8:15pm.
I brushed my teeth, setup the tent, and got inside by 8:45pm, and was sleeping before 9:30pm. I woke up at 6am with an alarm and was at the trailhead by 7:10am.