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Eagle Point Campground at Emerald Bay State Park is run by California State Parks. With its rugged shoreline and blue-green water, Emerald Bay is one of the most photographed places in the world. Vikingsholm, a replica of a Scandinavian castle (800 A.D.), is part of the park. The building is considered one of the finest examples of Scandinavian architecture in the Western Hemisphere. Tours are available of this 38-room mansion. Emerald Bay offers a panoramic view of the lake from Eagle Falls. Hikers can head into nearby Desolation Wilderness or walk the rugged lakeshore to D.L. Bliss along the Rubicon Trail.
We stayed 2 days in campsite 36. It was clean and well designed. The bear box at this site is large and can hold a large cooler. We had no problems with bears but do bring bug spray as the wasps are aggressive and numerous.
The sites are close together but there is a lot to do here. Beach access is a short hike down the hill. The beach there can get busy but it's a great place to cool off and let the kids swim. Up the hill is the main trail with a much longer hike that ends up at the visitors center gift shop and boat launch. We packed a lunch from our campsite and hiked there, enjoying the waterfall views first.
Bathrooms are clean and stocked daily. There is a lot of staff here that seemed friendly. Over all this is one of our favorite places to camp.
We went to Lower Eagle Point Campground. It is very clean and quiet. We were lucky there were no yellow jacket that day. No notice after 9pm at the camp site. Bathroom and restroom are very clean too. May be because it was not at weekend. The private beach is small but very beautiful. Definitely will come back again.
Great Camping site. There is hot water for shower and surprise experience with bears. It closes to the waterfall trail and lake shore.
Great location! Some sites are not level and no one could figure out where to get shower tokens but it is convenient to popular sites. Bathrooms had toilet paper though no soap. There are plenty of little paths and is just a wonderful place to camp.
This was my first true camping experience, and a camper friend said I am now spoiled since we stayed at the most gorgeous California campground. The views were breathtaking and the pictures can't come close to the real thing.
There was a decent area for tents, campgrounds are either for 4 or 8 people with 1-2 vehicle spaces for cars parked next to your camp. There is a bench, fire pit and bear box in all campsites. Making a reservation starts in January and some sites are harder to get as they are in demand because of their location and view. Staff stop by frequently (especially during the first 24 hrs) to make sure food is not left unattended when no one's around. They told us bears recognize the coolers and attempt to open them even when empty, so we put away the empty ones.
We had two separate bear sightings right on the camp in the 3 days we were there. It was a smaller wandering bear that went around the big garbage bins. People shouted and it went its way. It was also raining pretty hard for half a day so it was a good thing We had a shelter to put around the bench and our group stayed and ate together while we watched the rain from behind the screen.
