This Iconic Tahoe Campground Just Reopened. Here’s How to Make the Most of It

One of California’s most stunning state parks just reopened this summer after being closed for three years.

D.L. Bliss State Park, on Lake Tahoe’s eastern shore, just a few minutes from Emerald Bay, is one of the most scenic places to enjoy all the lake has to offer — serene views, adventurous hikes like the famous Rubicon Trail and relaxing beaches.

Over Memorial Day weekend, its grand reopening, I was lucky enough to snag a campsite at this iconic park through the state parks’ online reservation system ReserveCalifornia.com. And it was worth every penny: A total of $53.35 (the $45 reservation plus $8.25 booking fee) for a premium site just steps from the beach, to be precise.

“Every outdoor recreation activity you could want to do in the Tahoe Basin, you can do here at D.L. Bliss,” said Kaytlen Jackson, spokesperson for the Sierra District of California State Parks, who lived in the park for around four years when she was a park aide. “You can go for a run on the Rubicon [Trail] or a hike, you can take your kayak or paddleboard out and then you can just chill on the beach if that’s more your vibe. So this park has it all.”

Emerging from years of closure

D.L. Bliss was closed in May of 2023 so that state park workers could dig up and replace the water pipes throughout the entire park: All 2,000 acres of it.

The multimillion-dollar project would require tearing out almost three miles of roadway — and because of the limited construction season in Tahoe thanks to snow, this work could only be completed during the summers.

While the park was closed, California State Parks also took the opportunity to install new interpretive signs, renovate their visitor center, clean up and repair campsites and do some much-needed vegetation management in the park, like forest thinning and pile burning, Jackson said.

“Every summer we built upon what had been done the previous year until the project was completed in the fall of 2025,” she said.

The old 1930s water pipes were all removed in favor of new pipes, which can now more reliably bring potable water not just to the park’s many bathrooms, showers and spigots but also its fire hydrants — making the park more resilient should a wildfire come through. (I was delighted to find that my shower at the Beach Camp was both hot and high-pressure.)

“We’re getting more and more visitors every year, and the water line couldn’t keep up with the demand,” she said. “Making sure our system was up-to-date enough to protect our visitors and our neighbors in the Tahoe Basin was really important as well.”

The multiyear closure means that for a brief period in 2026, D. L. Bliss could remain somewhat under the radar as a recreation destination. So to make the most of your opportunity, read on for the can’t-miss spots and tips on visiting, many of which I road-tested myself during my Memorial Day visit.

One thing to note, though, before we get into it: If you don’t snag a campsite, parking near Lester Beach and the entrance to the Rubicon Trail can fill up very quickly.

“On the weekends, sometimes we’re closed for day parking by 9 a.m.,” Jackson said. “On a weekday, it can be a little bit later, but if you’re planning to come enjoy Lester Beach or Calloway Cove in the summer on a weekend, we recommend getting here as early as possible to make sure you have a parking spot.”

Camping at D.L. Bliss State Park

The park has 165 campsites in total, but it doesn’t feel crowded at all, in part because the campsites are scattered all over.

There are five clusters of campgrounds: the Upper and Lower Pines, the East and West Ridge and the Beach Camp. The entire park is set on a hill, so the pines campgrounds are farthest from the lake, followed by the ridge sites. Beach Camp, where I stayed, is just a short walk uphill from Lester Beach.

Despite their distance from the water, the Upper and Lower Pines Campgrounds are still totally worth staying at — many of the individual sites are set up on a steep slope, so they’re a bit more secluded than the relatively flat beach sites, and many have birds-eye views of the lake. Jackson pointed out site 162, in particular, which she said gets beautiful alpenglow colors at sunrise and sunset.

After I was done setting up camp at site 151, I heard the soft strums of a ukulele nearby.

It was Charlie Gawley, signing a tune as his wife, Kathy, walked their 2-year-old dog, Kona. Gawley lives in Fairfield but is originally from San Francisco, and said he and Kathy were regular campers at D.L. Bliss before the closure.

“Every year during the renovation [Kathy] kept checking to see if it was going to be open,” he said. “This is the first time we’re really this close to the water.”

What keeps the couple coming back to D.L. Bliss, they said, is the quiet — “it’s not a party place,” Kathy said. And this time, they said they feel especially lucky to be back the first weekend of the reopening.

“Everything’s still new, and maybe it’s a hidden little gem until everybody finds out about it,” Charlie said.

Pro tip: If beach time is your priority, it is more than worth it to shell out for the “premium” campsites at the Beach Campground down by Lester Beach. You’ll have clear lake views, and the shore itself is only a few hundred yards away from most of the sites. Plus, Calowee Cove and the start of the Rubicon Trail are only a few minutes’ walk away.

Hiking at D.L. Bliss State Park

The gem of D.L. Bliss is undeniably its access to the Rubicon Trail, an around 8-mile lakeside jaunt that takes hikers from the state park along the water all the way to Eagle Point Campground in Emerald Bay.

