Smith Lake & Crystal Basin
Photos Maps Summary: This is a classic Sierra hike featuring lots of lakes, granite, and views. Also featured is an off-trail traverse to save a little bit of time and energy. The lakes seen on this hike include: Grouse, Hemlock, Smith, Lower and Upper Twin, Boomerang, and Island. This doesn't include Wrights Lake which serves as the trailhead. Much fewer people make the trek up the basin with Grouse, Hemlock, and Smith Lakes which make these perfect destinations for those looking for more seclusion. While these lakes are very pretty, we feel that Crystal Basin is a little better and it includes a few waterfalls. What connects these two basins is an off-trail traverse that opens up views to the west and is fairly easy as it moves over plenty of granite (although this includes a large granite boulder field once in the Crystal Basin). Dogs and kids are certainly welcome but probably not on the off-trail traverse.Distance: 8.60 miles totalElevation Gain/Loss: 2,035' totalSeason: mid-June through October (whenever the Wrights Lake Road is open)Fees & Permits: Day hikers can pick up a day-use permit at the trailhead. Overnighters need to reserve a permit or pick one up from the Pollock Pines Ranger Station (see here).
Finding the Trailhead: 38.85042 N, 120.22626 W (Twin Lakes Trailhead @ Wrights Lake). Follow the Wrights Lake Road (~16.6 miles west of the US-50/CA-89 intersection south of South Lake Tahoe; ~4.8 miles east of Kyburz) north for ~8.1 miles to a stop sign near the outlet (South Fork Silver Creek) from Wrights Lake. Turn right and follow the narrow road for ~0.9 miles to the trailhead parking area (pit toilets provided). The actual trailhead is located ~300' northwest of the parking area just south of the inlet (South Fork Silver Creek) to Wrights Lake.
The Hike: From the northwest end of the parking area follow a little gated path north-northwest to the actual trailhead (~300'). At the trailhead you'll have the option of proceeding straight over a footbridge or turning right. The straight option heads north, passes the western edge of a meadow with a nice view of Little Pyramid Peak, and reaches a junction (~0.35 miles). Turn right at this junction to head into the trees, cross over South Fork Silver Creek, and reach a junction (~0.6 miles) with the second trailhead option. If you turn right at the trailhead you'll head to the northeast around the eastern end of the meadow in the trees and reach this junction after ~0.4 miles. Since we did the first option going out and the second option coming back we'll report the distances from the trailhead as such. Be on the lookout for Sierra Mariposa Lilies in the summer near here. From this "loop" junction follow the trail to the east-northeast as it steadily climbs just south of the outlet from Grouse Lake, crosses over some granite, and then back into the trees. Loads of wildflowers and flowering bushes line the trail in summer for most of the way up to the Grouse Lake Trail junction. At ~1.3 miles the trail crosses into the Desolation Wilderness (permits required, see above) and continues to climb. The trees begin to thin out some as the trail approaches the junction with the Grouse Lake Trail (~1.5 miles). Turn right to take the Grouse Lake Trail or stay left to stay on the Twin Lakes Trail. We turned right here and started the steep climb to the east on the exposed granite slopes. After a little while the trail moves between some sparse trees and turns to the southeast before turning to the northeast for the steepest part yet. During this steep section, the outlet from Grouse Lake is crossed just below the lake. Grouse Lake is reached ~0.7 miles after leaving the Twin Lakes Trail. Follow a small side-trail to get a fantastic view from the western end of Grouse Lake.
