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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

Unmaintained Wilderness Trails
(Subject to clearing once every 10 years or less, as crew scheduling allows.)

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.

Non-Wilderness Trails
(Immediately adjacent to wilderness boundary.)

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
114	06-12-2020	16E08	Tree Across Trail	Trail is dry from trailhead to above the granite past Jones Fork Silver Creek. Water at Silver Creek is low enough to safely cross; best place is about 100 feet downstream from trail. Between the trailhead and Tyler Trail Junction, are seven logs / obstructions across the trail. The largest tree is about 40" dia hanging over the trail.	N/A
113	06-11-2020	17E06	Tree Across Trail	Glen Alpine Trailhead to Grass Lake. Trail dry with streams high and fast at crossings. Logs at crossings intact. Two trees down across trail within quarter mile of Lake. 38.870,-120.111 and 38.871,-120.105	N/A
112	08-25-2019	16E16/16E18	Other	Trail is clear and dry but still lots of mosquitoes near Wright's Lake	N/A
111	08-26-2019	16E08	Other	The Rockbound trail near Lake Doris is wet and muddy in places but passable without a problem.	N/A
110	08-02-2019	16E13	Tree Across Trail	Full Description: An 11” tree lies across the Lyons Creek trail inside the wilderness boundary, 3.4 miles from the trailhead parking lot. Otherwise, it has been nicely cleared! There are multiple areas where the trail is braided, so some trail reconstruction/definition would be a nice addition.	N/A
108	08-03-2019	16E09	Tree Across Trail	There are 9 trees or tree tips in the trail that I could not move by myself. The first two trees (<10") are 3/4 mile in on the Tyler trail from the Rockbound trail, and the last one (a large tree tip) is 1.65 miles from the Rockbound trail. Sizes range from 7" to 12". One leaner tree at about 1.2 miles in is hanging over the trail in such a way that it will fall into the trail path for 40' or so when it is dropped. Tyler Trail needs a little love. In many places, it is nothing more than a drainage area full of giant boulders, and the trail is easy to lose in several sections. No snow on the trail; a little water runs in the trail in several places, but it is fully passable.	N/A
107	07-20-2019	16E08	Unstable Snow	Once you are past Maud Lake and the trail begins to switchback up to Rockbound Pass, there are three 100’ sections of the trail that have steep snow slides across them that are somewhat treacherous to cross. There are a few areas through this section that require off-trail travel (rock-hopping) to get around these snow slides. The top of the pass is clear of snow. On the other side of Rockbound Pass heading down to Lake Doris, snow is completely obscuring the trail that skirts the lake and eventually joins the Lake Lois and China Flat trail junction. Note: There are limited viable campsites available around Lake Doris due to 3’-5’ snow drifts in camp areas. The trail to Lake Lois consists of traveling through high snow drifts and very wet trail conditions, and hikers should expect travel	N/A
106	07-06-2019	17E11	Other	Trail is mostly free of snow, though water covers some parts of the trail. The creek from Lake of the Woods was at full capacity, but crossing was not a challenge, upstream from the trail. Down near Ropi, the last 2/10 mile were snowbound on July 5, but one can easily cover that ground on rock to the south.... The biggest challenge on July 5 was coming down either west side or east side of Lake of the Woods from the north end.	N/A
105	07-13-2019	16E30	Other	Trail from Loon Lake trailhead to Camper Flat is reportedly free of snow. Fords of creeks clear to Desolation Boundary are safe and easy, less than 4 inches. Highland Creek crossing at the sound end of Rockbound Lake varies from 18" in the morning and 24" late in the afternoon. Two backpackers coming north found the two Rubicon Creek crossings to be too high and dangerous at the official trail crossing,and Phipps Creek crossing to a lesser extent; they had to search out wider, safer crossings up or downstream. They report that the Rubicon Creek crossing at Camper Flat from Middle Velma to be reasonable and safer than crossings to the north. Also, there are 4 or 5 trees of 6-10 inch diameter in the trail between Loon Lake trailhead and the wilderness border near Rockbound Lake. Two trees	N/A
