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Overall Summary |
Submitted Reports |
Disclaimer
| WILDERNESS PERMITS 70% of the daily quota for overnight permits are RESERVABLE online from 6 months to 1 day in advance of your date of entry at www.recreation.gov. 30% of the daily quota for overnight permits will be available via WALK-IN/same day issuance (IN PERSON) at these locations: 7 days a week, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Placerville Ranger Station 4260 Eight Mile Road Camino, CA 95709 (Exit 54 on Highway 50) Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. LTBMU Supervisor's Office 35 College Drive South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150 |
| BEAR CANISTERS are REQUIRED in Desolation Wilderness. See Bear Canisters Information PDF. Bears are active in Desolation Wilderness, both in the backcountry and at trailheads. Do not leave food or scented items in your car. Lock your vehicle even if you are leaving it briefly. NOTE THAT FOOD STORAGE LOCKERS ARE NOT AVAILABLE AT ANY OF THE TRAILHEADS GOING INTO DESOLATION WILDERNESS. PLEASE remember to store your food and toiletries properly. Store your bear canister100-200 feet downwind from your tent. Never keep food or scented items of any kind in or near your tent. |
| BEAR CANISTERS ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE OR RENTAL AT SEVERAL FOREST SERVICE LOCATIONS. A nominal fee starting at $5 covers rental expenses. West side of Desolation Wilderness: * Placerville Ranger Station in Camino off US Hwy 50 East side of Desolation Wilderness: * Taylor Creek Visitor Center off CA Hwy 89 near South Lake Tahoe For Mokelumne Wilderness: * Carson Pass Information Station located on Hwy 88 * Amador Ranger District office in Pioneer off CA Hwy 88 (no fee) |
| BACKCOUNTRY SAFETY: Plan ahead and prepare. Create a safety net by informing someone of your itinerary, where you plan to park your car, and when you are planning to return. If you change your plans at the last minute, make sure that you inform your safety person. Thank you for being our partner in the preservation of Desolation Wilderness! |
Overall Summary: TOP
(To save space, all trail names are listed without the word "Trail" — e.g., Rockbound Trail is listed as Rockbound.)
Wilderness Trails| Trail Name | Number | Updated | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bayview | 17E04 | 07-06-2026 | Dry, dusty. Lots of blackflies. |
| Blakely | 16E07 | 07-16-2026 | Information not available. |
| Eagle Falls | 17E03 | 07-16-2026 | Dry, clear to Eagle Lake. |
| Glen Alpine | 17E06 | 07-05-2026 | Dry with few obstacles, many mosquitoes. |
| Grass Lake | 17E06 | 07-16-2026 | Trail is dry and clear of obstructions; water crossings are easily traversed. |
| Grouse Lake | 16E01 | 07-07-2026 | Still some standing water and a bit of flowing water on the trail in places on the way to Grouse Lake. Wildflowers profuse! Marshy, overgrown trail hard to follow just above Grouse Lake toward Hemlock Lake. Trail to Smith Lake is hard to follow but dry. |
| Half Moon Lake | 17E31 | 07-16-2026 | Dry. |
| Lake Doris to Rubicon | 16E08 | 07-16-2026 | Information not available. |
| Lake Lucille | 17E09 | 07-16-2026 | Information not available. |
| Lake of the Woods to Lake Aloha | 17E40 | 07-15-2026 | Overall good, some brush encroaching. Reports of bear activity in the Lake of the Woods area, but they are leaving people alone. |
| Lake of the Woods to Ropi Lake | 17E11 | 07-16-2026 | Information not available. |
| Lyons Creek Trail | 16E13 | 07-06-2026 | Mostly dry. Small biting flies abundant. |
| Lyons Lake | 16E13 | 07-16-2026 | Information not available. |
| Mt Tallac | 17E33 | 07-16-2026 | Trail clear to Cathedral Lake. |
| Pacific Crest | N/A | 07-12-2026 | Trail is dry and in good shape. |
| PCT to Aloha | 17E39 | 07-16-2026 | Echo to Aloha trail clear and obvious. Signage in good condition. |
| Ralston | 17E41 | 07-10-2026 | Hot and exposed. |
| Ralston Peak | 17E42 | 07-10-2026 | Hot and exposed, overgrown with brush. |
| Red Peak | 15E08 | 07-11-2026 | Dry. North Fork Bassi Creek still trickles. Black biting flies abundant; many wildflowers. |
| Rockbound | 16E08 | 07-16-2026 | Dry from trailhead to Maude Lake. |
| Rubicon | 16E30 | 07-16-2026 | Information not available. |
| Schmidell | 16E28 | 07-16-2026 | Information not available. |
| Tahoe-Yosemite | 17E01 | 07-16-2026 | Dry conditions, trail in good shape. |
| Triangle Lake | N/A | 07-08-2026 | Trail is faint, sometimes hard to follow. |
| Twin Lakes | 16E12 | 07-15-2026 | Dry and clean. |
| Tyler | 16E09 | 07-16-2026 | Information not available. |
| Velma Lakes | 17E34 | 07-16-2026 | Dry conditions, trail in good shape |
