Desolation Wilderness Permit — General Creek

General Creek (Zone 2): what makes it different

Zone 2 is the big, country that sees few visitors at the north end of Desolation Wilderness, along General Creek and a stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail. Its quota is 10 people a night. The Forest Service lists no trail destinations for it, and the usual way in is the Meeks Bay trail, with a final cross-country piece up General Creek.^1,6,4,11

Getting to the start

Recreation.gov says the zone is reached from the Meeks Bay Trailhead, or via the Pacific Crest Trail by Richardson Lake, and that a section of the PCT passes through it. The Forest Service trailhead table has no destination in zone 2 under any trailhead, so you need a map to find your camp.^6,4

The Lake Tahoe Basin page puts the Meeks Bay Trailhead on the western shore of Lake Tahoe at latitude 39.0373196 and longitude -120.1263353. It is day use only with no camping or overnighting at the trailhead, no fee, no potable water and a ban on campfires there and in the wilderness.⁵

Sierra Rec calls the Meeks Bay lot small, with roadside parking as the fallback, and warns the trail has no bear lockers, so clear food and trash out of the car first.⁷

The west door is the General Creek Trail from Sugar Pine Point State Park. Hiking Project lists it at 4.4 miles from the campground to the Richardson Lake fire road near the wilderness border, climbing from 6,476 to 7,313 feet. Its west end sits about a quarter mile from the McKinney Rubicon jeep trail. The Forest Service manages that trail.⁸

The first leg

From Meeks Bay, a September 2012 trip report found 1.4 miles of dirt road beside Meeks Creek, a log bridge over the creek about 3.3 miles out, and Lake Genevieve at the end of roughly 4.5 miles of what is also called the Tahoe Yosemite Trail.¹⁰

At Genevieve a post on the north shore points two ways. Tahoe to Whitney says one arrow marks General Creek and the other the Tahoe Yosemite Trail to Phipps Pass. Genevieve sits at about 7,400 feet, 4.39 miles from the trailhead.⁹

The 2012 report puts the General Creek Trail branching off about 1.8 miles past the Genevieve junction, then the last 0.7 mile to the PCT and Tahoe Rim Trail as steep, with 350 feet of climbing in 0.4 mile.¹⁰

Terrain and difficulty

This is not a maintained trail on the Genevieve side. Tahoe to Whitney says the 1977 map shows a trail and the 1992 map does not, and it calls the route unmaintained, going northeast around the nose of the ridge above the lake and following upper Meeks Creek to overlook General Creek. It quotes a hiker who found the route rough cross country but easily doable.⁹

The 2012 hiker found the General Creek Trail signed but less traveled than the Tahoe Yosemite Trail. For about 2.5 miles he worried about losing the way. A partly fallen tree had stick arrows laid on the ground beneath it, and rock cairns marked spots where tread faded.¹⁰

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at General Creek (Zone 2), overnight: 10 people a day. The Forest Service table splits the 10 into 7 advance and 3 walk-in. It prints no year, so the figure was checked on Recreation.gov, where the daily total for division 311 across June to September 2026 most often read 7, the advance share.^1,6

Rules specific to this entry point

Your permit ties only the first night to the zone. With a quota of 10, the largest party that can book it is 10, and the Forest Service says a group cannot split up and camp in one place.^2,1

Zone 2 has no posted campsites. Those exist only at Eagle, Grouse and Hemlock lakes and Lake of the Woods. Elsewhere you camp 100 feet back from a lake shore, with human waste buried 200 feet from water, camps and trails.³

Where it leads

Richardson Lake sits where the trail meets the PCT and Tahoe Rim Trail, and Hiking Project says a Sierra Club hut, Ludlow Hut, stands above its south shore. Recreation.gov lists Richardson Lake as an entrance on the permit.^8,6

Tahoe to Whitney notes the top of General Creek Trail meets the PCT 4.12 miles north of the point where the Tahoe Yosemite Trail joins it, and calls it mainly a shortcut for northbound hikers.⁹

What trip reports say

September 7, 2012: a day hiker went out from Meeks Bay over the General Creek Trail to the PCT and Tahoe Rim Trail, then turned south about 1.5 miles before returning. He saw a helicopter and smoke from a distant fire, found the log bridge sturdy but risky if icy, and noted every visitor needs a permit.¹⁰

October 28, 2014: a solo hiker walked 20.1 miles round trip from Meeks Bay with 3,300 feet of gain. He found the trail well kept, met minimal crowds, and called it one of the least visited entrances to the wilderness. Snow from the week before still lay at Rubicon Lake.¹¹

When to go from here

Snow from the previous week still lay at Rubicon Lake on October 28, 2014, and the 2012 report calls the Meeks Creek log bridge risky if icy, so late-season trips should plan for ice and snow on the approach.^11,10

The Forest Service warns of snow into late June and heavy mosquitoes after snowmelt. The quota season runs from the Friday before Memorial Day through September 30.²

Compare with nearby entry points

• Genevieve: Genevieve (zone 3) is the first zone on the same trail and has real campsites on a signed path. Zone 2 begins where that path hands over to the General Creek route.^9,7
• Phipps: Phipps (zone 12) is reached by the other fork at Genevieve, the Tahoe Yosemite Trail toward Phipps Pass, and its quota is 4 people against 10 here.^9,1
• Richardson: Richardson is an entry point on Recreation.gov's list. General Creek reaches the same Richardson Lake area from the Sugar Pine Point side.^6,8

Sources

1. Desolation Wilderness Overnight Quota, Eldorado National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Desolation Wilderness Permits, Eldorado National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
3. Desolation Wilderness rules and regulations, Eldorado National Forest and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Desolation Wilderness Trails & Trailheads, Eldorado National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Meeks Bay Trailhead, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Desolation Wilderness Permit, division 311 (02 General Creek), Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Meeks Bay Trail in Desolation Wilderness, Sierra Rec Magazine. Read 2026-10-15.
8. General Creek Trail, Hiking Project. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Lake Genevieve, Backpacking Desolation Wilderness, Meeks Bay, Tahoe to Whitney. Read 2026-10-15.
10. Meek's Bay to Tahoe Rim Trail via Lake Genevieve and General Creek Trail, Trail Hiker (blog). Read 2026-10-15.
11. Meeks Bay to Phipps Peak, Greg Lamy. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a General Creek permit