Highway 88 is one of the great drives in the West, and my favorite in California. The road climbs slowly through a digger pine and manzanita woodland, and then into Ponderosa Pine country, before crossing the divide above 8,000 feet, at Carson Pass. From there, it's a half-hour drive through the Hope Valley to Marleeville and Grover Hot Springs State Park. We checked out several campgrounds in the Hope Valley, so naamed by imigrant Mormons who had difficulty getting through the Sierra on their way to the California Gold Fields. Faith and Charity valleys are nearby.
Campsites here are easy to find, even on weekends.
There's a trailer and RV area, but we had out tent and chose a fine 2-pad campsite overlooking the lake. So sooner than we had pitched the tent, we took off for the hot springs, after reaching Marleeville. In the witer, most of the roads to Marleeville are cut off. The turnoff to the state park is in the center of town, close to the visitor information center, operated by the county and the Forest Service. The park is at the end of the access road, with a good campground for RVs and tenters near the park entrance.