This rest stop looks like a camp headquarters tucked along Interstate 80. It was clean and well…read moremaintained. It is also a great spot to park and wait for the heavy fog to lift. Drive safe and smartly and don't speed in the fog.

Stretch, 1, 2, 3... Pit stop at Gold Run Rest Area on a…read morebeautiful afternoon. The area was very clean and smelled like Christmas as the dead pines were being munched across the freeway. The bathrooms were spotless with plenty of needed supplies. The bad part, the vending machines were gone. No frozen treats to devour going up the hill. Onward and upward. Safe travels.

Last winter I decided that I wanted to take up cross country skiing- it's hard to live in a…read moremountain town without doing SOME sort of winter sport! I'm so glad that I "discovered" Royal Gorge and know that I'll be a repeat visitor for years to come. It's the perfect place for naturally socially distanced fun. The trails are great and the scenery is beautiful, but what makes this place stand out in my opinion is the staff. Every single person I've spoken to has been super nice and helpful. Everyone is generally laid back and I never feel rushed when asking questions (and I usually go on weekends when I assume they're probably the busiest). The staff will ask how my experience has been going, and will usually offer some helpful tips when they can see that I'm struggling. The lesson I had at the beginning of the year was really helpful and even though it was a "group" lesson, it ended up being a one-on-one. When I went today most indoor operations were closed due to COVID and the trails were only open to pass holders. Rentals will be done in advance, so if you're someone that doesn't have your own skis, plan ahead or pick up some skis from a place in town, and bring your own food/drinks.

We decided to try snow shoeing at this resort.  I think it's a hidden gem.  It's only about 1.5…read morehours from Sacramento if the weather is good. We went on a weekday morning and there were probably about 25-30 cars in the parking lot.  The resort is so huge that we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.  We only saw 1 other person on all the trails we took.  We have never gone snow shoeing before, but the staff was really nice and walked us through everything.  They have nicely marked trails and we did a 3 mile loop and had a wonderful time.  The scenery was beautiful and it was just so peaceful and nice.  I think most people go to this place to go cross country skiing, but the snow shoeing was fun and a good workout!

Absolutely beautiful and peaceful campground with the NICEST camp host I've ever had in my whole…read morelife! Stunning vistas, very clean bathrooms and a warmer overnight temperature than Donner which is just down the road.

Super simple no frills campsite, the land is owned by pg&e so you are close to power lines and can…read morefeel the vibration of the energy being produced underneath you from the hydroelectric power. There aren't too many hikes or anything close by but good for a one day camping trip

I loved it, but it's not for everyone. What I loved:…read more No RV's Very few campsites Campsites were spread out Site was 100% cleaned up from the last campers Running water near our site Bathrooms (one flushing with sink) Close to bike trail/lake/grocery store We went during the week in mid-summer - there was only 1 other camper there both nights (although several sites said they were reserved) What I did not care for (but it was still ok): You have to walk up stairs and a hill if you reserve sites 4-9. Traffic noise - mostly during the day - it dies down and night and did not disturb my sleep at all. Bathrooms are far - especially for middle of the night trips to the bathroom! You should know: The website map has the sites marked in the wrong locations - so I reserved a site that I would not have preferred. The lower sites are 1-3, they have views of the lake, close to bathrooms, but the most traffic noise. Sites 4 & 5 have decent views of the lake - they require walking up stairs and will still have more traffic noise. Site 7 has views of the lake through trees - close to the top of the stairs. Sites 6, 8 & 9 don't really have lake views - they are farthest from the road with the least traffic noise, but also have the furthest to haul your gear from your car.

We got visited by a real live bear! Bears visit sites 1-3, which happen to be the best sites for…read moreparking nearby to set up. 4 has a great view, but is up a trail. 5 has an okay view. 6-9 don't really. I love this site. It is real camping because you can't park near your site, so no RVs or generators. Unfortunately, the sound of the road is constant. The views are amazing. 4 stars because there is only one sink and no shower.

Just got back from 4 days of tent camping at Granite Flat. The campground was clean and well…read moremaintained. Bathrooms are vault toilets, and were well stocked and relatively clean throughout my stay. The campsite host was amazing and made sure we had everything we needed. You can tell he really cared for the campground and would often be tidying things up in the afternoons. As other reviews have mentioned, the campground it right next to the highway. I would highly recommend choosing a campground on the river side, as they are a bit further away from the street. You can still definitely hear the hum of cars going by, but the sounds of the river cover some of it up. Our site (#59) backed up to the river and we spent time swimming, tubing, and floating around every afternoon. It was quite refreshing during the peak of afternoon heat. I noticed that the sites vary widely in size. #59 has enough flat (and a bit rocky) space for one tent, but would have been a tight squeeze for two. Overall, I would recommend the campground if you are looking for a place to stay in the Truckee area (and don't mind the sound of cars passing by). It is close to a lot of day trip options (lakes, hikes, etc.) and the river running behind the campground was a huge plus.