During my visit, I hiked around 5 miles, leaving one car at the trailhead and another near the trail to Vikingsholm, a historic castle nestled inside Emerald Bay. The hike has a few ups and downs, but offers near-constant reward in the form of lake views and pristine forest.

Along my way, I met Vicki Adams, who grew up in Tahoe and lives part-time here and in Seattle. She said she has been hiking this trail every single year for 40 or 50 years — except during the recent D.L. Bliss closure.

Now, “we’re celebrating the fact that it’s open,” she said.

During the closure, the Rubicon Trail remained technically open, Jackson said. But there was no parking in the park, making the trail difficult to access from the north.

Ruomu Jiang was out with his family, too, visiting from Stanford for their first time at D.L. Bliss.

“We heard they were just reopening this weekend, and I wanted to try our luck,” he said. “The scenery is amazing. I think this is definitely the most beautiful spot on this side of the lake.”

Pro tip: If you’re doing a car shuttle like we did, be extra aware of where you leave your vehicle on the highway and make sure it’s in a legal parking area or you will get towed. And if you park near Vikingsholm, know the last mile of your hike will be quite uphill. But you can always reward yourself with a stop at panoramic Eagle Falls to cool down.

Soak up awesome sights at D.L. Bliss State Park

While first-time visitors should absolutely hit the Rubicon Trail, it’s far from the only attraction in the park.

Rubicon Point Lighthouse, built in the early 1900s, is among the highest-elevation lighthouses in the country. These days, it’s nonfunctioning, but you can hike around a 2-mile loop to see it.

Jackson said the granite features of the park also stand out — especially Balancing Rock. At the entrance to the (very short) Balancing Rock Trail, greeting visitors is a Galis Dungal, which is a winter home of the indigenous Washoe people. Jackson said a tribal member built it out of incense cedar bark, which is pest- and fire-resistant.

The rock itself is giant — thousands of years of wind and water have carved into it, much like the arches found in places like Utah and Arizona. But instead of delicate sandstone, it’s made of solid 130-ton granite.

Similar granite boulders scattered all over the park make it an excellent spot for climbers, Jackson said.

“I have climbed a lot, but these put me to shame very easily,” she said. “There’s a lot of really tough bouldering in this park.”

Pro tip: Visit Balancing Rock at sunrise or sunset (and maybe bring a yoga mat for some meditation) for the most serene experience as you reflect on the precarity and strength of everything around you.

A beach day at D.L. Bliss State Park

Even if you’re not lucky enough to snag a beachfront campsite, Calawee Cove and Lester Beach are worth visiting for a tranquil day soaking up sun and sand. Unlike many areas of the lake, these beaches are relatively protected and calm, making them ideal for families.

“You can go for a long swim because it stays shallow quite a ways,” Jackson said. “Especially here at Calawee Cove, it’s a little bit more protected, so we don’t have the massive waves the parts of the lake get.”

There are also opportunities for snorkelers and scuba divers to explore the granite features underwater. Right around the corner from the cove is a “massive drop off, like you’re cruising at this turquoise light water, and then all of a sudden it’s black, blue, deep water, right on the other side of that wall,” she said.

It’s all part of the Emerald Bay Maritime Heritage Trail, a newly designated underwater “trail” with access to historic dive sites and interpretive panels.

Pro tip: The park is also a stop on the Lake Tahoe Water Trail, an above-water paddling route that circumnavigates the entirety of Lake Tahoe, so if you book your beachfront campsites far enough in advance, you can even plan an uninterrupted voyage around the lake.

Keep your eyes peeled for wildlife

Kathy and Charlie Gawley told me that every single time they have come camping at D.L. Bliss, they’ve seen a bear.

And their luck would continue — not a few minutes later, while I was out paddleboarding on the lake during sunset, I heard car alarms and air horns going off up at the campsite. A large black bear had come down to our campsite, and campers did what they could to scare it away.

Jackson said D.L. Bliss gets so many bears because “they are looking for the most amount of calories for the least amount of work — and we can’t fault them for that,” she said.

That’s why, when you check in for your campsite, rangers go over a fairly comprehensive set of instructions on helping keep bears safe in the park. That includes not leaving food in your car or unattended at your campsite and instead using secure bear lockers.

The bottom line, Jackson said, is to keep all your food as contained as possible, “so that if a bear were to approach the campsite looking for food, you can quickly gather those items, put them in the bear box and then help us to haze the bear as much as you feel comfortable.”

It’s not just the bears that are remarkable here. Jackson said that during the closure of the park, their game cameras caught even more animals than they’re used to, like bobcats, pine martens, snowshoe hares, coyotes, osprey, bald eagles, all kinds of songbirds, woodpeckers and more.

“That was another cool thing about the closure,” she said. “It kind of gave the park a rest from heavy visitorship.”

Pro tip: Bears aren’t the only animals that will steal your food. Be aware of chipmunks, birds and other animals you might be inadvertently feeding when you leave out snacks. And remember to review bear safety practices before you get out into the wilderness.