Desolation Wilderness Permit — Maude

Maude (Zone 25): what makes it different

Zone 25 is Maude Lake, the main lake on the Rockbound Trail below the pass, 4.7 miles from the Wrights Lake trailhead. It takes 12 people a night. The agency quota table spells the name Maud, which is also the spelling on the topographic maps.^1,2,6

Getting to the start

Recreation.gov says access is by the Rockbound Trail from the Rockbound Trailhead at Wrights Lake, and that the zone takes in Maude Lake, the Jones Fork of Silver Creek and Willow Flat. The Forest Service chart lists Maude Lake at 4.7 miles one way, rated moderate. It lists no distance for Willow Flat.^5,2

The trailhead sits at 38.8482 north, 120.2394 west, has a vault toilet and charges $10 a vehicle for day-use parking. The Forest Service page gives the drive as 39 miles east of Placerville on Highway 50, then 24 miles north on Wrights Lake Road. Three trip reports instead count about 8 miles on that road from Highway 50, so ask the Pacific Ranger District before you rely on the road distance.^4,6,7,8

The first leg

Beauty Lake comes at 0.5 mile. Ted Muller, a hiker who logs the trip as 9.5 miles round trip between 6,960 and 7,660 feet, calls that lake plain and walks on past it. He drops to cross the Jones Fork, which was the only running water on the June day he went, then crosses a wide field of granite slabs.^2,6

NorCal Hiker found the trail flat for a few miles before it gains any height. On the slabs they followed small cairns, and they passed Maude Lake and saw a few people camped on its shore. Ted says the real climbing starts only at the far end of the rock valley, and that it is a few hundred feet to the lake.^7,6

Terrain and difficulty

The Outbound says every sign is clear as far as Rockbound Pass. After the lake come two miles of steep switchbacks to the pass, which the Forest Service puts at 6.4 miles. Exploring Wild, whose author hiked up in mid-June 2022, calls the final couple of miles rough and rocky and slow, and writes that hail has hit her on that pass twice.^8,2,9

Exploring Wild's count to the pass is five miles, not 6.4. The difference may come from where each writer starts the clock, so lean on the Forest Service chart when you plan a day-one stop.^9,2

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Maude (Zone 25), overnight: 12 people a day. The Forest Service prints no year. It splits the 12 into 8 advance and 4 walk-in. On Recreation.gov the highest non-sentinel daily total for zone 25 between May and September 2026 was 8, on 50 dates, which is the advance share.^1,5

Rules specific to this entry point

Maude is not a special management area, so the general lake rule applies: put your tent at least 100 feet from the shore. Exploring Wild adds that not every existing campsite on this side of the wilderness follows that setback.^3,9

Recreation.gov asks permit holders to pick a durable site away from the water. The page says nothing about stock in this zone, unlike zone 10, where it advises against horses.⁵

Where it leads

Ted found a tent and two campers in a hammock on the shore, Peak 9163 above the lake, and Little Pyramid Peak, 9,441 feet, in view on the approach. He walked on past the lake in the thin company of mosquitoes and stopped short of the pass.⁶

Exploring Wild calls Maude the last good place to camp before the pass if you start late. The Outbound's team rated it a great spot to camp about 4 miles in, and went on to Doris Lake for the night.^9,8

The Forest Service chart places Gertrude and Tyler Lakes at 4.2 miles, nearly level with Maude, but in zone 31, and Rockbound Pass at 6.4 miles in zone 26. A permit for zone 25 does not cover a first night at either.²

What trip reports say

Ted's 2012 hike on June 30 ended at the lake. He met about thirty people on the way back, almost all with backpacks. He calls the middle of the walk mundane, wanted more running water, and prefers the other trails around Wrights Lake unless you are bound for Schmidell.⁶

A NorCal Hiker weekend loop, posted in October 2017, passed Maude in the first hours, crossed open granite by cairn, and met wind at the pass. The pair reached Schmidell near mile eight.⁷

When to go from here

Ted's late-June visit found the rock channels that carry spring runoff bone dry and the Jones Fork the only water around. Exploring Wild's mid-June trip found snow lingering on parts of the loop, and a 2017 reviewer on The Outbound walked the route over Labor Day weekend.^6,9,8

Compare with nearby entry points

• Rockbound Pass: Rockbound Pass (zone 26, Lake Doris) is 6.4 miles from the trailhead and takes only 6 people a night, against Maude's 12 at 4.7 miles.^1,2
• Tyler: Tyler (zone 31) holds Gertrude and Tyler Lakes, 4.2 miles from the same trailhead, with 8 people a night. Maude is half a mile farther in and has the larger quota.^1,2

Sources

1. Desolation Wilderness Overnight Quota, Eldorado National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Desolation Wilderness Trails & Trailheads, 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. Rockbound Trailhead, Eldorado National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Desolation Wilderness Permit, division 335 (25 Maude), Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Maud Lake, Desolation Wilderness, Ted's Outdoor World. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Rockbound Pass: Desolation's Desolate Side, NorCal Hiker. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Desolation's Primitive Western Edge through Rockbound Pass Loop, The Outbound. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Desolation Wilderness Grand Loop: 4+ Day Backpacking Route For Ambitious Hikers, Exploring Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
10. Desolation Wilderness Permits, Eldorado National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Maude permit