Did you know that it’s possible to go RVing for just a single weekend and have only one stop? That’s right, it’s true! I know, I know, it’s hard to believe, but sometimes people don’t drive across the country in their RV. After some of our longer trips, it was kind of nice to just throw some food and toys in the RV and head out for a single weekend. We didn’t even need to fill up the gas tank until we got back home (we always like to keep the RV filled up at home for emergency purposes). Although the fill up was still a doozy considering how relatively short the drive was.
For our single stop RV trip we went to Ice House Reservoir Campground, located in the oh so pretty Eldorado National Forest. This was the last campground that we had camped in prior to getting our RV so we were excited to see what it would feel like camping at the same spot, but this time in the lap of luxury (spoiler alert: it was very nice). For this trip we were accompanied by Lana’s sister and family, Lana’s mom, and Lana’s cousins, the Gonikmans (all three families did drive up separately).
Ice House Reservoir Campground is on the “primitive” side, meaning there is no power, no sewer, and minimal water (which for some reason you’re not supposed to use to fill up RV tanks). We knew about the power and sewer situation early on, but only caught the bit about no filling RVs with campground water right before we left. Because of the water situation, we ended up filling our RV water tank at home. I’m guessing that lugging several hundred pounds of water up the Sierras didn’t improve our gas milage much, but at least we had water.
We definitely lucked out with the weather for this trip. The days were warm but not too hot and the nights were pleasant and clear. The moon even cooperated by not coming out while I was taking my dark sky photos.
Another new upgrade between this trip and the last Ice House trip was our ability to get out on the lake. For this trip, the Shtargots brought their inflatable boat, along with the beefiest electric trolling motor allowed under international maritime law. Last trip we got skunked in the fishing department, this trip we caught a total of 6 rainbow trout while trolling out on the lake. We ended up keeping a few and releasing a couple of the smaller ones that weren’t hooked too badly.
While we were initially a little worried because our RV was close to the max length allowed at the campground, things turned out to be just fine. The turns were tight, but not too tight, and the trees were out of the way enough that we weren’t banging on branches while driving through the campground loop.
This turned out to be a great trip, and it was definitely nice to enjoy it with family. If you decide to head out to Ice House, make sure to make your reservation early if you’re planning on peak times like we did (we made our reservation back in January). And while we were there in our RV, it’s also a great place for tent camping (as long as you’re ok with not so great smelling vault toilets – if you’re not ok with that, don’t forget to bring your poop bucket!). If you reserve early enough to have a choice, I’d also recommend picking out a spot at the back of the campground (those that face the forest). Those sites are a little farther from the lake, but tend to be bigger and more private.