104	06-28-2019	17E39	Other	The trail from boat dock at Upper Echo Lake to the second Triangle Lake junction with the PCT, just above the switchbacks is open and free of snow. Water runs on over half the trail. Above the switchbacks, snow is patchy until the junction with Lake of the Woods. From there to Lake Aloha along the PCT, the trail is covered with snow and easy to lose. Drifts range from 3 to 6 feet. Postholing is a possibility near rocks. Aloha is mostly covered with ice and snow, with open water near the edges. Campsites at the PCT junction are covered with snow. Good campsites 100 feet from water are hard to find there, but a few are available as one travels south along the lake.	N/A
103	06-29-2019	16E30	Other	Road to Loon Lake trailhead is open.	N/A
102	06-29-2019	16E08	Other	Wrights Road is open and free of snow to the Wrights Lake gate. Behind the locked gate, the road to the trailhead is free of snow.	N/A
101	06-30-2019	16E13	Tree Across Trail	In the first mile and a half of Lyons Creek trail, there are multiple fallen trees, probably 6 or 7, that cross the trail. Many more fallen trees jut out into the trail with their treetops. Even more trees, small ones, lean into the trail and cause people to change where they walk, creating new trails. The trail is mostly dry the first mile and a half out of the parking lot. Snow: Visitors report snow is patchy starting about a mile before the wilderness boundary, then becomes continuous up in the wilderness. Reports are that the trail was easy to lose. Visitors say at the crossing of the main creek before the Lyons/Sylvia junction, snow drifts are 10 feet tall, and a snow bridge crosses the creek, and people have been using it. Others that didn’t trust it said that their feet were a	N/A
100	06-29-2019	17E33	Other	Lake Gilmore is still has ice. Trail from Gilmore to the backside of Tallac is heavy with snow.	N/A
99	06-29-2019	17E31	Other	Trail to Half Moon is challenging with snow and water. There are about 3 camp sites between Half Moon and Alta Morris which are usable	N/A
98	06-12-2019	17E33	Other	MT TALLAC TH TO FLOATING ISLAND LAKE IS NOW COMPLETELY CLEAR OF ALL SNOW...	N/A
97	06-09-2019	16E30	Other	The gate on road to Loon Lake trailhead is still locked. Trailhead is .7 miles from gate. Parking lots and roads are mostly clear and snow is melting fast.	N/A
96	06-08-2019	16E30	Tree Across Trail	Trail report via David Houseworth of Sacramento, hiking from Loon Lake Trailhead to Spider Lake Viewpoint.... Trail mostly in decent condition. 20% of the trail is covered with mounds of snow. Mounds are mostly firm. Hiker broke through a coupld times up to the knee and once up to his hip. 20% of the trail has either standing or running water. First Ford: Good spot 10 yards downstream. Second Ford: Good crossing 30 yards upstream. Skinny silver widowmaker about 50 yards past the first ford, on the left. Two down trees blocking the trail. 1) about 1/3 mile past first ford and 2) up near second plateau.	N/A
94	05-24-2019	15E19/15E20	Other	Trail is clear of snow from Millionaire Camp to Upper Bassi Falls, with a few large pools of water blocking the trail. Three large trees crisscross and block the trail about 0.89 miles from Millionaire Camp; users have created a reroute trail.... At Bassi Falls, a sign marking the end of the Bassi Trail is missing, as is a sign pointing to a trail that leads to a Forest Service Road. Also missing is the upper sign advising of a restoration area; visitors complained that they couldn't find the trail, which jogs a 90 degree right at where the restoration sign should be, so they ended up in the restoration area.	N/A
93	06-29-2018	17E31	Other	trail sort of clear all the way to Half Moon/Alta Morris. There are two trees down on the trail, but it looked liked these are a season or two old and easy to get around. On my next trip out to Half Moon I'll get the GPS locations. Thew meadow on the north side of Half Moon has a few wet areas, but what do you expect for a meadow.	N/A

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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.