Still stuck?
Ring the store on (530) 694-2229 between 8am and 6pm, any day of the year, and a person will answer. If it is outside those hours the booking form never closes, and rates are on their own page with every fee stated.
Questions we get asked
The things people ring up to ask.
Check-in, dogs, the tax, the passes, what the cell service is really like. These are the questions the store answers on the phone all season, written down so you do not have to ring — though you are always welcome to.
- What time is check-in and check-out?
- Check in from 2pm and check out by 11am. If you are going to arrive late, ring the store on (530) 694-2229 and we will sort it out — the counter shuts at 6pm, but arriving after that is not a problem as long as we know you are coming.
- Is there a minimum stay?
- No, and there never is. One night is a booking like any other, on any date, weekends and holidays included.
- Are dogs allowed?
- Dogs are welcome everywhere on the property — every cabin, every riverside site and the RV row. The cabins carry a flat $30 cleaning fee for the whole visit, however many dogs come along. Camping with a dog costs nothing extra.
- How many people can a cabin sleep?
- All seven cabins sleep four. If you have more people than that, cabins №3 to №7 will take an extra tent pitched alongside for $10 a night, and the riverside sites are there for anybody who would rather be outside anyway.
- How much is the deposit?
- Half the lodging. For a cabin, the 14% county tax on that half rides with it — on a $700 stay that is $350 plus $49 tonight, and the rest goes to the same card about a week before arrival. For a campsite or an RV space the deposit is half the stay, and there is no tax.
- What if I have to cancel?
- Call us. A $25 cancellation fee applies to any cancelled reservation and the rest of what you paid goes back to your card — or we hold the whole amount as an open credit toward a future stay, with no fee.
- Is there a tax on top?
- Alpine County lodging tax of 14% applies to cabins. Half of it is collected with the deposit, on the deposit's half of the lodging, and the rest with the final payment. There is no tax on a campsite or an RV slot.
- Is there Wi-Fi and cell service?
- There is free Wi-Fi at the resort. There is essentially no cell reception, and we would rather tell you that now than have you find out at the gate — bring whatever you need downloaded, and let the Wi-Fi handle anything that cannot wait.
- How far is South Lake Tahoe?
- About fifty minutes on Highway 89/50, over Luther Pass and through Hope Valley. Grover Hot Springs is twelve minutes, Heenan Lake thirteen, Kirkwood forty, and Gardnerville twenty-nine for the nearest full-size groceries.
- Can I get here in winter?
- Yes — we are open year-round. From roughly November into May come through Woodfords on 88/89, which is the all-season route. Monitor and Ebbetts passes both close behind gates with the snow, so for half the year the county is reached from the north only.
- What is the store like?
- It is the last services before either pass, open 8am to 6pm every day: fishing gear and live bait, firewood, propane, ice, ice cream, cold drinks, groceries and the cooking things you meant to pack. Somebody behind the counter fished this river this week, so ask.
- Do you have hookups for an RV?
- Fifteen spaces up top have full hookups — 20/30/50-amp power, water and sewer — and big rigs fit. The eleven riverside sites have no hookups and take a tent or an RV alike. Restrooms with showers up top are free and unlocked, and we are a Harvest Hosts site.
- How cold does it get?
- We are at 5,530 feet, and the figure that catches people out is the July night: about 84°F in the day and about 43°F after dark. January averages around 46°F and 17°F. Bring a layer more than the forecast suggests, whatever month it is.
- Is the fishing any good?
- The East Fork runs past the door and the state stocks it through the season with rainbows and Heenan-strain Lahontan cutthroat. What it is doing today — the flow, how that compares with the median for the date, and when each water was last planted — is on the river report, which rebuilds itself every half hour.
