We acknowledge the Native Nisenan people who have been stewarding the land that includes the Sacramento area for thousands of years.
If you’re looking to escape the cool coastal Bay Area summers in favor of warmer weather, Folsom Lake is a great option! Without traffic, the trip from the East Bay takes about 1.5 hours, but since we drove out on Friday during the evening commute, it was closer to 2.5 hours. We didn’t intend to do much over the weekend with six tots and a baby in tow (not to mention eight adults!), and instead opted to take our time transitioning between camp and other activities. Slow and steady is our mantra with children ;D It was especially lovely to be able to share some of the childcare load with the other parents!
Trip Purpose
Enjoy a relaxing weekend with a group of four families in warm Nisenan Territory. We wanted to prioritize the beach and to have a full car-camping experience, especially since for half of our group it was their first time camping with their kiddos!
DESTINATION
Beals Point Campground at Folsom Lake State Recreation Area (click here for reservations)
We camped for two nights at sites B19 and B22, which were across the little road from one another. There were portapotties nearby and potable water at B19. There is enough space in each site to park 2 cars and plenty of space for 2+ tents. It was a nice flat area.
BEFORE YOU GO
- Reserve a campground at Folsom Lake SRA by visiting the California State Parks reservation site here
- Plan ahead by checking for any closures
BASE COST
- ~$40 for a campsite (including parking fee)
ADD-ONS
- lunch money
Details of our Trip
AGE RANGE OF THE KIDS: 6 months to 3 years
SUGGESTED LENGTH OF STAY: Day-trip or weekend
TIME OF YEAR: Spring (Highs: low-80s/Lows: mid-50s)
WHAT WE PACKED
- Standard camping essentials (blog post forthcoming!)
- Beach essentials (blog post forthcoming)
Recommended Activities
Have a beach day at Folsom Lake. (Entry included with admission to Folsom SRA) The campground at Beals Point Recreation Area is walking distance (less than a mile) to the west side of the lake (and is also driveable), so it made for a nice jaunt through the campground with our parade of kids. The shoreline at Lake Folsom is REALLY wide due to drought conditions 🙁 After a short walk to the edge of the parking lot, we then had to trek another 10 minutes or so (quicker, if you’re not waiting on little legs who may or may not get distracted every two minutes by rocks on the ground…) to reach the actual water. It was eerie how low the water level was, but neat to walk along the lake floor. Be prepared to walk what feels like forever in the desert-y conditions. Bring a travel potty just in case–the closest bathrooms are in the parking lot. Keep your essentials light, factoring in having to carry your kid(s) some ways up or down the shore.
- Bring snacks, sand toys, water toys, and a travel potty.
- Be prepared – the water is from snow melt and is FREEZING. Kids didn’t seem to mind but mama did!
- That Folsom sun and heat is something else. Even in May the weather was extremely hot. Bring a shade if you can, lots of sunscreen, and lots of drinking water.
Have a beach day at Nimbus Flat State Recreation Area. (Entry included with admission to Folsom SRA) This was THE place to be on Sunday afternoon. When you go, be sure to show the rangers your camping receipt to get free parking (which can be sparse, be forewarned). Black and brown families were beaching and barbecuing all along the shore, which was much narrower than Folsom Lake’s (thankfully!). The water was full of folks swimming, kayaking, and stand-up paddleboarding (neither of which we got to do at Folsom Lake, because we weren’t thrilled at the prospect of schlepping all our gear across the shoreline!). And yes, there are bathrooms!
Hang at camp! The campground had lots of meadows and grassy areas for the kids to run around in–at times the kids kept themselves occupied and played bulldozer with our camp chairs and the campground mulch! We even set up a badminton net, which was great entertainment for the adults. Meanwhile, the tots enjoyed playing Marco Polo and Freeze Dance together. We also tried the Tea Party board game and tie-dyeing. Make sure to bring a few options for the kiddos to enjoy while hanging out at camp. Fairy wings, bubbles, and temporary tattoos are always entertaining.
Take Note:
It gets HOT. Especially when you’re out of the shade.
We had mild complaints about the campground itself. There is some kind of prickly plant all over the campground that got stuck in our socks & crocs. I would recommend wearing closed-toed shoes (yes, even in the heat!). Bathrooms were also a little spotty – the bathroom building near our tent was closed for some reason and was replaced with some stinky portable potties. If anyone needed (or wanted) a real toilet, you had to go for a pretty long walk – which is harder to do on toddler potty time (I’VE GOTTA GO NOW!!!!) – you know what I mean…
If you have time, make some pit stops…
While not on our list of “must-dos,” these activities were fun add-ons to our trip:
- Lupine fields at Beeks Bight (Entry included with admission to Folsom SRA) It was too late in the season (beginning of May), very hot (no shade), and parking was limited, otherwise this looked very promising. When the lupines are in bloom (and not completely squashed or dried up…), it looks a bit like a field of lavender! We probably spent about 30-45 minutes here.
- Gunther’s Ice Cream ($5-$10/person) Angel’s favorite ice cream place in Sacramento is along the route to Folsom Lake from the Bay. Check out and try their 50/50 – half Fruit Freeze and half vanilla ice cream. It reminds her of the ice cream at the bottom of delicious shave ice in Hawaii…it is not the same but it is close!!!
- Bad Bakers ($5+/person) A specialty donut shop owned by POC! We had so much fun at the Roseville shop that we decided to buy more on our way home–unfortunately by Sunday afternoon the Sacramento shop had sold out of most of their kronuts 🙁 The donuts were super sweet (and even more so with the added “shots,” aka fillings served in pipettes–dulce de leche and lemon were hits with our group), so our favorite was probably the Couch Potato kronut, both sweet and savory!
- Indian Grocery Outlet ($5+) Lenny picked up some snacks and ice creams from this little shop on our way through Sacramento!
- Julian’s Patisserie and Cafe ($10-$15/person) This was a fun little bakery and cafe that was teeming with people for Sunday brunch. We missed the croissants, but the crepes were delectable!
Places You Can Skip
- Laurel Beach: Google Maps took us through a neighborhood that didn’t seem to have car access to this beach. Perhaps you can only access on foot?
Wishlist for Our Next Visit
- Take a hike! We would’ve done another hike with the kids, had we not already been forced to do so on our way to the shoreline of Folsom Lake, lol!
Itinerary, at a glance
- Day 1 at Folsom State Recreation Area
- Drive to Folsom Lake; set up camp
- Dinner
- Day 2
- Breakfast
- Free-time (the kids played a game, did a dance party, and used one of the camping chairs as a tractor through the mulch)
- Tie-dye
- Beach day at Lake Folsom
- Free-time (or nap time ;))
- Dinner + s’mores
- Post-bedtime adults’ happy hour
- Day 3
- Breakfast
- Break down camp
- Lunch at Julian’s
- Explore Folsom/Nimbus Flats
- Home!
For some of us, this trip helped us realize that we don’t want to go camping with our kids, ever, again, periodt. Some may have even called the experience “miserable” :/ (we’ll reserve that reflection for a future post!). In a nutshell, for all the trouble of packing for the weekend, pitching a tent, cooking meals, and being away from home (and our own, comfy bed), the “juice” from camping is not necessarily worth the squeeze. And that’s perfectly valid. Let’s face it, most parenting experiences are not as flashy and fun as Instagram would have us believe. We’re glad that we were at least able to have the support of the other parents on this trip. Plus, now we know!