Lake Aloha via Echo Lakes
Echo Lake, California
Details
Distance
12.34 miles
Elevation Gain
1552 ft
Route Type
Out-and-Back
Description
Added by Kyle Frost
A low effort, high reward backpacking trip to Lake Aloha in Desolation Wilderness. This is a great trip for beginner backpackers! Distance: about 12 miles round trip. Elevation gain: 1000ft.
You'll start the hike at the Echo Lakes trailhead, just off of Highway 50 in Lake Tahoe. The trail meanders past Lower and Upper Echo Lakes, slowly gaining altitude as you pass a smattering of summer cabins. The climb is enough to make you feel it, but before you know it, it's over.
Once cresting the "pass" you'll traverse mostly flat and slightly downhill terrain into the lake basin. The trail continues on the east side of the lake up towards Mosquito pass, but you'll want to jump off on one of the side trails heading west into the lake area.
There is plenty of camping around here; I recommend wandering around the myriad inlets and ponds until you find a spot sufficiently isolated and with a fantastic view. Fair warning, the basin can get VERY windy and VERY cold at night.
Enjoy an amazing sunrise and sunset over the Crystal Range!
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Lake Aloha via Echo Lakes Reviews
Really great experience if you're looking to get into backpacking or take a long hike to be able to jump into some cool lakes. It's a long out and back for a day trip but the views are great going through both open fields and breezy mountainous ranges. You walk by a few lakes and streams on the way as well. If you're even a decent navigator you'll be able to stay on trail pretty easily, and when you get to Lake Aloha, it's really gorgeous. Get a permit if you're looking to camp in Desolation at all, but it's a really great way to experience Desolation Wilderness.
5.0
We arrived at Echo Lakes trailhead a bit late in the day, so ended up stopping and camping at Lake Tamarack the first night, about 4 miles in. We went up to Lake Aloha for the second night-- absolutely stunning! However it was not easy to find solitude around here (main reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5). A very popular trailhead and lake, for obvious reasons. The early morning at Lake Aloha was the best part- day hikers and dogs were gone and the only people we saw/heard were far across the lake. It was my friend's first backpacking trip and I think it was a great first trip for her- elevation gain was not bad at all, and the scenery was just spectacular. We went in early August- the day was warm and sunny, but the evenings and mornings were cold and windy!! Can be done as a day hike, but worth staying and experiencing the calm if you can!
4.0
The Lake Aloha area is what I consider the heart of Desolation Wilderness. It's an easy to access destination that has the feel of desolation because of all the granite and lack of trees. It's also one of the few places in the Tahoe area that comes close to the big mountain feel of the central and southern Sierras. Lake Aloha can get very crowded in the summer but if you have a map and some basic off-trail navigation skills you can easily explore other lakes in Desolation Valley and find a lot more privacy.
4.0
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