by Rebecca Hollman
updated Dec 16, 2019

Echo Lake to Lake Aloha - Tahoe National Forest

Lake Tahoe is a beautiful gem located in both California and Nevada. Surrounding the lake on the California side is the Tahoe National Forest - over 1,400 square miles of pristine forest and trails. The Tahoe National Forest is located in the northern Sierra Nevada (east of Sacramento) and extends from the foothills across the Sierra crest to the California state line. It includes over 850,000 acres of public land interspersed with 350,000 acres of private land in a checker board pattern. Within the forest are many mountain peaks, trails and other lakes besides Lake Tahoe itself. One of these trails follows along the PCT and connects two lakes - Echo Lake and Lake Aloha in a perfect day hike.

About the Trail:

This trail is a 13 mile out and back through the Desolation Wilderness in the Tahoe National Forest. The trail is rated as difficult mostly because of the mileage and because it gains 1900 feet of elevation. The trail is moderately trafficked and is accessible year-round. You can take a water taxi across both Echo Lakes and save about 5 miles of your hike.

The hike to Lake Aloha is the ultimate day hike in Desolation Wilderness. The trail is fairly flat for most of the hike, with only two sections of significant elevation gain, and you will pass by 5 lakes in under 12 miles round trip. This trip can easily be extended to an overnight backpacking trip with a stay near Lake Aloha. Make sure to call ahead to the Placerville Ranger Station in Camino, CA to reserve a wilderness permit ($6 reservation fee plus $5/person for the 1st night, $10 more than 1 night). For day hikes, fill out a day permit at the trailhead (Echo Lakes Trailhead), so that people know where you are in case anything goes wrong.

Park Information:

ENTRANCE FEES: Access to the trail and parking lot is free, however it is first come first serve for parking.

HOURS: There are no set hours and there are no park rangers or officials regulating entrance to the trail. Good practice says don’t be out before dawn or after dusk, unless you plan on camping on the trail. There is no rules against camping on this trail, however a permit is required for any overnight camping.

Trail Information:

The trail starts at the Echo Lake parking lot and immediately connects with the PCT as you follow along the east side of Lower Echo Lake. Here you will pass along some pretty unique vacation homes and cabins until you pass Lower Echo Lake and reach the true wilderness area. Continue along the PCT for another 4.5 miles through alpine meadows until you reach the Lake Loop. Here you can either go to the left to Lake of the Woods or to the right to Lake Aloha. Either way, this loop passes more lakes and alpine meadows until connecting you back to the PCT - where you follow your same trail that you took in, back out.

Trail Map:

Getting There:

From Sacramento, take California state route 50 east towards South Lake Tahoe Village. Pull off for the Echo Lake Sno Park and follow unpaved roads as close as you can until you reach Echo Lake. Here there is a small parking lot for Lower Echo Lake. Steps from the parking lot, you cross a dam and start hiking on the PCT, which is concurrent with the Lake Aloha trail at this point.

Plan Your Trip

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