Desolation Wilderness Permit — Gilmore

Gilmore (zone 29): what makes it different

Gilmore is zone 29, the zone that holds Gilmore Lake and Mount Tallac. Most backpackers reach the lake from the Glen Alpine Trailhead on the east side, 3.9 miles one way, and it is one of the few zones where Recreation.gov warns of heavy bear activity.^2,3

Getting to the start

Recreation.gov names two ways in: the Glen Alpine Trailhead for Gilmore Lake and the Mount Tallac Trailhead for the peak. The Forest Service table agrees, listing Gilmore Lake from Glen Alpine and Mount Tallac from both.^2,3

To reach Glen Alpine, take Highway 89 about 3 miles north of South Lake Tahoe to Fallen Leaf Lake Road. A trail guide calls that road narrow and winding, about 3.5 miles around the lake, then a left at the fire station onto Glen Alpine Road for roughly 0.7 miles more. Parking is by Lily Lake and fills early in peak season.⁵

Sierra Rec describes the lot as paved, with a rock road leading from it to the old Glen Alpine Spring Resort. There is no drinking water at the trailhead, so bring your own.^6,5

Permits for this side are not sold at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center. The Forest Service says to buy online or collect at the Forest Supervisor's Office in South Lake Tahoe, open Monday to Friday, or at the Placerville Ranger District, which the Forest Service lists for west side entry.⁴

The first leg

The Forest Service lists Glen Alpine to Gilmore Lake at 3.9 miles, rated moderate. A Mount Tallac summit from the same trailhead is 5.7 miles and rated difficult. Both are in zone 29.³

One route description has you leave the gravel road along Glen Alpine Creek, pass Modjeska Falls, Soda Springs and the historic resort, skip the Grass Lake sign by keeping right, take the right fork at two more junctions, then join the Pacific Crest Trail and go north to the Gilmore Lake sign. The lake is less than a tenth of a mile from that sign.⁷

Terrain and difficulty

The same route guide gives 8.66 miles out and back with about 1,919 feet of gain. The two reviewers on that page call the trail very rocky, and one calls it a good first backpacking trip.⁷

A June 2024 trip chose a rougher line than the standard trail. The writer reported loose scree, a short exposed rock band and several hands-on moves, and says they would not take that line again with a heavy pack. At Gilmore Lake itself the shore is shallow and covered in volcanic scree, so a swim means a walk out.⁸

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Gilmore (zone 29), overnight, total daily capacity: 18 people a day. The Forest Service table splits this into 13 reservable in advance and 5 for walk-in. The table prints no year. Recreation.gov showed 13 as the most common daily total for the zone from June to September 2026.^1,2

Rules specific to this entry point

Recreation.gov carries a zone-specific warning: heavy bear activity is known around Gilmore Lake, store food properly, and canisters are recommended. The shared rules above already require canisters, so treat this as a sign the lake is a bear stop, not a rumor.²

Your first night has to be in zone 29. A night at Grass, Susie or Half Moon lakes puts you in a different zone with a different quota, even though all four are within a few miles on the Glen Alpine trail.^4,3

Where it leads

Mount Tallac sits inside the zone. The Forest Service lists it at 5.7 miles from Glen Alpine and 4.6 from the Mount Tallac Trailhead, both difficult. A side trail on the southeast side of the lake leads to the summit.^3,7

Neighbors reached from the same trailhead: Grass Lake 2.3 miles (zone 35), Susie Lake 3.8 (zone 34), Heather Lake 4.9 (zone 33), Half Moon Lake 5.5 (zone 28) and Lake Aloha 5.8 (zones 33, 15 and 22).³

What trip reports say

A two-night trip from June 30 to July 2, 2024 camped at about 8,320 feet in shaded forest roughly 600 feet from the lake outlet, on a dried snowmelt pond. The writer used the Gilmore inlet stream for water, saw a day-hiking family and a group of Pacific Crest Trail backpackers at the lake, and met no bears.⁸

That writer found mosquitoes heavy near wet ground and shade. Repellent and full clothing held bites to about a dozen over three days. Nights dropped to about 40 degrees at sunrise and afternoons reached about 75.⁸

The route guide's reviewers describe the walk as steady and rocky, with many camp spots and beaches around the lake's edge.⁷

When to go from here

The Forest Service warns of snow cover and cold into late June and heavy mosquitoes after the melt. A trail guide names summer and early fall as the popular window, and says Glen Alpine is crowded on summer and fall weekends because day hikers share the trail.^4,5

Compare with nearby entry points

• Susie: Susie (zone 34) is a smaller zone, 8 people a day against 18 here, and sits 3.8 miles from Glen Alpine, just under Gilmore's 3.9.^1,3
• Halfmoon: Half Moon (zone 28) takes only 5 people a day and is 5.5 miles from Glen Alpine, farther up the same drainage.^1,3
• Aloha: Aloha (zone 33) is the big one, 36 people a day against Gilmore's 18, and the Forest Service rates the 5.8 mile walk difficult where Gilmore's is moderate.^1,3
• Cathedral: Cathedral (zone 30) starts from the Mount Tallac Trailhead and takes 4 people a day. Cathedral Lake is 2.5 miles in, much shorter than Gilmore's walk.^1,3

Sources

1. Desolation Wilderness Overnight Quota, Eldorado National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Desolation Wilderness Permit, division 29 Gilmore, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
3. Desolation Wilderness Trails & Trailheads, Eldorado National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Desolation Wilderness Permits, Eldorado National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Glen Alpine Trail, Calexplornia. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Hiking Desolation Wilderness Glen Alpine Trailhead, Sierra Rec Magazine. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Gilmore Lake in Desolation Wilderness, The Outbound. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Summer 2024 trip chronicle 8, Gilmore Lake, Davidsen Esac Trip Chronicles. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Desolation Wilderness rules and regulations, Eldorado National Forest and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Gilmore permit