Camping at Grover Hot Spring State Park

Grover Hot Spring State Park is located near Markleeville, 35 miles down on Highway 89 from Lake Tahoe. It has a nice hot spring maintained by the state of California Park system. Once used by Washoe Indian tribe, one can enjoy a nice dip in the pool after taking one of the many trails in the meadows around the park which also has a stream and a waterfall.

Pool of hot mineral water at Grover Hot Spring State Park

Interplay of earth, water and heat causing geo-thermal hot water pool
(A photograph of an exhibit at the state park for illustration of mechanism)

One of the great qualities of the hot water pool at Grover Hot Spring is it has little Sulpher. The water does not have the characteristic smell of Sulpher. There is also another similar hot-spring at Granite Hot Springs near the Yellowstone National Park. I have been drawn to hot-springs after enjoying many a nice dips at Onsen (Public Baths) while in Japan, especially in the Kyushu Island.


The meadow near our campground. I took an early morning walk in the meadow on a trail running next to a swiftly flowing stream. There was no man-made noise; just the sound of the stream and the birds singing. It is nice to wake up with the nature during camping.

The weather was nice, mid-70s in the day and mid-50s in the night. After the campfires and the lights in the camp were extinguished the starry sky was beyond anything that a city-dweller gets to see on a regular basis.

Campfire ..the corn did taste well. The potato did not get cooked fully and became the fuel!

A trip to the wild is not complete without the wild-life. We appreciated the lavender patches growing in the meadows at this high altitude.

Here are a few pictures that I took. I like especially the one of the mother and baby squirrel watching out. They are cute creatures and stand almost vertical on their toes to look as far as they can.

Squirrels

A butterfly

Highway 4 over the Ebbets Pass from Bear Valley is a tricky route to get to Markleeville. The narrow winding road is scenic, but tiring. In comparison driving on Highway 89 from Tahoe is a piece of cake.