From time to time I plan to post my reviews of various campgrounds we visited and attractions/activities around them. Camping trip is a great way to do a family road trip. So today I am posting my review of Giant Gap Campground. It is located in the foothills of the Sierra-Nevada Mountains in Tahoe National Forest about 3 hours drive (if there is no traffic) from San Francisco Peninsular. If you are travelling from East Bay, your trip, obviously, will be much shorter.
Giant Gap Family Campground PROS:
- Giant Camp Family Campground is VERY clean with the cleanest toilets I have ever seen at a campground or any park for that matter
- All camp sites are quite large and well appointed mostly in shaded areas
- The host at the Giant Gap Family Campground is very welcoming and helpful
- Location of the Giant Gap Family Campground is quite far from civilization, so it is very quiet and peaceful (but such location may become a negative too – see my cons below).
- The campground is located on the banks of the Sugar Pine Lake which is exceptionally clean. It gets warm enough in summer for swimming and great otherwise for other water activities.
Giant Gap Family Campground CONS:
- Giant Gap Family campground is far from civilization. There is no store on site so if you need to buy something, the nearest store is 40 minutes drive away.
- Due to # 1 above, there are bears active in the area. We did not see them but heard them at night banging on the dumpster just a couple camp sites away from us and it was rather disturbing.
- There are no showers at Giant Gap Family Campground
- All drinking water at Giant Gap Family Campground is clean but very rich in iron, you can taste it when you drink it. To make matters worse, the water turns dark yellow when you boil it – terrible! You have to bring all water for drinking and cooking with you.
Activities near Giant Gap Family Campground
There are a couple of things to do around/near Giant Gap Family Campground. There is a hiking/biking trail around the lake (about 5 miles or so in total, good portion of which is paved) which is beautiful and peaceful but there aren’t many hikers and we were afraid to walk far away with small kids in fear of bears. If you hike/bike with a bigger group you should be fine.
The lake is perfect for water activities but you have to bring everything with you. There is no boat or kayak/canoe rental on site. We were told you can fish there and we tried (as well as we saw other people try) but no one caught anything. The water in the lake is very clean and clear and you can see very well through the water. We did not see any fish swimming.
There are no major attractions nearby. Giant Gap Family Campground is great if you want to get away from it all and spend a couple of days in the wilderness as well as if you can bring all necessary equipment with you (inflatables, kayaks, etc.)
Additional tips for visiting Giant Gap Family Campground
- Giant Gap Family Campground is a Federal campground so you will need to book it early on Recreation.gov website,
- When you are getting ready for your camping trip don’t forget to check all the gear you may need. My personal favorite camping necessities are:
Good stove (it will save you lots of time cooking, it gives you many options what to cook (rather than just grill) and it does not use lots of gas): Coleman has the best product in this category –
Portable Propane Gas Classic Camp Stove with 2 Burners
Self-inflating camping pads with a pillow (I love that you can just open a valve and forget about it – if it is not fully inflated you can add just a couple of breaths through the valve and that’s it. AND you do not need to bring pillows with you). MOVTOTOP Self Inflating Sleeping Pad is super comfortable – we all slept like babies! We tried a different, cheaper, pad before and it was horrible – do yourself a favor and get this one.
Everybody needs a sleeping bag for camping but which one to choose? We have 3 different sleeping bags (3 different brands) in our family and we definitely have 1 winner – Coleman Palmetto Cool Weather Adult Sleeping Bag
(make sure your bag is weather rated at 30 F for California – my husband got a bag with a lower limit of 45 F and it was useless when it is 52 F outside)
If you are new to camping definitely read my detailed expert article Camping Guide for Beginners which has tons of invaluable tips and hacks, information on useful things to have, preparation and so much more.
If you are interested in other campgrounds reviews, please check out:
Big Sur Campground and Cabins review – Big Sur, California
Cassini Ranch Family Campground review – Sonoma County, CA
If you found this Giant Gap Family Campground review useful, please do me a little favor and share this information with others, for there’s a good chance that it will help them with their travel plans. 🙂 Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where I post many more cool photos and videos about our trips than I could include in a blog post and organize some nice giveaways!
