Sammy at Wrights Lake

Getting an early start for the long labor day weekend we made it up to Wrights Lake this year on the Thursday before Labor day. This is the latest time of the year we have been up there and it was a good thing.

The campground didn’t open to the public until July 22 this year, so by the time we made it up there on on Sept. 1 the short summer season was already winding down. Though by Friday evening all the RV sites were filled-up and there was a lot of adults and kids out and about to enjoy the long weekend.

Sammy with Joe kayaking up the channel

What we noticed this year was there were many more mosquitoes than in past years (I assume because of the very high percip. this winter). It was just a minor inconvenience because we did bring extra bug spray.

Also this year we invited some friends to join us (Claire had booked an extra campsite). It made it extra fun inviting the family we met on our first trip to Wrights lake four years ago (the Welton’s) to spend the weekend with us.

This year we also tried to make sure we did some hiking around the area. We started out Saturday morning wanting to hike up to one of the mountain lakes (maybe Grouse Lake), but only made it a few hundred feet up the hill before the kids started complaining. So we decide to just hike around Wrights Lake, which was more than worth it and very beautiful. I think we are going to have to wait until the kids are in the teens before we attempt a hike like the Grouse Lake hike.

Ben kayaking up channel

Kids fishing at Wrights Lake

And this year Ben was able to be a little more independent and paddle around in a borrowed kayak. We paddled all the way up the channel to last passable section. And of course the kids tried their had at fishing, but to no avail. Well maybe next year.

Also a little different this year is that we invited are friends the Walhs up on Sunday evening for an afternoon picinic and swim at the lake. The kids had a great time and I think the adults had fun too.

And because we were dry camping we relied on our battery for the whole five day trip. I think the LED lights really did the trick because our battery never got below 3/4 charge.

This post via the: Family RV Fun blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.

Wrights Lake 2011

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Sunset at the beautiful Wrights Lake

Every August we go to the South Lake Tahoe area to a place called Wrights Lake. If you follow this blog you will know that this is a very special place to our family. It is the place where we caught the camping bug and one of the reasons we bought an RV and started taking all these family trips.

This year was a little different in that we couldn’t get a camp site at the Wrights Lake campground area (it has gotten really popular). So we had to settle for camping in the area of Wrights Lake and then make day trips to our special place.

Sam at Gerle Creek

Our first camping stop was at Gerle Creek Campground (map). It is much farther up the main road (Ice House Rd) from Wrights Lake and much more remote feeling than our past trips to Wrights Lake. One thing I noticed very early is that there wasn’t any other kids at the campground for my kids to play with. One fact about our family camping trips is that if there are a lot of kids at the campground, my kids will have a good time. If there aren’t any kids, my kids don’t know what to do with themselves.

Don’t get me wrong, Gerle Creek is a beautiful spot. It had some of the biggest stands of Jeffery Pine and Douglas Fir I’ve ever seen. And Gerle Creek Reservoir is a beautiful lake and great for canoeing. But the people who were camping there were mainly older or child-less. And the campsites did not get a lot of direct sunlight, feeling a little unfriendly. In short, it just seemed a little too isolating for our taste. But if you want to get away from everybody, and I do mean just about everybody, Gerle Creek Campground is your spot.

Ice House Reservoir

So from there we moved on to Ice House campground (map) along Ice House Reservoir. It is a very nice campground along the banks of the reservoir with great views looking onto the water. If you have a jet ski this is your lake. It is a fairly large sized lake that what I’m told also is a good fishing lake. If you are an RVer it is dry camping but the water facets are close and filling up your water tank isn’t too much trouble.

From Ice House it is a 10 mile drive to Wrights Lake. Not a big deal but not optimal. Four of the days on our trip we made day trips to Wrights Lake. And the lake didn’t disappoint. We made a picnic barbecue on most of the days we were up there and had a really good time canoeing and fishing. Though Ben still hasn’t caught his first fish. We also had a little excitement at the lake. Apparently there was a small fire nearby when we were there and we were able to see helicopters dip down into the lake with water buckets to fly off and drop water on the fire. No worries the fire was put out pretty quickly and we went on to enjoy our day.