| Trail Name | Number | Updated | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| McConnell Lake | 16E06 | 07-16-2026 | Information not available. |
| Red Peak Stock | 16E31 | 07-16-2026 | Information not available. |
| Willow Flat Trail | N/A | 07-16-2026 | Information not available. |
| Trail Name | Number | Updated | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angora | 17E37 | 07-16-2026 | Information not available. |
| Bassi Creek | 15E19/15E20 | 07-16-2026 | Information not available. |
| Bloodsucker | 16E14 | 07-16-2026 | Information not available. |
| Highland Lake | 15E21 | 07-16-2026 | Information not available. |
| Loon Lake | 16E30 | 07-11-2026 | Overall trail from Loon Lake TH to Rockbound is in great shape, with one double tree across trail between Buck Island Lake and Rockbound. It is passable in the woods to the side with a pack on. Avoid camping at Buck Island because of the noise from the Rubicon Trail 4x4 traffic on the other side of lake. You can still hear the noise of trucks and helicopters at Rockbound, but it is distant. |
| Old Corral (Twin Lakes TH to Rockbound) | 16E16/16E18 | 07-16-2026 | Dry and clear. |
| Pyramid Creek | 17E25 | 07-08-2026 | The trail to the bottom of the falls is in good shape. The route up and over the falls is hazardous. |
| Shadow Lake | 15E22 | 07-16-2026 | Information not available. |
Click HERE to view the Zone Map at FULL SIZE
SUBMITTED REPORTS: TOP
Submit a Trail Conditions Report
| # | Date at LOC | Trail | Type of Issue | Full Description | Photo |
| 134 | 07-17-2020 | 16E30 | Tree Across Trail | From the northern wilderness boundary to the creek coming from Highland Lake, there are four downed trees, all between 25-32". From Highland Creek to the junction of 4-Qs / McConnell Loop, there are two trees, 21" & 33" dbh. Both crossings of the Rubicon River and of Phipps Creek were uneventful and fairly easy, according to the ranger who went there. | N/A |
| 133 | 07-16-2020 | 16E30 | Tree Across Trail | All three trees are outside the wilderness boundary and are between 20-25' dbh. The wilderness boundary sign is missing and the sign posts need to be reinstalled. | N/A |
| 132 | 07-18-2020 | 16E07 | Tree Across Trail | Trail is largely dry with a sloppy, muddy patch located between Doris and Lois Lakes, closer to Lois. One large tree with a re-route is near Doris, and there are two trees between Lois and Schmidell, 24" & 30". The trail from Schmidell to Camper Flat is clear of snow and has two trees, 21" & 34". (Amended trail report) | N/A |
| 131 | 07-18-2020 | 17E34 | Tree Across Trail | Velma Lakes Trail is in good condition with only one tree down on the trail. | N/A |
| 130 | 07-31-2020 | 16E28 | Other | Schmidell Trail is not near Lake Schmidell. It runs from midpoint on the Blakely Trail between Schmidell and Camper Flat, southward towards the Rubicon Trail. It has also been called the Blakely Cutoff trail. It is mostly well-marked, and an interesting sidetrip on the way to Mosquito Pass due to the flower patches. | N/A |
| 129 | 06-27-2020 | N/A | Tree Across Trail | The ranger came across 2 large 35" downed trees on the trail. One of the trees split entirely towards the middle, so it definitely would not require to be cut but moved off trail with a rock bar and a couple extra hands. | N/A |
| 128 | 07-12-2020 | 17E40 | Other | Trail is clear of trees and snow, and is easy to follow. | N/A |
| 127 | 07-12-2020 | 17E09 | Trail Washed Out | Trail to Lucille is okay, but the trail around Margery peters out and in and out. | N/A |
| 126 | 07-20-2020 | 16E08 | Tree Across Trail | Trail is mostly dry. A few trees down across trail. | N/A |
| 125 | 07-30-2020 | 16E01 | Tree Across Trail | Trail is free of snow; creek across trail below Grouse is easily navigable. No trees down on trail from Twin Lakes Jct to Grouse; two or three trees between Grouse and Hemlock; and several trees going to Smith. Hiker diamonds are needed on this stretch of trail from Hemlock to Smith Lakes. | N/A |
| 124 | 07-18-2020 | 16E07 | Tree Across Trail | Trail is largely dry with a sloppy, muddy patch located between Doris and Lois Lakes, closer to Lois. One large tree with a re-route near Doris, a tree on the east side of Lois, and a tree on the switchbacks above Schmidell. The trail from Schmidell to Camper Flat is clear of trees and snow. | N/A |
| 123 | 07-09-2020 | 16E13 | Tree Across Trail | The Lyons Creek Trail is now CLEAR of downed trees from the Lyons Creek Trailhead to the Wilderness Boundary sign. The section of the trail from the Boundary sign to Lyons and Sylvia Lakes have not been cleared so please proceed with caution. All streams outside of the Wilderness can be crossed easily, but some rocks are still wet and slippery. The wild flowers are also out in full force and so are the flies and mosquitoes! | N/A |
