Desolation Wilderness Permit — Loon Lake

Loon Lake Trailhead: what makes it different

Loon Lake is a trailhead on a reservoir in the Crystal Basin, outside Desolation Wilderness, and it is the north door into the wilderness. No zone carries its name. The trail runs 6.7 miles to Rockbound Lake in zone 1, 8.3 miles to Rubicon Reservoir in zone 6 and 13.7 miles to Camper Flat in zone 11.^3,2,4

Getting to the start

The Forest Service puts the Loon Lake Trailhead on the south side of Loon Lake at latitude 38.982355 and longitude -120.314666, with a vault toilet. It lists the way as 23 miles east of Placerville on Highway 50 and then 29 miles north on Ice House Road, Forest Road 3. The trailhead is day use only, except for holders of an overnight Desolation permit.⁴

The concession lot charges $10 per vehicle per day, and the fee is waived for a valid overnight permit when you print and display the parking pass, which does not guarantee a space. A 2024 trip report put the trailhead at 6,497 feet and called the parking $10 as well. A hiker in 2019 paid $8.^5,6,7

A 2026 CalExplornia guide says the main Loon Lake campground and trailhead were closed for reconstruction while the boat ramp and day-use parking stayed open. The Forest Service trailhead page lists the site as open, so check its current alerts before you drive 29 miles up Ice House Road.^9,4

Ted Muller's 2019 write-up says the quickest drive from northern Sacramento is not Ice House Road but the route through Auburn, Cool and Georgetown, about 90 miles and two hours.⁷

The first leg

The trail first runs northeast along the shore of Loon Lake. The Forest Service table puts Pleasant Campground at 4.1 miles, Spider Lake at 4.5 miles and Buck Island Lake at 6.1 miles, none in a quota zone. Rockbound Lake is 6.7 miles, in zone 1.³

A 2024 trip report calls the lakeshore stretch easy, with the climb starting at the Pleasant boat-in campground. It climbs 1.4 miles on an overall 4.1 percent grade, steepest for 0.36 miles at 10.4 percent, and then drops 1.38 miles toward Buck Island Lake. The 12.8 mile round trip it recorded gained 1,970 feet.⁶

Backpacker's 2013 route log has hikers keeping right at forks, with the rocky Rubicon Trail beginning where a left fork heads to Pleasant Campground, and puts Desolation Wilderness 2.5 miles beyond that.⁸

Terrain and difficulty

Muller found the way in 2019 well built, with stone steps, and the forest beautiful. From the end of the reservoir he called it a long, hot slog east, with only a small part of Spider Lake in view. He then went cross country to Lake Winifred and Hidden Lake because Spider looked unexciting, and reports no established trail to those.⁷

Once the route reaches granite it is hard to follow in spots. The 2024 hiker relied on cairns and a GPS track, and recommends one.⁶

The trail shares its corridor with the Rubicon Trail, a route for 4x4 vehicles, ATVs and motorcycles that crosses the Sierra to Loon Lake. CalExplornia says a trailhead for that route sits right next to the lake.⁹

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Loon Lake Trailhead, overnight, zone 1 Rockbound Lake, the zone the Loon Lake trail reaches first: 25 people a day. The Forest Service table splits it 18 advance and 7 walk-in. The table prints no year; Recreation.gov's July and August 2026 calendars most often showed 18 advance spaces for this zone. Other zones on this trail: zone 6 Rubicon 23 people and zone 11 Camper Flat 20 people.^1,2

Rules specific to this entry point

The Forest Service trailhead page says every entry into the wilderness needs a permit. Muller filled one out in 2019 even though he doubted he would cross the boundary. Buck Island Lake and Spider Lake carry no zone in the Forest Service table, so your first night must be in a numbered zone further in.^4,7,3

Recreation.gov warns that zone 1 can have a high water crossing of Highland Creek early in the season, and zone 6 a high water crossing on the Rubicon Trail at its north edge. Zone 11 has numerous high water crossings of the Rubicon River.²

Where it leads

Rockbound Lake in zone 1 is the first quota zone on the trail. Recreation.gov says the zone is most often reached from this trailhead and gives about eight miles to the wilderness boundary, which sits oddly against the Forest Service table's 6.7 miles to the lake. Plan the day for the longer figure.^2,3

Zone 6 Rubicon holds Rubicon Reservoir, Fox Lake and a section of the Rubicon River, and zone 11 Camper Flat is a hub in the middle of Rockbound Valley. Both lie on the same trail, at 8.3 and 13.7 miles.^2,3

What trip reports say

A 2024 backpacker walked to Buck Island Lake and camped on its granite shore, finding no designated sites. The lake was lovely on the backpackers' side, but jeepers across the water kept revving engines and playing music until about two in the morning. The report advises against a weekend trip and warns of fierce mosquitoes, shaded dinners helping little.⁶

Ted Muller walked the trail in July 2019 for 11.25 miles with 900 feet of total gain. He called Loon Lake the most photogenic big reservoir he knew, but judged the walk better for backpackers bound farther in than for a day hiker. He met his first hikers well along the trail, and many mosquitoes at the small lakes.⁷

Backpacker magazine's 2013 trip log runs to Spider Lake, 7.1 miles by its waypoints, with bald eagles over a sizeable lake on the way and the best campsites on the west end of Spider Lake.⁸

When to go from here

CalExplornia says snow can fall at Loon Lake as early as September and linger into May, with winter depths of 3 to 8 feet, and that cross-country skiing is best December through April. The two walks described here were a July 2019 day trip and a summer 2024 overnight, and Recreation.gov flags early season high water on all three zones this trail reaches.^9,7,2

Compare with nearby entry points

• Buck Island: The Buck Island Trailhead reaches Rockbound Lake in zone 1 in 1.5 miles, Rubicon Reservoir in 3.0 miles and Camper Flat in 8.5 miles. From Loon Lake the same three cost 6.7, 8.3 and 13.7 miles, so Loon Lake is the long way in.³
• Rubicon: Rubicon, zone 6, is the zone this trail reaches at 8.3 miles, and it sells 23 people a night against 25 for zone 1.^1,3
• Camper Flat: Camper Flat, zone 11, takes 20 people a night and lies 13.7 miles from Loon Lake. Recreation.gov asks you to allow enough time to reach it the first night.^1,3,2

Sources

1. Desolation Wilderness Overnight Quota, Eldorado National Forest and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Desolation Wilderness Permits (permit 233261, zone descriptions and 2026 calendar), Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
3. Desolation Wilderness Trails & Trailheads, Eldorado National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Loon Lake Trailhead, Eldorado National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Desolation Day Use Permits & Parking, Eldorado National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Backpacking to Buck Island Lake in Eldorado National Forest, Another 100 Feet, June 2024. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Loon Lake, Eldorado NF, Ted's Outdoor World, July 2019. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Sacramento: Loon Lake to Spider Lake, Backpacker, September 2013. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Loon Lake guide: trailhead, Rubicon Trail, Desolation Wilderness access, CalExplornia, 2026. Read 2026-10-15.
10. Desolation Wilderness Permits, Eldorado National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
11. 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 Loon Lake permit