This is a great relatively leisurely trip to make early season, for beginners, or as a quick overnight into the backcountry. It’s only four miles up to Island Lake at the end of the trail, and there are also infinite opportunities to explore and scramble up to various peaks of the basin.
For more advanced hikers, you can also make this trip a semi loop by traveling cross country to the Enchanted Pools and various other small falls along the river.
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Backpacking Trip Info
Dates: Jun 13 - Jun 14
Miles: 6.6 roundtrip
Elevation change: 1,370 ft
Trail type: Out and back
Permit: Required
Trailhead: Google Maps
Permits
Advanced permits are required for all overnight backpackers, and day hikers do not need a permit. Twin and Island Lakes are in area zone #32 of Desolation Wilderness, which allows 20 campers to enter per day, reservable via Recreation.gov.
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Getting There
This trail starts at the very popular Twin Lakes trailhead by Wrights Lake. Once turning north from Highway 50, you’ll be heading up the side of a mountain on a very windy road for about 30 minutes to get to the main lot. Be sure to check road closures before going, as this road is closed every winter/spring with variable opening dates.
When I visited in June, the Twin Lakes campground and the main parking lot at the trailhead both were still closed, so I had to park down at the Equestrian Camp, which added an extra 1.1 miles of hiking each way to get to the main trailhead.
What to pack
Here’s a blog post about every item I pack for a weekend backpacking trip
The Trip
From the sign at the start of the trail, take the right unmarked fork for the most direct route. The left fork that starts over a bridge eventually merges into the same trail, but this path takes a slightly longer route around the marsh. The entire trail is well marked and easy to follow, even on the rock slab portions. On the way in, we passed lots of boulders with that classic Tahoe climb factor.
Once the trails merge about 0.6 miles in past the marsh, you’ll pass the unmarked turnoff to head north over some slab to the Enchanted Pools. We decided to continue on the main trail and take the cross country route to the pools on the way back. The trail now starts to gain some slight elevation while following along a small river, which is the Grouse Lake outlet.
1.5 miles in you’ll see the sign post for the Grouse Lake turn off to the right. After crossing the stream, the marshlands here had some perfect rock steps that helped us navigate the overflowing ponds. Another mile later, we spotted the massive waterfall cascading down a cliff in the distance before we reached the shore of Twin Lakes.
Wildflowers on the shore of Twin Lakes complete with a waterfall in the distance
We stopped for lunch here on the south shore, which also seems to be the turn around point for most of the day hikers in the area. I can see why this hike is so popular - a five mile roundtrip hike to a remote, stunning alpine lake where you’ll still feel accomplished and break a sweat. There are plenty of camp sites around the Twin Lakes and numerous smaller ponds to explore in the area with views of tall peaks every direction you look.
On the norther side of Twin Lakes on the way up to Island Lake
We had to backtrack a bit from the shore to cross the Twin Lake outlet, which most people seemed to have no trouble with. We then continued past Boomerang Lake to climb up and over one more ridge to get to Island Lake, our destination for the night.
Island Lake at the base of Pyramid Peak
Aptly named, Island Lake is spotted with many little islands that I would have been open to wading to if the weather was more cooperative. It was great to escape the groups of people camping in the lower part of the basin by Twin Lakes and have this nook mostly to ourselves. There are far fewer campsites up at Island Lake, but we managed to find one up a little higher on the northern shore.
Low clouds covering Mount Price and the rest of the Crystal Range
While we set up camp the clouds moved quickly through the basin, occasionally shrouding the peaks on the ridgeline. It was too gusty and late in the day to attempt a day hike up to one of the peaks, but I imagine the view from that ridge would be incredible. Instead we wandered around the shoreline over ravines of snow and spent a good deal of the rest of the day being entertained by the plethora of friendly marmots scampering across meadows.
Home sweet home. Pictured: our favorite 2P backpacking tent - MSR Hubba Hubba NX2
Being camped on the northwest shore, the clouds cleared right before sunset to cast that perfect glow on Mount Price directly across from us. The cold early season temperatures dropped quickly, and we were in bed by 9pm.
The next morning we woke early to still reflections on the lake except for the occasional ripple from small fish. Today’s weather was perfect, and much warmer than yesterday, which would make for great conditions at Enchanted Pools. After packing up, we headed down the trail back past Twin Lakes.
Once the trail started to diverge from the creek, we headed off trail cross country to try to find the Enchanted Pools. For about half a mile we made our way downhill following the river, occasionally having to backtrack to get to higher ground to avoid bushwacking too much. The journey downhill wasn’t too steep, and the slab portions were quite easy going. Soon the creek fanned out over the smooth rock in long cascades, and we spotted the first of the emerald pools.
Once we reached the first falls, we followed the river downhill past several more small falls and pools. We started to see more day hikers who had headed up from the parking lot.
The upper of the Enchanted Falls and Enchanted Pools
I can see why these Enchanted Pools are an attraction, these calm spots in the river are a great place for families and children to spend the day just a short hike in. There are lots of use trails criss crossing along the shore, and it wasn’t difficult to follow the rock stacks and stream of people back to the parking lot.
Our overnight excursion to the Twin Lakes was the perfect start to the season. Desolation Wilderness has been my favorite destination for backpacking lately since it’s so close to home, and there are so many spots and trails I still want to explore.
If you decide to go, please practice Leave No Trace. This means packing out all your trash and camp at least 100 feet from any lake shore. Let’s all be better about treating gorgeous places like these with the love and respect they deserve.
Favorite gear for this trip:
