On Lake Tahoe's south shore, the sand at Camp Richardson is a short walk from the motorhome, and the water is the clear, cold Tahoe everyone came for. From there the rig crosses into Nevada for a few nights at Nevada Beach on the east shore.
Between shore nights it comes back north to Truckee, awning out under Jeffrey pine and fir. Village Camp Truckee has full hookups at every site, 90 shaded pull-throughs, and both 30- and 50-amp service, so the rig refills, recharges, and empties its tanks before the next dry night. Plan on it for the night before the lake, the night after, and any nights the shore campgrounds couldn't give you.
Donner Memorial State Park is the other Truckee campground people know, on Donner Lake just west of downtown, but its sites take motorhomes up to 28 feet and trailers up to 24 (California State Parks). A couple in a smaller rig can have Donner Lake, the west shore of Tahoe, and Palisades Tahoe, and the Truckee campervan page covers all three.
Camp Richardson and Nevada Beach, the south and east shores
Camp Richardson's RV Village makes the south-shore nights easy. The motorhome stays parked from arrival to checkout while the days go to the beach. Every site has water and electric, and the RVF sites add full hookups for trailers and motorhomes, while the RVO sites are for motorhomes only (Camp Richardson). Summer on the south shore fills early, so book the site on Recreation.gov first and the rig second, with Tahoe Valley Campground as the other south-shore park to try.
Nevada Beach lines the east shore at 6,100 feet, and from most sites you can see the lake. The Forest Service caps vehicles at 45 feet and allows six people and two vehicles per site, for up to 14 days (Forest Service). The sites are standard nonelectric on Recreation.gov, so pull in from Camp Richardson with the fresh tank full and the holding tanks empty.
Emerald Bay is the stop everyone makes on the drive around the lake, and CA-89 along the bay is the stretch to take slowly in a long rig. The state park's campground takes motorhomes up to 18 feet and trailers up to 15 (California State Parks), so a family motorhome sees the bay from the road and sleeps on the south shore.
Prosser and Boca, the reservoirs north of I-80
North of I-80 the forest opens up, Jeffrey pine and fir over sagebrush, and the Forest Service camps at Prosser and Boca have room to spread out when the lake is booked solid. Some Prosser sites catch the reservoir through the trees. These camps also cover the late arrival, when you reach Truckee after dark with nothing reserved at the lake, and Stampede Reservoir rounds out the group.
Prosser Family Campground is on Highway 89, 4 miles north of I-80, with vault toilets and booking through Recreation.gov. Its season runs late May to early October, though as of September 2026 the Forest Service page shows it closed for the season with the water system down. Boca Campground stays open later, late May to mid-October, which makes it the fall choice.
Neither camp has hookups, and the Forest Service pages don't list a length limit, so read the site details before you book a longer rig. Arrive with empty tanks and plan the next night back at Village Camp. If the week has room for one more leg, I-80 west drops out of the Sierra toward the Gold Country loop on the Roseville RV page.