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Desolation Wilderness

California, United States
 (2 votes, 2 reviews)

Trails

Summary
Difficulty
Distance
Horsetail Falls, Lake Tahoe
A three mile round-trip hike gets you up close with this spectacular Tahoe waterfall.
Moderate
3.0 mi/
4.8 km
Eagle Creek Canyon Snowshoe (Ski)
Lake Tahoe Winter Trails
Moderate
3.2 mi/
5.2 km
Wrights Lake to Grouse Lake and gateway to Twin Lakes
Bring a kayak and travel the labyrinth of waterways behind Wrights Lake or take a picnic to Smith, Grouse or Twin Lakes
Moderate
4.7 mi/
7.6 km
D.L. Bliss and Emerald Bay, Southwest Shore of Lake Tahoe
Two parks in a day: D.L. Bliss and Emerald Bay State Parks
Moderate
13.2 mi/
21 km

Mount Tallac

Summary
Difficulty
Distance
Angora Lake
A challenging uphill hike with views of Fallen Leaf Lake, Lake Tahoe, and relaxing Angora lake waiting at the top.
Difficult
3.6 mi/
5.8 km
Guides
Wrights Lake to Grouse Lake and gateway to Twin Lakes
Wrights Lake to Grouse Lake and gateway to Twin Lakes
Desolation Wilderness, California, United States
 
Moderate: 4.7 miles, Half day
Bring a kayak and travel the labyrinth of waterways behind Wrights Lake or take a picnic to Smith, Grouse or Twin Lakes
D.L. Bliss and Emerald Bay, Southwest Shore of Lake Tahoe
D.L. Bliss and Emerald Bay, Southwest Shore of Lake Tahoe
Frosts (historical), California, United States
 
Moderate: 13.2 miles, Full day
Two parks in a day: D.L. Bliss and Emerald Bay State Parks
Horsetail Falls, Lake Tahoe
Horsetail Falls, Lake Tahoe
Twin Bridges, California, United States
 
Moderate: 3.0 miles, 1-3 hours
A three mile round-trip hike gets you up close with this spectacular Tahoe waterfall.
Angora Lake
Angora Lake
South Lake Tahoe, California, United States
 
