Desolation Wilderness Permit — Ralston

Ralston (zone 45): what makes it different

The Ralston permit is for zone 45 near the south end of Desolation Wilderness. It wraps Ralston Peak with Cup Lake and Saucer Lake, it is entered from the steep Ralston Trailhead on US 50, and it is one of the smallest quotas in the wilderness at 4 people a night.^2,1,4,6

Getting to the start

Recreation.gov names the Ralston Trailhead as the way into zone 45. Ted Muller's 2013 write-up places that trailhead across US 50 from Camp Sacramento, one mile east of Twin Bridges. Most people park beside the highway. A short side road leads to the actual trailhead and saves about 100 feet of climbing.^2,4

The other common door to Ralston Peak is the Echo Lakes side. Muller's 2024 report says a boat taxi ran $22 for the two mile ride each way that July and saved more than five miles of walking for day hikers. The Echo Lakes lot was jam packed on a Sunday and he parked a thousand feet down the road.⁵

The first leg

The Ralston route climbs at once. Muller describes it as quite steep the whole way, easy in forest and then rough through a manzanita hillside that gets worse on the way down. An 8 mile round trip runs from about 6,600 feet to 9,210 feet. Recreation.gov's own note for the zone says the trail from the trailhead is very steep with limited water, and asks hikers to skip user trails and not cut switchbacks.^4,2

Muller met a trail junction not shown on his map and took the well used right fork, which heads straight at the mountain. That shortcut is steeper but shorter. He came back by the mapped trails, which added more than half a mile and was easier on the legs and more scenic.⁴

Terrain and difficulty

The ridge top gives the first view of the Crystal Range, with Pyramid Peak at 9,984 feet and Mount Agassiz at 9,967 feet, and then Desolation Valley, with Lake of the Woods in front and Lake Aloha behind. Little pieces of trail lead off in all directions near the top, so Muller veered left at one choice, which proved right.⁴

In 2021 the Caldor Fire burned the whole southern side of the ridge up to the summit, and Muller's 2024 report says the south approach has lost much of its popularity since. The same report says the northern advance of that fire stopped on the south shore of Echo Lakes.^4,5

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Ralston (zone 45), overnight, zone 45 Ralston, first night: 4 people a day. The Forest Service table splits it 2 advance and 2 walk-in. The table prints no year; Recreation.gov's June to August 2026 calendars most often showed 2 advance spaces for this zone.^1,2

Rules specific to this entry point

A party of five or more cannot take this zone's quota on its own. The table caps the whole zone at 4 people a night, and the Forest Service tells groups with a large party to check zone sizes before booking, since you cannot split a group and still camp together.^1,3

Ralston Lake is not in this zone. Recreation.gov puts Ralston Lake, with Tamarack and Cagwin lakes, in zone 41 Tamarack, which is entered from Echo Lakes. A permit for zone 45 does not start your first night at the lake that shares the peak's name.²

Where it leads

The summit of Ralston Peak is a day goal for most visitors. Muller counted it the finest viewpoint in the northern Sierra. From the top he could see Lake Tahoe 3,000 feet below, Saucer Lake peeking around a hillside and, in the west, Mount Diablo through haze. He guessed that a quarter of Desolation Wilderness was in view. Cup Lake is hidden from the summit.⁴

Ralston Lake sits below the peak at about 7,800 feet. A 2026 CalExplornia guide counts it as 4.2 miles one way from Echo Lakes by the route its author hiked, with Tamarack Lake on the way and Cagwin Lake just beyond.⁶

What trip reports say

Ted Muller climbed Ralston Peak on June 16, 2013 and again in 2015. He found quite a few people at the summit at first, then had it nearly to himself for most of an hour after a hiker training for the John Muir Trail ran off down the talus. He called the trail itself boring and the ridge top views worth the climb.⁴

In July 2024 Muller walked the basin at the north foot of the peak from Echo Lakes. He called Ralston and Cagwin lakes pristine and Tamarack just so-so, because it was noisy with kids. He found an undamaged alternate route up Ralston Peak from Echo Lakes, 8 miles round trip with 1,800 feet of gain, a mile longer each way but 900 feet less climbing than the traditional approach.⁵

A 2026 CalExplornia hiker walked the Echo Lakes corridor to Ralston Lake in mid July and found the rocky, sunny side route tiring. The author says the side trail is less obvious than the lakeshore trail. A try at a shortcut on the way back proved the terrain far rougher than it looked from above.⁶

When to go from here

Muller hiked from the Ralston Trailhead in June, 2013, and met a pleasant stream draining snowdrifts near the summit. The Recreation.gov note about limited water on the steep trail is the timing factor to plan around. CalExplornia calls summer into early fall the general season for the lakes.^4,2,6

Compare with nearby entry points

• Tamarack: Zone 41 Tamarack holds Tamarack, Ralston and Cagwin lakes, is entered from Echo Lakes and takes 20 people a night against 4 here. Recreation.gov warns of high day use at Tamarack Lake.^1,2
• Lake of the Woods: Zone 40 Lake of the Woods is a Special Management area with designated campsites, takes 20 people a night, and is entered through Echo Lakes or Ralston. Zone 45 has no marked sites.^1,2
• Avalanche: Zone 44 Avalanche is an off trail area for Horsetail Falls, Avalanche Lake and several small lakes, reachable from the Pyramid, Ralston or Echo Lakes trailheads, and it sells 20 people a night.^1,2

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 Permits, Eldorado National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Ralston Peak, Desolation Wilderness, Ted's Outdoor World, June 2013. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Echo Lakes Basin X/C Loop, Ted's Outdoor World, July 2024. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Ralston Lake in Desolation Wilderness: Hike Guide and Visit Tips, CalExplornia, July 2026. Read 2026-10-15.
7. 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 Ralston permit