The trail continues along the north shore of the lake before leaving the shore for the trees. Just a little ways from the lake the trail is somewhat unclear. There appeared to be a trail leading further to the east (and slightly downhill) but this was false. The true trail turns to the north, passes through a level wet area with lots of wildflowers, turns to the northeast, and continues climbing up to a shoulder north-northeast of Grouse Lake (~1.05 miles from the Twin Lakes Trail). The trail then turns to the east to approach Hemlock Lake (~1.2 miles from the Twin Lakes Trail). Hemlock Lake butts up next to the steep granite slopes and is a nice secluded getaway. From Hemlock Lake, the trail turns to the southeast and climbs slightly to a little open area filled with Heather (Red and White). Back in the trees, the trail continues to the southeast. Here, the trail is mostly well defined but there were some places that we were happy to see a cairn. Once the trail leaves the trees it gets very steep and you are completely reliant on cairns to lead you along the correct path. As the trail climbs higher, the views of Union Valley Reservoir and Slick Rock get better. At ~1.6 miles from the Twin Lakes Trail, you reach pretty Smith Lake nestled in its own little cirque. We found some Lewis Monkeyflowers next to the small dam at the western edge and enjoyed the solitude. Once we were ready to head out, we followed the same trail back down past Hemlock Lake. At ~0.55 miles from Smith Lake (~1.05 miles from the Twin Lakes Trail) we left the trail to the northwest to begin our off-trail traverse. Quickly we came to the top of the shoulder and had fantastic views to the west including Wrights Lake to the southwest. We then headed north down through a few trees before turning to the northwest to pass through a small gulley and continue to the southwest on the granite boulders. After this we ran into some bushes but generally tried to stay on the granite and head to the southwest. About 0.4 miles after leaving the trail near Hemlock Lake we rounded the corner into the Crystal Basin at ~8,130' elevation. From here it was a matter of negotiating steeply downhill to the north-northeast through the large boulder field to intersect with the Twin Lakes Trail. We found the trail ~0.6 miles from when we started the off-trail traverse. If we had followed the Grouse Lake Trail all the way down to the Twin Lakes Trail junction and followed the trail to this point it would have taken ~2.0 miles with ~420'/880' of elevation gain/loss (the traverse lost ~460'). Now, we followed the trail gradually uphill to the northeast past a small pond and eventually to the dam crossing at the outlet of Lower Twin Lake ~0.3 miles since rejoining the trail. From here, the trail heads to the northeast and offers one last view over Lower Twin Lake before passing through a marshy area off of the northwest end of Lower Twin Lake and climbing up the granite slope toward Boomerang Lake. Between Lower Twin Lake and Boomerang Lake is a nice viewpoint just off-trail of Twin Lakes Falls to the east-southeast ~0.2 miles from the Lower Twin Lake dam crossing). Boomerang Lake is reached ~0.3 miles from Lower Twin Lake (dam crossing) where you understand the reason for its name and get a great view of Little Pyramid Peak to the northeast.
At the eastern end of Boomerang Lake stay left (north), cross between Boomerang Lake and a small pond to the east, and follow the trail to the northeast. The USGS topo map (Pyramid Peak quad) shows the trail turning right here and heading around the southern side of this pond but the left trail is clearer, more direct, and has more wildflowers. At another larger pond (~0.45 miles from Lower Twin Lake dam) east of Boomerang Lake the trail passes through yet another wet section filled with wildflowers. Also at this large pond are great views of Mt Price and its shoulders to the southeast. From here, the trail quickly climbs up over the exposed granite and flattens out as it approaches the western end of Island Lake (~0.6 miles from Lower Twin Lake dam). We found a nice place to rest a little further to the southeast. We noticed a good fraction of the people at the lake heading around the southern end of the lake. To reach the pond that is the source of Twin Lakes Falls, head uphill to the south-southeast from the southwestern tip of Island Lake. After spending a bit of time at Island Lake we retraced our steps back to where we finished our off-trail traverse. At ~0.5 miles below the Lower Twin Lake dam crossing, Upper Crystal Basin Falls can be glimpsed from the trail. A further ~0.15 miles down the trail, Middle Crystal Basin Falls can be seen just off the trail (Crystal Basin Falls exists much further down South Fork Silver Creek, just upstream of its confluence with the outlet from Umpa Lake). From here the trail is fairly level as it heads to the southwest before steepening and turning to the south and then southwest. Just before reaching the Grouse Lake Trail junction (~1.25 miles from the Lower Twin Lake dam) the trail briefly passes through some trees. From the Grouse Lake Trail junction we retraced our steps from the beginning of the hike but this time took the second option (eastern of the two options) back to the trailhead.