| 122 | 06-23-2020 | 16E08 | Unstable Snow | From a visitor: The upper portions of the trail from China Flat to Lake Doris have large snow patches... Many streams are running pretty high. I had no problem finding spots at which to cross, however, usually fallen logs. The mosquitos are voracious in the Camper Flat to China Flat area. | N/A |
| 121 | 06-23-2020 | 16E30 | Other | From a visitor: The trail from Camper Flat up to 4Q Lakes is difficult to follow. Lots of small trails lead off of the main trail and it can lead you astray. In some locations the main trails have not yet had enough foot traffic to stand out clearly. | N/A |
| 120 | 06-23-2020 | 16E07 | Unstable Snow | From a visitor: The trail from Lois Lake to Lake Schmidell is largely covered by large snow patches that look like they will remain for a while. These are mostly on the steep, sheltered (from the sun) slopes facing down to Schmidell. These can be dangerous to cross because they are steep and a fall here could send a hiker downslope pretty fast. It was not possible to avoid the snow patches entirely. However, if you try to work your way around the snow patches it's hard to find the trail again. The trail from Schmidell down to Camper Flat also has enough snow patches, at least in the upper section closer to Schmidell, that route finding is difficult.The lower part of that trail, closer to Camper Flat, is pretty clear. Lots of water everywhere! Mushy trails. Waterproof boots are a goo | N/A |
| 119 | 06-23-2020 | 16E08 | Unstable Snow | From a visitor: On the west approach to Rockbound Pass there are only a few small snow patches covering the trail. It is no problem to cross those. So essentially the west approach is snow-free. The east side of Rockbound Pass, i.e. the trail from the pass down to Lake Doris, is covered by sizable snow patches. It is possible to get most of the way down to the lake walking only on granite (i.e. off the trail) however. Going up or down the snow patches adds some risk of slipping or breaking through the snow (especially where there is water running under the snow patch), so care should be taken. | N/A |
| 118 | 06-19-2020 | 15E19/15E20 | Tree Across Trail | Trail is clear and mostly dry, no water standing on trail. Easy to hike from Millionaire Camp to Upper Bassi Falls. One or two trees down. | N/A |
| 117 | 06-21-2020 | 16E30 | Other | Creek that crosses trail between Rockbound Lake and Rubicon Reservoir is low enough to cross comfortably, about a foot high. First crossing (northernmost) of the Rubicon River, below Rubicon Reservoir, is high, fast and swift, and not recoommended. Seek out a place upstream (advice from former ranger who crossed it). The lower crossings of the Rubicon River (above Camper Flat) are do-able and more safe than the upper crossing. Source: Jenny Leonard | N/A |
| 116 | 06-13-2020 | 16E16/16E18 | Tree Across Trail | Trails are dry. There are two trees (30" & 15" diameters) and a butt end sticking in the trail from Twin Lakes to Rockbound Trail. No trees on the Twin Lakes Tie Trail from Beauty Lake to the Wrights Lake Meadow Trail, but there are five trees on the between the Twin Lakes Tie Trail from Wrights Lake Meadow Trail to Twin/Grouse Trail (the swampy part of Wright's Lake Loop). The largest of these are 24" dia.; smallest is 5" dia. | N/A |
| 115 | 06-14-2020 | 16E13 | Tree Across Trail | Trail is mostly dry; a few mounds of snow exist just before Sylvia Lake. Water flows are spring-like, but creeks are safe to cross. Biggest trail obstacles right now are 26 logs or tree parts down in the 3 1/2 miles to the Desolation Wilderness boundary sign, with the largest being 36-ish inches across. Within the Wilderness are two trees down, together, with the largest being 48-ish inches across. | N/A |
Trail Conditions Disclaimer: Desolation Wilderness Volunteers provides this information free of charge as a public service to users of Desolation Wilderness, California and its immediate surroundings. While we have read and screened the information provided here, neither we nor those submitting the information make any claims or guarantees as to its accuracy, and assume no responsibility for the safety of those using it as part of their trip planning process. Backcountry travel involves risks and potential dangers, all of which can be found in the area covered by this trails conditions page. It is the responsibility of the users of these reports to be aware of the risks involved in any backcountry activity and to assess for themselves whether they are up to the challenge of facing these risks. By providing this information we make no suggestion or representation, expressed or implied, that these trails will be in the same condition as described when you visit them or that they will be safe for your passage.