Difficult: 3.6 miles, 1-3 hours
A challenging uphill hike with views of Fallen Leaf Lake, Lake Tahoe, and relaxing Angora lake waiting at the top.
Eagle Creek Canyon Snowshoe (Ski)
Eagle Creek Canyon Snowshoe (Ski)
South Lake Tahoe, California, United States
Moderate: 3.2 miles, Half day
Lake Tahoe Winter Trails
Community Trips
Starting the hike (Fallen Leaf, California, United States) Photo
Ducks (Fallen Leaf, California, United States) Photo
Entering Desolation WIlderness (Fallen Leaf, California, United States) Photo
HIking to Lake Aloha (Fallen Leaf, California, United States) Photo
Fallen Leaf Lake, Lake Aloha, Mt. Tallac Loop
by chris on Aug 01, 2009
Fallen Leaf, California, United States
16.4 miles
I drove up to Tahoe at 4am with Loren, David, and Thomas for this 2-day backpacking trip.  We started at Glen Alpine and hiked 2 very steep miles along a very poorly maintained trail.  So poorly maintained that we lost the trail and had to scramble up the rocks and through the thick brush. Then it started to pour and we heard thunder, things couldn't be much worse.  Eventually, the skies cleared,...
Desolation Loop 8-8-2009 1-27-00 PM.JPG (Fallen Leaf, California, United States) Photo
Desolation Loop 8-8-2009 1-27-59 PM.JPG (Fallen Leaf, California, United States) Photo
Desolation Loop 8-8-2009 9-52-43.JPG (Emerald Bay, California, United States) Photo
Desolation Loop 8-7-2009 6-49-52.JPG (Emerald Bay, California, United States) Photo
Emerald Bay, Velma Lakes & Tallac - Desolation Wilderness Area
by nchastings on Aug 08, 2009
South Lake Tahoe, California, United States
18.0 miles
Starting at Eagle Falls near South Tahoe, my med school friends Ben (now in EM at Stanford) and Joe (now in EM at UCSF) joined me for a loop backpack trip through Desolation Wilderness. We traveled along the PCT for part, sleeping at the Middle Velma Lake the first night and Gilmore Lake the second night. Easy peaks on this route are Dicks Peak just off of Dicks Pass and Mt Tallac....
2008_11_22_141830_0005.jpg (Emerald Bay, California, United States) Photo
2008_11_22_141838_0006.jpg (Emerald Bay, California, United States) Photo
2008_11_22_142012_0007.jpg (Emerald Bay, California, United States) Photo
2008_11_22_142409_0009.jpg (Emerald Bay, California, United States) Photo
Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe
by zeebodaman on Nov 22, 2008
Emerald Bay, California, United States
2.6 miles
Short, easy hike from the parking lot to the lake.
IMG_5429 (Fallen Leaf, California, United States) Photo
IMG_5430 (Fallen Leaf, California, United States) Photo
IMG_5431 (Fallen Leaf, California, United States) Photo
IMG_5432 (Fallen Leaf, California, United States) Photo
Hike to Angora Lake
by chris on Jun 22, 2008
Fallen Leaf, California, United States
4.3 miles
Short hike to Angora lake. It was pretty steep the whole way, but the swim in the lake was definitely worth it.
IMG_5414 (Fallen Leaf, California, United States) Photo
IMG_5416 (Fallen Leaf, California, United States) Photo
IMG_5418 (Fallen Leaf, California, United States) Photo
IMG_5419 (Fallen Leaf, California, United States) Photo
Hike to Susie Lake
by chris on Jun 21, 2008
Fallen Leaf, California, United States
10.6 miles
Hike from Stanford Sierra camp up to Susie lake. The hike was hot so we prepared for a swim at the top. Unfortunately, when we got to the top it started to rain and it got cold, we we just headed back down. Maybe next time...
Maude Pan-3.JPG (Upper Forni, California, United States) Photo
Maude Pan-1.JPG (Upper Forni, California, United States) Photo
P1000551.JPG (Upper Forni, California, United States) Photo
P1000560.JPG (Upper Forni, California, United States) Photo
Maude Lake - Desolation Wilderness Area
by nchastings on Aug 01, 2009
Wrights Lake, California, United States
8.1 miles
This was my first trip into Desolation Wilderness and it was exactly what I had hoped.... except for the beginning when I forced to park in the "overflow" parking and walk a mile on asphalt to get to the trailhead. Wrights Lake is packed with people and it was a little unnerving until I hit the trail. They soon thinned out as the trail ascended and I saw only a few other...
The full trip (Upper Forni, California, United States) Photo
Annemiek with Mr. Bo Jindo Photo
Lake Sylvia Photo
Lake Sylvia Photo
Lyons Lake and Lake Sylvia
by Athonia on Oct 27, 2008
Twin Bridges, California, United States
2.1 miles
This was a 13 mile hike round trip but I only geo-tagged the walk from one lake That was the portion that was most scenic anyway. I was going to photograph the trail on the walk back but I dropped the iPhone into the Lyon's Creek waterfall as I attempted to take a picture of it. The iPhone slid down the rocks and wedged in between two rocks about a foot under...
WrightsLake01.png (Lower Forni, California, United States) Photo
Water (Lower Forni, California, United States) Photo
Sign (Upper Forni, California, United States) Photo
Snow in October (Upper Forni, California, United States) Photo
Wrights Lake to Grouse Lake (almost!)
by Athonia on Oct 12, 2008
Upper Forni, California, United States
4.7 miles
This was the final hike of the Folsom Lake Hiking class. We completed 7 hikes throughout California's Gold Country and the northern Sierra wilderness. Students received 1 college credit for physical education. At the end of the class we had to turn in a log of our nutrition intake on those hiking days plus our thoughts about the class. I attended every class and published a journal that rivaled some financial reports sent...
maude1.jpg Photo
maude2.jpg Photo
river  crossing.jpg Photo
way back storm.jpg Photo
Desolation Wilderness - Wrights to Clyde
by DMoncayo04 on Jul 23, 2010
Twin Bridges, California, United States
18.1 miles
Being one of my first hardcore backpacking trips, it was quite a wake-up call as to what things are truly necessary. Most important thing: high calorie fuel!Views were spectacular. I'm writing this description after having done many more hikes, and thinking back; these views of desolation were among the best.This was a 3 day 2 night venture with plenty of leisure time, and great for any beginner or novice. 
IMGP2555.JPG Photo
IMGP2556.JPG Photo
IMGP2557.JPG Photo
IMGP2560.JPG Photo
Eagle Creek Canyon Ice Climbing
by VZIMMER on Jan 01, 1990
South Lake Tahoe, California, United States
0.0 miles
Snowshoeing up beautiful Eagle Creek Canyon for a day of Ice Climbing

Reviews
Achaetes
I would call this hike moderate, at least the route we took. We took the Pyramid Creek trail and tried to follow the "Horsetail Falls, Lake Tahoe" Everytrail Guide by Trailspotting. But this gave us an awesome view of the falls with the water rushing by us. And it was good place to rest and eat a snack while enjoying the view.
Visited on Aug 07, 2011

by Achaetes on Dec 26, 2011
chris
Desolation Wilderness is one of my favorite places to go backpacking. The drive is relatively short (3.5 hours from San Francisco) and the mountains and lakes are just unbeatable. You can run into some crowds on the day hike routes (like Lake Aloha), but if you stay overnight at one of the lakes you may be lucky enough to have the whole thing to yourself.

I highly recommend Lake Aloha and the Velma Lakes. They are large lakes with several little isands that you can swim between if you can stand the cool water long enough.

Visited on Aug 01, 2010

by chris on Nov 18, 2010

Favorite Destination

What people are saying...

Lake Sylvia, Hiking, island lake, south lake tahoe, Folsom Lake Hiking class, Stanford Sierra Camp, Tahoe, Desolation Wilderness, pool, emerald bay, Fallen Leaf Lake, Backpacking, Lake Tahoe, rock scrambling, Backcountry, Tyler Lake, Wrights Lake, Hike to Alpine Lake, Rubicon Trail, sierra

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