Lake of the Woods
Photos Maps Summary: This is another great hike in the Desolation Wilderness that offers hikers many options for destinations and camping sites. A water taxi could take you (for a fee) to the end of Upper Echo Lake and save you ~5.1 miles (round-trip). The water taxi generally runs from July through Labor Day weekend, but depends on the year. This section of the Pacific Crest Trail is probably the most popular to take into the Desolation Wilderness, and rightly so. Mountain views and alpine lakes abound in this area, so be creative and make your own journey.Distance: 11.5 miles round-tripElevation Gain/Loss: 1,680' totalSeason: late-June to mid-OctoberFees & Permits: None for dayhikers. Wilderness permits required for overnighters.Finding the Trailhead: 38.8348 N, 120.0443 W. From the US-50/CA-89 intersection south of Lake Tahoe, follow US-50 ~2.8 miles to the southwest and turn right onto the Old Meyers Grade Road toward Echo Lakes. Follow this road for ~0.6 miles before turning right onto Johnson Pass Road. Follow this for ~0.7 miles before turning right onto Echo Lakes Road. Follow this for ~0.9 miles to the large parking area off the southern side of the road, above Lower Echo Lake. Walk down the steep pavement to the dam on the eastern shore of Lower Echo Lake.
The Hike: Once on the northern side of the outlet creek, the trail climbs above Lower Echo Lake. Slightly above Lower Echo Lake's northern shoreline, the hike begins by heading towards Upper Echo Lake. Along the way, the trail passes above a few cabins (at right). At ~2.55 miles the trail reaches a junction with the trail from the Upper Echo Lake boat dock which would be the starting point if you took the water taxi from Lower Echo Lake. At ~3.2 miles the trail intersects with the Triangle Lake Trail. Shortly before this is a nice view looking back at the Echo Lakes. At ~3.6 miles the trail reaches the junction with the Tamarack Lake trail. Turn left here. The short loop past Tamarack, Cagwin, and Ralston Lakes is ~1.1 miles total. Back on the main trail, turn left and start climbing towards Lake of the Woods. There are nice views of the three lakes and Ralston Peak as you climb. About 0.7 miles from the Tamarack Lake junction, the trail intersects with a trail that leads towards Triangle Lake & Angora Peak. At ~1.0 mile from the Tamarack Lake junction the trail reaches the junction with the Lake of the Woods trail. Turn left on this trail and climb up over a saddle (which junctions w/ the Ralston Peak trail after ~0.2 miles) and then descend to Lake of the Woods. Another trail junction is reached ~0.3 miles from the Ralston Peak trail (this is the alternate trail described below). The junction with the Lake of the Woods shore trail (the end of this hike) is reached ~0.4 miles from the Ralston Peak trail. There are a few places above Lake of the Woods that offer nice views of the lake and Pyramid Peak if you don't want to climb all the way down to the lake shore. A way to shave off a little elevation gain/loss is to the continue straight at the first junction with the Lake of the Woods trail (~1.0 mile from the Tamarack Lake trail junction) ~0.5 miles to another junction (Lake Lucille), then turn left to descend to Lake of the Woods from the north. In total (for descending all the way to the shoreline) you'll save ~175' of elevation gain/loss but gain ~0.4 miles total. Other trail options include continuing past Lake of the Woods to Ropi Lake (~1.3 miles one-way from the end of this hike) or continuing W and NW on the PCT toward Lake Aloha (~2.3 miles one-way from the Tamarack Lake trail junction).