This is a beautiful, well-maintained campground that sits right up against the Truckee River. The…read moresites are a decent size, and some are right at the edge of the water--those are the prime ones if you can snag them. Each site comes with a large bear box, a fire ring with a cooking grate, and a big picnic table. The bathrooms are vault toilets that were clean and well-stocked with toilet paper. There is a busy road nearby that drowns out the sound of the river unless you're right next to the water, but once night falls things calm down nicely. We stayed in a tent trailer while attending a show at the Salty Gebhardt Amphitheater, so we didn't spend a ton of time hanging out at the site, but it still made for a solid basecamp. Would happily stay again.

Shooting, camping, swimming, a bit of 4 wheeling. Very natural, no bathrooms, fresh water to swim…read more You may even see some waterfalls if you get to that part of the area. I've camped here twice and been a few times as a day trip for swimming and off road fun. Such a pretty, peaceful area. Well unless you're shooting. lol

The map pin is on private property, not a campground. They're nice people will let you use the…read morecreek, but do not camp here.

My family (20+ people) and I stayed here last August for a weekend and we had an amazing time! I…read morehad 5 sites booked all in the same area. All of the sites we had were nice a shady and easy to walk around it. The bear boxes were clean. The toilets were clean and FLUSHED! I had assumed we had vault toilets so it was a nice surprise. The people who run the campsites are very sweet and always checked in on us but gave us our privacy! We brought citronella candles because of the bees/bugs and it kept them at bay. None of us were stung, they are not aggressive at all. We cohabitated well for the weekend. The location is super close to the water and has the boat ramp if you like to do that. Overall, beautiful campsite. However - you do get cell service w/ AT&T or Verizon unfortunately lol. We are coming back again this year! Highly recommend.

Wife & I stayed here on a Thursday and Friday night with our 3 & 5 year old girls. We made…read morereservations online but it wasn't even necessary as the place was empty when we arrived at 2pm Thursday. Most of the good sites are first come, first serve and are not part of the online reservation system. We quickly discovered our reserved site did not offer much shade so we switched to one of the better first come, first serve sites. The host, JD, was very accommodating. The reservoir is beautiful and most of the sites are very well shaded. The campsites all have a nice picnic table, good size fire ring and charcoal grill. All were in good shape. IMO the campsites are spaced a little close together and there is not much cover in between. I normally prefer to stay at more remote non pay sites but since we now have two little girls, the running water and flush toilets were an absolute necessity. Bathrooms are kept clean and stocked. The area is beautiful and Bassi Falls is a short drive and an easy .5 mile hike each way. My little ones walked it no problem. Bassi Falls is very pretty with a fast running falls in Spring and several pools below to keep cool in. The kids will love it. I would rate this place five stars except for the fact that both nights, there were rude, inconsiderate and noisy campers. Quiet time here is 10pm-6am. First night (Thursday) another camper showed up and camped in the spot next to us. Now mind you, we're the only two campers in the campground with 40 sites and they camp right next to us. Unbelievable! Of course they were loud and up late (1-2am) talking and laughing. The next night, Friday, everyone starts coming in. There was an argument and swearing between 2 groups of campers over a parking space and then one of those groups who was 4 sites away from us down the road was up late partying and talking loud. Plus they had a barking dog. Nice! Finally at 11:30pm the camp host had to tell them to shut it down and they were quiet after that. I really like this campground, but I will only camp here Mon-Thurs nights. I guess I should add that to make this place a completely perfect campground, the camp host(s) should do a walk through of the campground every night around 10:15-10:30pm to make sure the campers are adhering to the 10pm-6am quiet time rules. To many yahoos come to campgrounds and think it's an open invitation to party and be as loud as they want with no consideration of their fellow campers.

So this is like a secret location that I don't want to get overrun with too many visitors, but it's…read morejust too beautiful and peaceful. The entrance is opposite the wildlife viewing area. There are a couple of covered picnic tables and toilets. One can drive into the sandbar area straight up to the water. It's like a larger pond. No motorized boats and it's catch and release only. The last half of the road is unpaved. A low rider would not do well at this part of the road. You can also watch the many planes take off to release the many gliders that frequent this expansive sky area.