This was shot on my iPhone. So I couldn’t zoom-in but you can kind of see the helicopters.

So for next year we are going to send in a campground reservation by mail and see what happens. We really want to stay in the campground at Wrights Lake, like everyone else.

This post via the: Family RV Fun blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.

This Year’s Wrights Lake Trip

The kids are loving life at Wrights Lake

Well we just got back from Wrights Lake and boy did we have a good time.

If you don’t know where it is, Wrights Lake is located 30 minutes South of Lake Tahoe in the Eldorado National Forrest. The lake looks up at the majestic rocky peaks of the Sierra Nevada and Desolation Wilderness.

We left early Monday morning from our home in San Jose and were up at the lake by 2pm.

The road coming in to the Wrights Lake Campground

When we saw the Wrights Lake campground sign and then caught a glimpse of the lake, we were beside ourselves to find our camp site and get out on the lake.

This is the place where we caught the RV bug last summer when we tent camped here. We thought, wow this is great but sleeping in a tent and cooking over the campfire is just ok. So one month later we bought our Thor Cal travel trailer and yes the rest is history and being chronicled in this blog.

So we spent a full week at Wrights Lake this year, six nights and seven very full days coming home late Sunday evening. We filled our days canoeing on the lake, playing on the beach and trying our luck at fishing up the filler stream for the lake (no we didn’t catch any fish, but we saw a lot of them). Wrights Lake is a totally non-power boat lake. You can only have canoes, kayaks and sail boats on the lake. So this means the type of people who come to the lake are the more “environmental” types and also the campground is quieter in the evening. If you have a power boat I recommend you go to Icehouse reservoir which is on the road to Wrights Lake (about 10 miles below the lake).

The family canoeing on Wrights Lake

We also met a lot of friendly people. And many of them with children the same age as our kids. Our last night we were invited to dinner with a family who were having a sort of family reunion. The grandfather has been going to Wrights Lake since the 1940s!

Camping Recommendations for Wrights Lake
If you are passing through Placerville on your way to the lake (and your a Safeway shopper), I highly recommend you stop at the Palcerville Safeway (at the Missouri Flats off-ramp).  Buy your food there and then fill-up at the Safeway gas station. You can save up to 60 cents a gallon.

Check-in at the campground isn’t until 2pm, so plan a late afternoon arrival.

There are two campgrounds. The one closest to the lake is for tent campers only (sites 1-19). The campground for sites 20 -68   inlcude spaces for RV camping (though no power or water hookup. It’s dry camping only).

One note about water: It isn’t allowed to hook a hose up to the facet to fill your water tank. So bring a large water bucket to fill you tank (I bought a six gallon jug for future trips).

The best spaces for RVs are on the side of the campground of sites 38 – 68 . The campground road is wider and easier to maneuver.

The picture on the right is of a tree on the side of the campground with the narrow road. As you can see many an RV has made its mark.

So we had a great time and will be back next year. And next year we plan to do some hiking up in the hills above the lake. There are many small alpine lakes nestled up among the granite cliffs.

Reservation Information
- CALL 1-877-444-6777, four days to six months in
advance of your first night’s stay.
- WEBSITE: www.Recreation.gov

The campground is generally open between late June and mid-October. These dates are affected by snow conditions. The campground is at about 7,000’ elevation.

Location: 23 miles east of Placerville on Highway 50, 11 miles north on Ice House Road (Forest Road 3), 9 miles east on Forest Road 32 (Wrights Lake Tie Road), and 2 miles north on Forest Road 4 (Wrights Lake Rd).

This post via the: Family RV Fun blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.

Wrights Lake: It was a beautiful week