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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 |
| 92 | 06-13-2018 | 16E30 | Other | Loon Lake Trailhead to Buck Island Lake. Trail was reconstructed by the CCCs in 2017 in partnership with SMUD. Trail was rerouted starting approx. 2 miles west of Buck Island. To stay on course, look for constructed rock steps, large rock trail markers, and green flagging. Enjoy the reconstructed trail. | N/A |
| 91 | 06-17-2018 | 17E06 | Other | The first stream crossing is very doable using the logs. Trail verified to second stream crossing where the "elevated log" bridge is needed to cross since the water is still deep. Otherwise trail is clear. | N/A |
| 90 | 06-17-2018 | 17E06 | Other | Trail dry except in a few small places, otherwise no issues to Lake Gilmore | N/A |
| 89 | 06-16-2018 | 17E04 | Other | Bayview all clear and dry to Maggies and beyond | N/A |
| 88 | 05-28-2018 | 17E42 | Unstable Snow | Large snow drifts covering peak with heavy runoff. | N/A |
| 87 | 05-26-2018 | 17E04 | Other | Trail generally clear, some snow on the steep area before Maggie's saddle, but easily passible by crossing at bottom of steep slope and hiking up dirt/rock on other side to saddle. Some patchy snow on the saddle. | N/A |
| 86 | 05-18-2018 | 17E39 | Other | Snow starts at Haypress Meadow and continues to Aloha. Postholing experienced as approaching Aloha. | N/A |
| 85 | 05-19-2018 | N/A | Other | Snow going up Dicks Pass from Gilmore, passable with micro spikes, descent down to Dicks Lake has significant snow | N/A |
| 84 | 05-17-2018 | 17E04 | Other | Trail generally clear of snow up to elevation 8125 feet, about 1.5 miles from Bayview Trailhead. I did not go further, but trail appeared covered ahead and I suspect the trail across steep area before Maggie's saddle is difficult, perhaps dangerous, to get across. | N/A |
| 83 | 05-04-2018 | 17E01 | Tree Across Trail | Meeks TH very wet. heavy snow after crag. rivers running high but crossable. first bridge broken. tree across trail before Genevieve. | N/A |
| 82 | 05-02-2018 | 17E04 | Tree Across Trail | tree across trail before granite lake. granite lake still frozen but shore area thawing quickly. lots of snow after granite lake, difficult to get to top of bayview. lots of doggy poop baggies on trail. | N/A |
| 81 | 12-28-2017 | 16E13 | Tree Across Trail | The trail had approximately 1' of snow covering the majority of the lower elevation areas. There were 3-4 fallen trees. Recommend using Alltrails downloaded map to stay on course. | N/A |
| 80 | 09-23-2017 | 16E08 | Tree Across Trail | The trail down to Clyde Lake from the main trail towards China Flat/Rockbound lake from Mosquito Pass (not sure if it's the Rockbound Trail)has a tree across it and is somewhat overgrown and very hard to follow down to the lake. We lost it early and so did the others camping at Clyde Lake and wound up bouldering to the lake. Please mark this trail's twists and turns with rocks or other means.Clyde Lake is very windy at night but the campsites are in great shape - gorgeous! | N/A |
| 79 | 08-23-2017 | 17E01 | Other | I hiked from Meeks Bay to Emerald Bay via Eagle Lake. The bridge over Meeks Creek is easily crossable and there's no longer a snow issue near Phipps Pass. I did find the outlet creek from Upper Velma strong and a bit challenging to cross. The options were hopping over partially submerged branches and rocks (and this early morning, not late afternoon) where the trail meets the creek or leaping over the water where it narrows between two boulders .1 mi upstream, challenging with a backpack on. Might be better crossings farther upstream, or the level might have gone down since 8-25 and the rock-hopping option might be fine. Water shoes and/or poles might be handy. | N/A |
| 78 | 08-04-2017 | N/A | Other | The remaining snow on Dick's Pass is generally flat and easy to navigate in trail runners. Our group felt that boots/crampons/ice axe were not required. Trekking poles are helpful. Snow makes the trail on the north side somewhat hard to follow, we used GPS on a smartphone to make it easier, but that is probably not required if you have a good map. | N/A |
| 77 | 08-05-2017 | 17E01 | Unstable Snow | There is a snow patch on the north side Phipp's Pass that our group did not feel was safe to cross where the trail crosses the snow. We were able to scramble all the way up to the top of the snow patch and go around it. It is somewhat time consuming to go around the snow, but it was absolutely the safer choice for the conditions on August 5, 2017. | N/A |
| 76 | 07-24-2017 | 17E01 | Other | Trail as described in current trail info, however snow past Rubicon lake makes trail unstable in some area's. Snow is melting fast. BEAR ACTIVITY VERY HIGH PAST CRAG LAKE. BEAR CANISTERS HIGHLY SUGGESTED. | N/A |
| 75 | 07-08-2017 | 17E04 | Other | Started at Bayview trailhead hiking to Dick's and Fontanillis. Several patches of snow heading up to Maggies Peak, but nothing that was too difficult. After Maggies peak between the trail markers, the trail is mostly clear, but a few patches of snow can made the trail harder to find. If going off trail, the snow patches are washed out at the bottom, and it seems very easy to fall through. We had an issue and unfortunately had to turn around before getting to Dick's Lake, but people we spoke with mentioned there was still a good amount of snow around the lake. All in all, trails were in mostly good condition. Spent the night a little ways after Maggie's Peak, not very cold at all. No sightings of any animals asides from a few birds and a squirrel. | N/A |
| 74 | 07-02-2017 | 17E06 | Other | Trail is free of snow until you get to the Gilmore Lake Creek Crossing. Water is about knee deep. After that, lots of snow but melting fast. The ice on Susie Lake is about 80% melted off. Past Suzie on PCT, lots of snow at Heather and Aloha. Id say snowline was at about 7800 ft. | N/A |
| 73 | 06-29-2017 | 17E04 | Other | Full Description: No snow up to Granite Lake. Creek still running high across trail near wilderness boundary, but no longer running down the trail. Occasional small patches of snow on trail above Granite until the steep slope just before Maggie's Saddle. The trail across the slope is covered with snow and is a difficult crossing. | 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.