Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit · California, Nevada

Pacific Crest Trail

51 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. PC2000 · trail class 3 · typical grade 5-8% · tread 18-24 inches wide

Trailhead Echo Lakes Trailhead Drive there

Echo Lakes Trailhead the Forest Service's write-up

This area can be extremely crowded on weekends. Please consider visiting in the early morning or late afternoon for a more relaxing experience.

Echo Lakes Trailhead is located on Echo Summit near the south shore of beautiful Lake Tahoe. Access to the trailhead is via Johnson Pass Road off of U.S. Highway 50. Opening and closing dates are dependent on weather, but the trailhead is typically open from mid-May through mid-October. Restrooms and trash service are available only when the trailhead is open. Echo Lakes serves as a trailhead for Desolation Wilderness . Campfires (wood, charcoal or any other solid fuels) are not permitted.

Nearby Echo Chalet is a high-Sierra, summer-only, resort located approximately 10 miles from South Lake Tahoe and 49 miles east of Placerville. The resort was established in 1939, is owned and managed by Tom and Kathleen Fashinell and operates under a special use permit from the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

This trailhead on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

All 152 trails in Lake Tahoe Basin Management UnitFind a trailForest on fs.usda.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.