Desolation Wilderness Permit — Rubicon

Rubicon (zone 6): what makes it different

Rubicon is zone 6 of the 45 Desolation quota zones. It holds Rubicon Reservoir, Fox Lake and a stretch of the Rubicon River on the west side, and you reach it from the Loon Lake or Buck Island trailheads. The reservoir is a long walk in: 8.3 miles from Loon Lake, 3.0 from Buck Island.^2,3

Getting to the start

Recreation.gov says the zone is accessible from the Loon Lake Trailhead. The Forest Service trailhead table also lists a shorter way in from the Buck Island Trailhead, which puts you at Rubicon Reservoir after 3.0 miles of easy to moderate trail.^2,3

The Loon Lake Trailhead is a Rubicon Trail staging area for jeeps as much as for hikers. El Dorado County lists a parking lot, a restroom, an information kiosk, trash receptacles and a hazmat shed there, and says a park aide is usually at the kiosk on summer weekends. You get there from Ice House Road off Highway 50.⁶

One backpacker who drove in from Highway 50 counted 29 miles on Ice House Road, then took the Red Fir Access Road to the campground area. The writer put the trailhead at 6,497 feet and followed the foot trail that runs beside Loon Lake, not the jeep route.⁷

The first leg

From Loon Lake the Forest Service gives these one-way distances: Pleasant campground 4.1 miles, Spider Lake 4.5, Buck Island Lake 6.1, Rockbound Lake 6.7 and Rubicon Reservoir 8.3. You do not enter the Rubicon zone until the last of those, so your first night is the end of a full day.³

From Buck Island the table reads Rockbound Lake 1.5 miles and Rubicon Reservoir 3.0 miles. Rockbound Lake is zone 1, so a Rubicon permit means walking past it.³

A 2024 write-up of the Loon Lake to Buck Island Lake leg says the trail is easy until just past Pleasant Boat-In Campground, then climbs for 1.4 miles at about 4 percent. Its round trip came to 12.8 miles with about 1,970 feet of climbing.⁷

Terrain and difficulty

SMUD, which owns the reservoir, puts it near 6,500 feet. It describes rugged land of smooth granite and sparse forest, and says the elevation keeps the reservoir out of reach of casual hikers outside the snow-free months.⁵

On granite the path is faint. The same 2024 writer relied on other people's cairns and a GPS track to stay on route. A 2009 group found the second half of the walk to Buck Island Lake follows an exposed old road covered in loose rock that twists ankles in the heat.^7,8

Recreation.gov carries a note for this zone: early in the season there is a high water crossing at the north boundary, on the Rubicon Trail.²

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Rubicon (zone 6), overnight, total daily capacity: 23 people a day. The Forest Service table splits this into 16 reservable in advance and 7 for walk-in. The table prints no year. Recreation.gov showed 16 as the most common daily total for the zone from June to September 2026, which matches the advance column.^1,2

Rules specific to this entry point

Buck Island Lake sits just outside the wilderness boundary, according to a 2009 trip report. The zone's own first night has to be inside Rubicon, so a night at Buck Island Lake does not count as your Rubicon first night.^8,4

The Rubicon Trail runs beside this part of the wilderness. El Dorado County says hikers, backpackers and anglers use it to reach the wilderness, and that the Loon Lake end sees the most jeep traffic.⁶

Where it leads

Inside the zone: Rubicon Reservoir, Fox Lake and a section of the Rubicon River. SMUD says the reservoir can be reached by trail from Loon Lake Campground or from Rockbound Valley.^2,5

Beyond the zone, the Forest Service lists Camper Flat (zone 11) at 13.7 miles from Loon Lake and 8.5 from Buck Island. Do not confuse the zone with Rubicon Lake, which the table places in zone 7 at 8.1 miles from Meeks Bay.³

What trip reports say

A 2024 backpacker camped at Buck Island Lake and says other campers were there, with jeep users on the far shore running loud engines and music until about 2 a.m. Mosquitoes were heavy. The writer advises against making the trip on a weekend.⁷

A July 2009 group of about six walked the same trail in two days. They found waterfalls and cascades between Rockbound and Buck Island lakes, hiked the jeep route on foot and were faster than the vehicles. A reader later suggested camping on the west side of Buck Island Lake, past the inlet, to dodge engine noise.⁸

When to go from here

Pick a date after the snow is off the high ground and the Rubicon crossing has dropped. SMUD ties access to the snow-free season, and Recreation.gov flags early-season high water. On summer weekends expect the Loon Lake end to be busy with vehicles.^5,2,6

Compare with nearby entry points

• Rockbound: Rockbound (zone 1) is a bigger zone, with 25 people a day against 23 here, and a shorter walk: 6.7 miles from Loon Lake or 1.5 from Buck Island. Rubicon is farther in on both routes.^1,3
• Camper Flat: Camper Flat (zone 11) is the next zone beyond, 13.7 miles from Loon Lake against 8.3 to the Rubicon Reservoir. Its quota is 20 people a day, three fewer than Rubicon.^1,3
• Buck Island: Buck Island is a trailhead, not a quota zone. It is the shorter of the two ways to start a Rubicon trip, 3.0 miles to the reservoir against 8.3 from Loon Lake.³

Sources

1. Desolation Wilderness Overnight Quota, Eldorado National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Desolation Wilderness Permit, division 06 Rubicon, 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. Rubicon Reservoir, Sacramento Municipal Utility District. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Information to the Rubicon Trail, El Dorado County. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Backpacking to Buck Island Lake in Eldorado National Forest, Another 100 Feet. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Buck Island Lake Has No Fish, Calipidder. 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 Rubicon permit